The American Yoga Association's Easy Does It Yoga : The Safe and Gentle Way to Health and Well-Being

by Alice Christensen, American Yoga Association

Regain your health, vitality, and independence through this age-old approach to fitness! Whether you're an older adult just beginning to exercise,you’re physically weak due to an illness or injury, or you haven’t worked out in a while, The American Yoga Association's Easy Does It® Yoga is a safe, easy-to-use guide to renewed physical and emotional wellness.

For thousands of years people have turned to yoga to enhance their quality of life. Yoga gradually builds physical flexibility and strength, improves concentration, relieves stress, increases energy, and develops the ability to relax at will. Easy Does It® Yoga, a nationally recognized fitness program, adapts traditional yoga techniques to make them safe and easy for people who may face physical limitations. But, although it is a gentler form of yoga, it is just as effective as more strenuous fitness programs for getting and staying in shape.

Alice Christensen, founder, of the American Yoga Association, guides you through the program, showing
-The basics of yoga exercising, breathing, and meditation with specific, easy-to-follow illustrations throughout
-Specific postures such as the Gentle Full Bend, the Easy Sun Pose, and the Elbow Twist to help you target your weaker spots and increase your overall flexibility
-The unique benefits of Yoga for alleviating chronic health conditions ranging from arthritis to depression
-A six-week program to get you started and to help you develop a basic understanding of essential movements
-Specially designed sequences to boost energy or bring calm, depending on your specific needs
-Strategies to incorporate the yoga lifestyle into your daily routine, not only with exercise, but also with tips on creating a healthy diet and ways to develop a more peaceful, positive mental attitude

Regardless of your age or physical condition, The American Yoga Association's Easy Does It® Yoga will inspire you to awaken your body and mind and experience the well-being and fulfillment that yoga brings.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 18, 1999

About the author

Alice Christensen, founder of the American Yoga Association, pioneered nonreligious yoga education in the U.S. She authored several influential books, including 20-Minute Yoga Workouts and Yoga of the Heart, and continues to reside in Sarasota, Florida.

Reviews

[Claire]

The book is aimed at older adults, but this seems like a good yoga starting point for anyone.

The exercises are described in detail and supplemented with photos. 2 or 3 instructions didn't seem to quite line up with the photos, but the rest were clear. Christensen also describes the physiological (and sometimes mental/emotional) benefits for each exercise which I found informative.

Chapters on nutrition, meditation, and yoga philosophy are also included.

A 6 week program is presented but you have to flip back and forth to the exercise descriptions listed on various pages. I've tried weeks 1 and 2 and the flipping around is not a big deal. They do take longer than 10-20 minutes though.

I spent 70 minutes doing the week 2 routine today, but it was my first time doing it and that includes ~13 minutes of meditation which isn't included in the 10-20 minute estimates. Granted I was rereading the details of each exercise and taking it slowly as the book suggests. Once you're familiar with the exercises, it should take a lot less time.

What's nifty is that a lot of the exercises presented are suitable for doing while watching tv or doing other things. That's not quite the focused approach of yoga, but many are prime for incorporating into stray moments throughout the day.

Well worth a look. Don't be dissuaded from trying it because the models in the photos are mostly over 60.

[J Crossley]

This book is geared toward yoga techniques for people with limited mobility.