Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
9th out of 30 books
—
16 voters
Yoga The Spirit And Practice Of Moving Into Stillness
From the yoga master featured in the bestselling Yoga Mind and Body videos with Ali McGraw comes an introduction to Hatha Yoga, complete with step-by-step instructions and meditation techniques. Includes more than 100 poses and exercises. Photos.
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
December 1st 1996
by Gallery Books
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,033)
The book opens with an inspiring yoga bio, then divides into four sections: 1) Mr. Schiffmann's yogic philosophy or approach, 2) an overview of how to approach asanas, breathing and energy, 3) asana instructions divided by type (standing postures, forward bends, backward bends, etc), and 4) meditation. This struck me as a totally reasonable way of going about things and is sufficient to whet any would-be yogi's appetites.
Regarding the first part, occupying pages 3-40: Schiffmann is definitely a...more
Regarding the first part, occupying pages 3-40: Schiffmann is definitely a...more
Jul 07, 2011
Brenna Gorbatov
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those interested in yoga
Recommended to Brenna by:
Amey Mathews
This book is one you won't want to get rid of if you are practicing yogi. Erich Schiffman reminds yogis that yoga is more than the asanas; rather, it is about feeling, being open, being receptive to our true Selves. It is about living yoga. This book provides thoughtful, spiritual insight in the first portion of the book, and then detailed and helpful tips with pictures of various asana postures. This book is especially useful for people who struggle with mediation or live in their head too much...more
Its taken me awhile to write this review because all I want to do is gush on and on about this book.
Since 1996, there has been a deeeep, soooothing voice in my head that tells me "keep it simple". That voice is Erich Schiffmann's from Ali Macgraw's video Yoga Mind & Body. The original tape has been replaced by a DVD and there have been times over the years I've tried to ignore Erich, but still, he resides in head. "Keep it Simple."
The message is his book is clear: find stillness and listen....more
Since 1996, there has been a deeeep, soooothing voice in my head that tells me "keep it simple". That voice is Erich Schiffmann's from Ali Macgraw's video Yoga Mind & Body. The original tape has been replaced by a DVD and there have been times over the years I've tried to ignore Erich, but still, he resides in head. "Keep it Simple."
The message is his book is clear: find stillness and listen....more
This is absolutely my favorite yoga book. It's beautifully written and immediately gets to the heart of what practicing yoga is about in easy to understand terms (without all the fluffy new agey stuff). The photogragphs and explanations of the asanas are clear and easy to understand. Get it, read it, love it. I reference it constantly for my own practice as well as for teaching.
This book gave really detailed descriptions of all the poses, step by step. Rather than just showing the poses in their final stage, the reader is encouraged to build from the very basics of each pose, to the more advanced stages. I plan to go back and re-learn some poses using this book. The chapters about meditation and spirituality were very inspiring, as well; however, he used the word "God" a lot, and even though he defined God as the infinte which is present in every one and everything, I...more
My absolute favorite Yoga book. It really captures the essence of Hatha yoga in a non-technical way. Not pretentious and can be read be beginners and veterans alike. The chapter on playing the edge helped me immensely, it reminds me that my practice should always be evolving.
I have always liked this book, as I have always appreciated Erich's style of teaching and his considerable compassion for moving as an individual into each pose. This clearly comes through in his writing as well.
Not that far into it yet, but the beginning is excellent. Haha, and I now know where some of my favorite yoga teachers have gotten some of the things they talk about in class! :)
I am loving this yoga book. For anyone who wants a very clear and easy to digest book about yoga, read it. It is from an American yoga master's perspective.
Erich Schiffmann did an wonderful job in this book. Moving into stillness is a very good book on yoga.
Approaches to bending and stretching are great.
Approaches to bending and stretching are great.
This was my first yoga book and my first yoga vhs tape (yep, vhs tape!) and I love both - still. Erich is a great yoga master with wonderful insights.
This book is very advanced. I know Erich had a lot to say, but there's way too much for most yoga students to sit still and read!
Although I learned more from Schiffmann's DVD with Ali MacGraw which I practiced with for the longest time during the long Vermont winters several years ago, I also bought this book which was very helpful, because the explanations and reasons behind the poses was described in great detail. My favorite yoga book is one that I no longer have, nor do I know the title. I bought it in a used book store in a remote town halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. It's from that book that I learned about...more
Excellent book on yoga. I liked it. It is daily manual for yoga practice. Erich did an wonderful job.
Breaks poses down into expressions as well as setting up practices with specific sequences.
Apr 04, 2008
Joanna
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Joanna by:
Mom
Shelves:
psych-related,
physical-health
This is one of the most thorough yoga books I have ever read. Erich Schiffmann discusses the importance of breathing as well as the physiological aspects of each pose in great detail. There are also suggested routines that look great, but I am lazy enough that in order to actually practice, I need a dvd in front of me (I like Kathy Smith's New Yoga series). I find that although my dvds are well-cued and timed, the information from his book helps me get the most out of each pose because it fills...more
this is a book I go back to time and again for.inspiration and a fresh look at poses
Apr 18, 2009
Martha
is currently reading it
I'm going to his workshop in September in Yellow Springs!
a book i consistently return to
Fantastic book on Yoga!
Aug 30, 2012
Don Hannan
added it
great
The introduction and following Schiffmann on his own path to yoga sets up this book to be an indispensable guide to building a personal practice. The detailed description of the poses, the importance of breath, and ideas on meditation will also make it a handy reference tool for yoga teachers. The images are a little laughable, but that might be due more to my own immature sense of humor and the need to giggle when I see a man wearing really tight shorts.
Really excellent book on the philosophy and technique of yoga. Helpful and very detailed instructions on achieving the asanas, plus extended sections on meditation. I give the book four stars because the writing is a little bit tedious, with a lot of repetition and redundancies.
His intro about living in India as a young man and how he discovered yoga is really interesting. The beginning chapters on breathwork, edges, and asana fundamentals bring new ideas and new perspective to my own appreciation of yoga. The pose breakdown chapters in the 2nd half of the book are okay but offer few modifications for cranky knees, hips, spines and necks.
I love Schiffman's use of language and his ability to couch a seemingly ineffable concept in language that strikes a cord. His use of epithets like feeling-tone, his stress on the important of experiencing who you are, his encouragement to play with lines of energy and the razor's edge are all encouragements to keep growing by loving and listening to yourself.
this book has been on my "currently-reading" shelf since i first joined goodreads. i thought of creating a "currently and forever reading" shelf, but i chose to move it to "read" with a disclaimer...this book will always be at the top of the stack of books at my bedside. just as there is no end to our practice, there is no end to reading this book.
Dec 02, 2007
Vanessa
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
aspiring meditators
Shelves:
spirituality
while the majority of this book explains some beginner asanas (yoga poses) with helpful photos, i found this book incredibly powerful for Schiffman's writings about yoga's ability to cultivate inner stillness, calm, centeredness, focus, and self-realization. he also has a good guide to meditation at the end. beautiful book.
There are a lot of great yoga books and dvds but this one includes both the physical and spiritual aspects of the practice. The author shows progressive steps towards achieving the more difficult poses and lays out several beginner, intermediate, and advanced daily practice routines.
This was my first book on yoga and it is a great place to start. It gives a good overview of the spiritual aspects of yoga without going too deep. The bulk of the book is dedicated to the core principles of hatha practice including detailed instruction on breathing and postures.
Jul 12, 2007
Leticia
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
yoga students
Shelves:
yogaspiritualandotherwoowoobooks
Before Donna, there was Erich. Love this man. When he's talking to you, he looks like the cheshire cat who knows a wonderful secret.
If you ever have a chance to take a class from Erich..I highly recommend it. He is so much fun. And, he's in Santa Monica, CA!
If you ever have a chance to take a class from Erich..I highly recommend it. He is so much fun. And, he's in Santa Monica, CA!
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
