Yoga for Wimps

23. Yoga for Wimps: Poses for the Flexibly Impaired by Miriam Austin (4/5)

I've been doing bits of yoga on and off for years, but there are still fairly basic and all too common poses that I just can't do. Downward-facing dog is an excellent example. I've seen modified poses before, but in many cases, yoga blocks are not enough to solve my inflexibility.

Enter Yoga for Wimps. The book is full of really modified poses with no special equipment. A chair, wall, a couple rolled up towels, and a couple of ties cover the accessories used. The text is easy to follow and the photos demonstrate the poses well (though the attire could be more appealing). The poses are arranged in sequences you can do. You know you're done with a sequence when the model changes. Very easy to understand.

There are also sections devoted to achieving certain results: reducing stress, getting refreshed if you've been walking around a museum or a mall for a long time, things to do while watching tv, poses for doing after an action-packed weekend, etc.

The back of the book has a section describing all the poses in greater detail: how to do them, their benefits, things to avoid, ways to makes them more challenging.

Straightforward and very simple to follow. I'm going to check out some more from the library but this one's definitely a contender for buying. I like that I can do a sequence in a couple of pages without committing 30 minutes to an hour to yoga. Makes it more likely I'll incorporate at least some yoga into my day rather than none.

If you have trouble with certain yoga poses that seem to come up all the time even in beginner classes/videos, give this book a look. It lets you get the desired benefit from the poses when you're unable to achieve them properly unmodified.


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