I've just recently started taking yoga classes. And let's just say that
I am not a natural. It's all I can do to try to touch my toes. But I
enjoy striving to become better at it and figured reading a book might
increase my enjoyment. And this book wasn't too bad. I'd probably give
it about 3.5 stars. There was definite room for improvement, but it
did keep my attention.
Lee owns a small independent yoga studio
where she is the main teacher. There are other classes of course, but
between herself, and her husband who sometimes helps out, and her friend
who rents a small room for massage, it's a close-knit operation. Well,
minus the husband aspect. As he has recently moved out to "find
himself" Lee hasn't been feeling herself lately. Added to that is an
offer to sell her skills to a corporate yoga studio and she's feeling
quite a bit of pressure. But she still wants to present the best
classes possible to her students. She wants to be there for them, and
when they all have problems of their own, they need the clarity of a
yoga class as well.
I like how this book showed that a yoga
instructor isn't perfect. Lee does her best but she has her own flaws
and problems in life and isn't as "zen" as she would probably like to
be. All of the other characters also have relatable problems. Imani is
getting over a miscarriage, Katherine is a recovering addict, Stephanie
stresses too much about work and Graciela just wants to have an
audition go ok despite an injury. The yoga class kind of brings them
together and shows that with the right kind of community and support,
things can be achieved. However, that's the women in this story. When
we talk about the men, at least Conor is quite redeeming, and I enjoyed
reading about him. But the rest of them, either have a lot of issues or
are complete jerks (Lee's husband anyone?) and I can't find their
redeeming qualities. I guess I could spare Imani's husband some of the
criticism, but he didn't really show up much in the book. Overall I
would have liked to have seen more of the characters and for this to
have been a longer book.
I think overall the message in this book
is about growing. Each of the characters has to work through the
problems ultimately by themselves. They have their friends supports but
no one can automatically change something for you. You have to do it
yourself. Add that in to the fact that you have to be pretty dedicated
and focused to do yoga and I think that the whole thing is a learning
experience in life. As for the yoga itself, I was proud to say I
understood a couple of the poses that they mentioned. But then the vast
majority were completely incomprehensible to me. Guess I'm just not
that far along in my classes yet. But if you have even had one yoga
class, you'll understand a little bit about what is talked about in this
book. The writing style itself is a bit choppy and jumps around a bit
so its hard to keep a timeline. But it is friendly and approachable and
that somewhat makes up for it.
As said before, there is room for
improvement but overall this book was comfortable. I won't go as far
as to say it is as relaxing as yoga, but it was a nice read.
Tales from the Yoga Studio
Copyright 2011
279 pages
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