4 stars (Clear, concise and almost perfect) ...

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Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual: An Illustrated Guide to Personal Practice review:4 stars (Clear, concise and almost perfect) - This is an excellent look at Ashtanga Yoga. Swenson uses good descriptions of the asanas and the vinyasas that link them and his analogies are a creative look at Yoga: Standing Series and Finishing series as bread slices in a sandwich, with the Primary Series as the filling in the sandwich; and the idea of a vinyasa as the "etch a sketch" which clears the slate for each new asana, and his "physics of flight" and "ground transportation" as a means to jumping forward. My only wish for the book would be that it would contain a fold-out page with a diagram of the whole series on one page so that it could be a quick reference rather than having to flip from page to page. It would make moving through the series much easier after one has gotten the basics down. Also, (Ok, I have one more wish)I appreciated the break down of the Sanskrit word into meanings, but it would be even better with a pronounciation guide too. Otherwise, it is nearly perfect.4 stars (You say Ashtanga, I say Astanga) - This book is a classic and David Swenson is well loved by the yoga community. I'll admit that I find the design of the book and the quality of the black and white photos a little too rough and homespun for my tastes. (David did the design and layout himself). But, you can look at the excerpted pages and decide for yourself if production values are of import. Overall, I find David's voice friendly, supportive and unassuming. He does provides alternatives and modifications of poses for lesser able students. This book covers a lot of information, including Primary Series and Intermediate Series.

Between owning this book and "Astanga" by Jean Hall (0754810747) which has lots of luscious color photos featuring a variety of models, especially Jean Hall, I have access to a balanced presentation of Astanga. 5 stars (Excellent Reference Book for the Ashtanga Yoga Poses) - This book strikes me as a first rate reference guide to the 1st and 2nd series of Ashtanga yoga. The heavy stock paper and binding used are high quality, David Swenson is obviously a yoga master, and the poses he models are clear and well illustrated. I would recommend this book as an excellent reference work to support Swenson's Ashtanga yoga DVDs, especially if you have a home practice and do not have access to an Ashtanga yoga teacher on a regular basis. This is my situation, and I personally have found it very helpful in my yoga practice.

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