Customer Reviews (30)

Inspiring
As a beginner practioner of Yoga, I find the the book very inspiring. It makes me want to learn more about yoga instead of just practising it. Christy also manage to share with us on how yoga had touched and changed her life spiritually. I'm a muslim and always thought that yoga is not for muslim woman but after reading this book, I understand that yoga can be practised by anyone of different religions. Yoga helps us spiritually into embracing our faith of any religion.

Great Executive Summary of Yoga
I found this book to be very inspiring and a great overview for those new to yoga.I'm constantly trying to get those in the studio to appreciate that there is much more to yoga than asana and I have recommended this book to others with great success.People seem to let their guard down a little and take a chance when someone they know (famous) has written something.Christy's intent is not to convince you of anything, but to explain the high level basics to you with the added touch of her own personal experiences.Some read this book and never go any further than asana and that's okay, at least they are a little more informed about what's out there.Asana is just one very small part of yoga and although beneficial, when brought together with the other limbs becomes amazingly powerful in your life.

Beautiful Introduction to the Yoga Life Style
Christy Turlington's "Living Yoga" offers the reader a wonderful tour of applying all aspects of yoga to a life. It is an excellent introduction for people curious or serious about pursuing a yogic life. This is not a book that focuses on only the physical aspect of yoga, which accounts for some of the negative reviews. The book includes a few photographs of Christy executing some of yoga's more challenging poses with perfect alignment throughout the book, with information about the benefits that the poses bestow on its practitioner.

Christy informs the reader that the physical (hatha) practice of yoga is only one of yoga's eight dimensions, which include: yama, niyama, asana (where hatha is applied), pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. Christy gives a brief overview of several mainstream approaches to hatha yoga, encompassing: Ashtanga, Iyengar, Kundalini, Bikram, Siddha, Kripalu, and Integral yoga. She encourages readers to explore all approaches to see what types feel most authentic to them.I disagreed with her perspective that the mirrors in a Bikram classroom indicate an obsession with the physical aspect of yoga. In today's climate, when so many yoga teachers receive yoga certification in mass numbers with minimum experience of practice, I feel safer in studios with mirrors, where I can check my alignment.She also identifies the emphasis of four main paths to yoga: Karma (selfless behavior) yoga, Bhakti (devotion) yoga, Jnana (knowledge) yoga, and Raja (meditation) yoga. She also provides an introduction to ayurvedic (eating system based on doshas) and vastu (organizing the home to maximize sacred space).

Christy includes many personal examples of how elements of yoga practice helped her during different challenges in her life.Similar to Christy's experience, I was raised Catholic but stopped practicing my faith because of several doubts that I need to explore. Yoga helped me quiet my mind and enabled me to objectively explore several religious traditions during a trying time of life. I particularly appreciated her prayer section (Dhyna chapter), where she describes a variety or practices of devotion, not limiting them to the Hindu prayers. Yoga is a philosophy that all religious believers should be able to embrace, but since it was heavily influenced by the Hindu faith of the areas in which it originated, many yoga devotees write only from a Hindu perspective, which might dissuade adherents of other faiths from exploring yoga. She includes inspirational quotes from spiritual masters of many faiths and describes poetically describes her experiences making pilgrimages to India, to honor their acknowledgement of the Divine.

However, her vocabulary for non-Hindu practices is not as developed as her description for Hindu practices. For example a collection of beads used for prayers is generically called a "chaplet," not a rosary. A rosary describes one particular set of prayers said in the Catholic faith that induces a meditative state of mind (offered "as roses "to Mary). The Catholic faith uses chaplets for other types of prayers, and Sikhs would not consider their simarani to be a rosary, but instead a chaplet. Additionally, Christy names the Catholic sacraments incorrectly - "extreme unction" being a term that went obsolete at the Second Vatican Council (the correct name is "anointing of the sick"). The sacrament of penance also has been referred to as "the "sacrament of reconciliation" since the Second Vatican Council and it is odd that she never received the sacrament, because it's usually started one's first Holy Communion and recommended at least once a year for practicing Catholics, but maybe her RCIA instruction for confirmation was poor.

This was a beautiful book in prose and pictures of Christy's attraction to and beginning pursuit to a yoga life style. I think people who criticized it for being too basic, misunderstood the intent of the book, and if they are looking for more than introductory information the should consult the "Heart of Yoga" by T.K.V. Desikachar or "Practice for Liberating the Body and Soul" by Sharon Gannon and David Life.I hope that she write another book soon of how her yoga life evolved after her marriage, new job commitments, and her children's birth.

I love this book
Thank you Christy for writing this.It is heartful to know that you are willing to share yourself in this way.I admire your perseverance in finding yourself out there, steeped in the material world.I like the personal tone you write with for finding your path, it gives me strength.Thank you for being real and being yourself.

Life Is A River
I love the journey Christy Turlington takes you on in this book...it is very educational and inspiring to see how Christy transformed her life and has taken the spiritual path in the midst of all the things going on in her life...I feel compelled to stay the course I am on in my Yoga experience....she is a beautiful woman inside and out and I feel blessed to have found this beautifully put together book...the photos are amazing..

Thank You ... Read more

Product Description
Yoga has become hugely popular and gyms, health centres and spas have cooled down on aerobics and are catering to the new demand.The Spirit of Yoga is a beautiful and unique introduction to yoga for those becoming interested in the discipline for the first time and a source of inspiration for those who have already made it a part of their lives.The book takes yoga back to its historical, philosophical and cultural roots and shows how it can be applied appropriately to life in the West.Stylish and beautiful Vogue-style photography illustrates key exercises for regular practice and the author uses her experience as a trained yoga teacher and Health and Beauty Editor of British Vogue to guide us through yoga as the contemporary discipline - and industry - it has become. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

As inspirational as it is beautiful...
I'm always a little suspicious when I see a book like this one, which, by all appearances, appears to be cashing in on the yoga-as-fitness-trend phenomenon. So I was when I received this book as a birthday gift. But Kathy Phillips has given us a thing of beauty in "The Spirit of Yoga." A long-time practitioner and teacher, Phillips questions this trend, while acknowledging her own contribution to it. After reading this qualification, I devoured every page. Phillips gives a rich, if brief, history and description of the various paths of yoga practice, as well as gorgeous visuals and instructions on the poses basic to many yoga styles. Chapters on breathing and meditation help to complete what are for many practitioners the fundmental physical aspects of yoga. I've only been practicing for two years, and I try to maintain a balanced approach to what I see as blatant attempts at unnecessary or useless materialism that doesn't seem true to the aims of yoga. This book is definitely indulgent eye-candy, but in the best way - clean, beautiful layout and design, excellent photography and visuals that are respectful of the tradition. I would recommend "The Spirit of Yoga" both to anyone curious about beginning a yoga practice, as well as to any seasoned practioner who can take the time to read past its obvious coffee-table function!

A great insight of Yoga history and its meaning.
This is a beautiful book to look at, but the author uses lots of celebrity names and past gurus, which pronouncing their 15 letter names I found to be quite distracting. However, if you are looking for a book that gives the meaning and origin of the poses that are used in everyday yoga class this is for you. Overall, I found the book to be filled with answers when it comes to sorting out all the different types of yoga and helping me to decide which practice is for me.

A beautiful exploration of the Yoga tradition
THE SPIRIT OF YOGA is truly a beautiful book. Part educational text, part testimonial by master practitioners, part collection of stunning and inspirational photography, this book has it all. I am a Yoga newcomer, and I found THE SPIRIT OF YOGA to be very helpful. It makes me wonder why I didn't find Yoga sooner. ... Read more

Product Description
Christy Nicole Turlington (born January 2, 1969) is anAmerican model best known for representing Calvin Kleinfrom 1987 to 2007. She has worked on dozens of modelingcontracts with companies including Maybelline Cosmetics andVersace. Turlington starred in her fashion documentaryCatwalk and Isaac Mizrahi's Unzipped. She was added on asthe fourth model investor, after Elle Macpherson, NaomiCampbell and Claudia Schiffer of the now defunct FashionCafes. ... Read more

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Features - movies/news/sex/music/art/politics/TV/gadget: Lieve Schreiber: Too many roles, too little time...The Peacemaker: A justice takes n war criminals...Steve Zahn's crazily normal life...The Russian Tea Room reincarnated. Also in this issue - 56 Fall Looks to Buy Right Now...Men, Sex, and Jealousy...32 Skin-Care Secrets...The Sason's Best Makeup and Hair...and much more! ... Read more

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Monthly magazine featuring celebrities, fashion and entertainment articles and photography. Unread home delivery copy. ... Read more

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Chapters: Allison Iraheta, Rosemary Casals, Markos Moulitsas, Roger Huerta, T-Bone, Christy Turlington, Joey Castillo, Edwin Ramos, Anita Page, Daisy Fuentes, Efren Ramirez, Hugo Pérez, Dj Keoki, José Cortéz, Maurice Benard, Salvadoran American, Linda Arsenio, Arturo Alvarez, Fernando Del Valle, Victor R. Ramirez, J.r. Martinez, Ana Sol Gutierrez, List of Salvadoran Americans, Steve Purdy, Edwin Miranda, Mari Possa, Carlos Hernández, Evelyn Hernandez, Pete Sandoval, Crooked Stilo, Gerson Mayen, Álvaro Torres, Silvia H. Allred, Carlos Menjívar, George Melendez Wright, Francesca Miranda, Armando Romero, Rosa Barandiaran, Víctor Ramírez, Adrian Bellani, Daisy Velasquez, Mario Bencastro, Rolando Molina, Liz Figueroa, Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act, Oscar Araujo, Francisco Machón Vilanova. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 182. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Allison Iraheta (born April 27, 1992) is an American singer from Los Angeles, California, who was the fourth place finalist on the eighth season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, Iraheta won the Telemundo competition Quinceañera: Mamá Quiero Ser Artista. Following the conclusion of Idol, Iraheta was signed to a record deal with 19 Entertainment and Jive Records. Her debut album Just Like You was released on December 1, 2009. Iraheta was born in Glendale, California, to Salvadoran immigrants who moved to the United States before she was born. She is the youngest in the family, with two older siblings. According to her parents, she has been singing since she was a toddler. In 2001, she began taking voice lessons with Raphael Enriquez at the Los Angeles Music and Art School, a non-profit community school of the arts in East Los Angeles. Before rising to prominence, she was a frequent performer at the local Lati...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=21501560 ... Read more

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In This Issue: 24 hours with Dolce & Gabbana, and fashion layouts including Gisele Bundchen and more! ... Read more

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Getting It - Christy Turlington's Aha! Moment: A supermodel discovers the skinny about her livelihood. Something to Think About: Imagine you're a photographer assigned to cover your life... Features - Inward Bound: Oprah takes a mini-sabbatical to the quietest landscape on earth. Lesley Stahl: The History of a Reader: The "60 Minutes" journalist ticks off the books she couldn't bear to see the end. Plus much, much more! ... Read more

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NOTE!WE WONT BE LISTING A FRONT COVER OF THIS MAGAZINE..IT IS AN UNSOLD RETURNED ITEM,FROM A BOOK STORE.. THE COVER HAD TO BE REMOVED FOR STORE CREDIT..THE MAGAZINE IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION WITH NO FRONT COVER..SUPERMODEL,CHRISTY TURLINGTON WAS ON THE ORIGINAL COVER,AND SHE IS FEATURED IN THE MAIN LAYOUT WHICH HAS ABOUT 6 PAGES... THIS MAGAZINE WAS ORIGINALLY SEALED,AND COMES WITH AN ADDED "SUMMER FASHION COLLECTION" SUPPLEMENTAL MAGAZINE ... Read more

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140 page magazine featuring Christy Turlington & Naomi Campbell on the cover, plus a small feature on Cameron Diaz, a photo-feature on the U.S. Olympic Women's Gymnastic Team with Shannon Miller, Kerri Strug, and others, and much more! ... Read more