I began my journey into yoga a few years ago. I was overweight and due to past injuries (broken leg, repeated ankle sprains, plantar fasciitis and osteoarthritis) I wanted to get some exercise that wouldn’t pound on my joints. I wasn’t sure of the commitment I wanted to give this new fitness, so I took a class with my local school district to see if it would be a success or failure. I discovered that yoga isn’t about success, failure or competition, it is all about the journey.
Listed below are some yoga resources that you might find helpful if you head down the same path as me.
The City of Everett Parks department offers many local yoga classes. The upcoming summer classes are listed in the Everett Parks &Recreation Summer Guide on page 16.
The library has a lot of great books and DVDs for the entire family that cover many subjects relating to yoga.
Healing Yoga: Proven Postures to Treat Twenty Common Ailments – From Backache to Bone Loss, Shoulder Pain to Bunions and More by Loren Fishman came up in my search as one of Everett Public Libraries most popular yoga books.
Everett has a naval base here in the city, and I thought the book Yoga for Warriors, Basic Training in Strength, Resilience and Peace of Mind: a System for Veterans and Military Service Men and Women by Beryl Bender Birch would be a book our local warriors might want to check out.
Blending Yoga and fiction is a fun and lighthearted way to integrate the practice with a fun story. EPL has the Downward Dog Mystery Series by Tracy Weber.
Here are two Yoga memoirs complete with descriptions from the catalog to give you an idea of what they are about:
Yoga Girl by Rachel Brathen
Part self-help and part memoir, Yoga Girl is an inspirational, full-color look at the adventure that took writer and yoga teacher Rachel Brathen from her hometown in Sweden to the jungles of Costa Rica and finally to a paradise island in the Caribbean that she now calls home. In Yoga Girl, she gives readers an in-depth look at her journey from her self-destructive teenage years to the bohemian life she’s built through yoga and meditation in Aruba today. Featuring photos of Brathen practicing yoga in tropical locales, along with step-by-step yoga sequences and simple recipes.
Yoga and Body Image: 25 Personal Stories About Beauty, Bravery &Loving Your Body by Melanie Klein &Anna Guest-Jelley
In this remarkable, first-of-its-kind book twenty-five contributors—including musician Alanis Morissette, celebrity yoga instructor Seane Corn, and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Sara Gottfried—discuss how yoga and body image intersect. Through inspiring personal stories you’ll discover how yoga not only affects your physical health, but also how you feel about your body.
There are many great Yoga DVDs available from the library. Here are three standouts:
My journey into yoga continues. I joined a gym and take regular Vinyasa (flow and breath) yoga. I even ventured into a Hot/ Bikram Yoga class where the first, very structured class was like being tortured in a sweaty sauna, and yes I went back for more. I continue to be interested in different classes and broadening my yogic horizons in mind, body and spirit.
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