The Woman's Book of Yoga and Health
By Patricia Walden
By Linda Sparrowe
The Woman's Book of Yoga and Health is the first comprehensive book about women's health issues and how to treat them with yoga. The authors offer a complete yoga program for general health as well as pose sequences that address specific health problems—all in the Iyengar tradition, which targets health needs more than other forms of yoga. For example, in the first part of the book, Patricia Walden has organized three chapters showing yoga poses with clear instructions that tell how to get into each pose and describe its benefits: chapter 1 is the Essential Sequence for all women, and includes modifications for people who cannot or should not do all the poses; chapter 2 is the Restorative Sequence for stress relief and relaxation; chapter 3 contains advanced poses that energize and tone.
The second part is presented in four sections that broadly represent the stages of a woman's life: teen years and early twenties, later twenties and thirties, midlife, and wisdom years. Each section contains chapters offering specific information about a particular health issue from author Linda Sparrowe, as well as sequences of yoga poses from Patricia Walden that address the problem. For example, the back care chapter includes information about common back problems and their causes (scoliosis, arthritis, lordosis, sciatica, kyphosis, among others) with an emphasis on emotional and psychological roots of some back problems; physiological information about the spine and back muscles; general information about how yoga addresses different areas of the back; and finally, Patricia Walden's sequences of poses that target different back problems with the goal of not only relieving back pain but of strengthening, and healing old injuries and misalignments.
Sections of the book include:
Teens and Early 20s: Eating disorders, menstrual health, immune support
20s and 30s: Back care, pregnancy, headaches
Midlife: Depression, menopause, digestion
Wisdom Years: Osteoporosis, postmenopause, the heart
The final section of the book includes listings of yoga centers, instructional videos, yoga equipment, and where to go for more information about yoga.
"You'll find an amazing range of women's health concerns addressed here. . . . It deserves a spot on your bookshelf next to other well-worn health references." —Natural Health
"The definitive guide to yoga and women's health." —Yoga Journal
"Linda and Patricia have compiled an essential book—both for women who practice yoga and for all yoga teachers. The Woman's Book of Yoga and Health is a vital, inspiring guide for women in all stages of life." —Rodney Yee, author of Yoga: The Poetry of the Body
"A thorough and compassionate guide to achieving a healthy, balanced life for women of all ages—inspiring and empowering." —Kathryn Arnold, Editor-in-Chief, Yoga Journal
"A magnificent invitation for all to enjoy the many levels of hatha yoga. Both clear and creative, this book is a must for all students and teachers." —Lilias Folan, host of the groundbreaking PBS series Lilias, Yoga and You
"In The Woman's Book of Yoga and Health, Linda and Patricia give us practical methods for developing a steady and joyous relationship to our own feminine bodies, to the earth, and to the Divine Mother. These are the voices of two ordinary women who have done extraordinary things and who are sharing their findings without pretension. They speak from the heart." —Sharon Cannon, creator of Jivamukti Yoga
"Women everywhere will be grateful for this book. It's immensely practical, user friendly, and yet it still manages to reverberate with the central mystery of yoga: the possibility of living authentically, wildly, and passionately in our resilient, powerful, at times frail, and always aging bodies." —Stephen Cope, Senior Scholar in Residence, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and author of Yoga and the Quest for the True Self