Anyone who's stuck with my blog over the years has probably figured out that I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Ashtanga ( for hate read, frustration and irritation), every now and again I tend to bang my head against it. It was during one of these ...more negative periods that Claudia brought out her book and I immediately switched over to feelin' the love again as a result of reading it, it reminded me why I love the practice.
Claudia's own passion for the practice is infectious, it's on almost every page. Yet despite that passion there's also an openness that I respect immensely. As a blogger herself Claudia's come up against questions and criticisms regarding the practice both on her own blog and those on which she contributes through comments. She's aware of what makes people uncomfortable or perhaps suspicious at times and is always respectful in her response, she is constantly exploring the practice and trying to understand it a little more herself.
In the book that translates as respect for her readers.
She doesn't just throw information about the practice at you, she invites you in, she doesn't avoid the difficult questions, she often struggles with them too. Her book is a guide to pretty much everything surrounding the practice ( and more besides ) but she's also a fellow traveller, she wants to share her view of the practice but her curiosity comes through, she wants to hear your view too.
The last section is called...
'Keep in touch'
Claudia shares.
The book is personal, she's telling you why she chose to practice Ashtanga, (that's pretty much the title of Chapter four).
' I will never preach or try to convince anyone of anything, but I can tell you some of the reasons why I came into ashtanga, why it has worked for me and how it continues to work.' p39
One of my favourite things about the book is an in-joke, I didn't get right a way. The book's title relates to a blog post Claudia wrote a while back and is the title of chapter three, on a hunch I took another look at the contents, page, yep, there are also twenty-one chapters.
Claudia loves lists.
For example
Chapter six : 3 specific cases in which yoga helped me personally
Chapter seven : 15 unusual benefits of yoga
Chapter fourteen : 9 lame excuses that keep people away from yoga
Chapter sixteen 19 suggestions to improve your yoga practice
Chapter twenty-one : 32 unusual ways to love ourselves.
Notice too that none of those chapters mention Ashtanga in the title. Claudia practices Ashtanga but I would argue her book is relevant to any style of yoga in fact it might be said it's a book about taking more control of your life
Chapter 18 : A few ways to practice yoga when we're off the mat.
Notice she says when WE'RE off the mat
This is not a practice manual, you wont find the ashtanga sequences laid out but If you are an Ashtangi then your going to want this book, it has, for example, one of the best guides around to making the leap and visiting Mysore, India where the Ashtanga style began, command Central if you will.
Chapter ten: An Ashtanga yoga guide to Mysore
Which talks about Accommodation, transportation, food, supermarkets, bookstores, sightseeing just everything.
But we also have...
Chapter eleven : Adventures of a beginner in Mysore
This is an hilarious account written by Claudia's husband relating his first experience of visiting ( being dragged along) to Mysore to practice ashtanga for the first time. This was a guest post on Claudia's blog, here James gets a guest chapter.
There's also a chapter on the Saturday, rest day practice, the oil bath.
This is a wonderful book and while Claudia has made a free pdf copy available on her blog, however your going to want it in book form, in fact your probably going to want several copies as your sure to be passing them on to all your friends who ask you about this strange bouncing up and down on mats we do and are tempted to give it a try.
That said, in a couple of years your probably going to find several battered and well thumbed copies laying around your local shala in as well as in Mysore itself.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit and read it quickly. The format of lists is fun, concise and accessible. I especially found the quotes inspiring, thought provoking and enlightening. I have marked many by the author and by others to return too. The quote "If you don't have a fever and nothing is broken, then get on the mat and do what you can." particularly resonates for me. It has already helped to build my fledgeling home practice. If your passion is yoga, especially Ashtanga but not necessarily Ashtanga, this book is a great resource as well as a lot of fun.
Buy 21 Things to Know Before Starting an Ashtanga Yoga Practice Now
I am very pleased with this little book. I thought that a lot of it wouldn't appeal or apply to an older woman with a neuromuscular disorder which makes simple yoga a challenge, and absolutely no intention of ever going to Mysore, but at the price and with all the great reviews I gave it a try.
I am glad that I did. It is well written, (could use some proofreading for grammatical slips, nothing big) interesting, educational, and very inspiring when it comes down to urging the reader to just commit to practicing. The author definitely lives on the fringe of yoga practice, she admits to being more involved than most of us will want or be able to be, but she manages to be inspiring rather than off-putting like so many accomplished yoginis.
A valuable and fascinating read. Highly recommended.
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Claudia shares her personal experiences and years of study in the ancient mysteries of yoga. i loved this book because it answers so many questions around this ancient practice, the history and why it is still so valuable in to modern day man. yoga studios should have this book available to beginners as well as to those who just can't get enough of yoga!
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The book was marginally of any value to me. I have been doing Ashtanga Yoga for almost a year. In the scope of Yoga practice I am considered a beginner. If I was just considering Ashtanga Yoga it would have scared me away. The stories in her life were not good examples and her focus on her being fired was never really bought full circle on how that really has anything to do with Ashtanga Yoga. The punch list and travel tips to Mysore India was a waste of my time.
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I have recently read a few books on first responder type medical aid for wilderness scenarios ... and this is BY FAR the best. If you are looking for a book that goes well beyond even advanced first aid, and presents the material in a pratical way using common languge ... this book is it. There is a balance with books like this on either being too elementary (i.e. "dumbed-down") or being too academic (i.e. filled with technical jargon that goes over the head of most people), but this book is a great balance between the two. The author has a gift of explaining things in a very straight-forward fashion.
