Member Reviews
I think those who will get the most out of this book are yoga teachers, practitioners, and even beginners. There are tons of tips and poses.
Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced e-reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Yoga for Healing
This collection of short essays about the power of yoga to heal and transform is written by a multitude of people covering a diversity of human experience: male, female, and transgender; gay and straight; white people as well as those of color; people of size, etc. The thread that ties these people and this book together is that the people have experienced some form of trauma—whether outright physical or emotional trauma or something more insidious—and have found healing and reintegration through yoga. Sometimes, the essays are intensely personal, sharing the trauma to help illuminate the future healing. As such, if you have experienced traumas like sexual assault or physical abuse, you might find some essays hard to read. If, however, you can do so, you might find a pathway to healing that could help. The essays are all relatively short and offer insights to the author's personal pain or struggles as well as universal takeaways that could be helpful to anyone. All in all, I found this to be a fantastic book that oozes self-acceptance, self-love, warmth, and understanding.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed these short essays about how yoga helped people recover from trauma, addiction and loss. I also appreciate the essay cautioning people to be careful not to become obsessed with yoga, there can be a fine line.. I would imagine people for whose addiction and mental health issues lead to yoga, it can become a compulsion.
Yoga teachers and those who practice yoga will enjoy this book!
This book contains a collection of essays focusing on how people used yoga to heal. There are sections on addiction, healing pain, loss, identity issues and family. People shared their vulnerabilities and journeys with yoga; however, the essays seemed too short to allow a connection. As a hug fan of yoga, enjoyed reading about the role yoga played in their life. It was a gentle reminder that I need to make more time for yoga in my life.
This book also contains meditation sections which would be best in audio format.
Overall, I would have preferred fewer longer essays.
Thank you Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I learned a long time ago that, in collections of essays like this, some will resonate and others will not. Bearing this in mind, I'm choosing to rate the book based on how many essays did resonate, and four stars is about perfect.
This is a very, very good book. I don't give a lot of thought to trauma in my life because, generally, I don't see my life as traumatic. This collection, however, gave me new insight into my experiences as a: divorced woman; a struggling single mother; an overweight child and adult; a person who has had depression and anxiety issues for most of her life; the child of an abusive parent; the child of a single mother who frequently struggled for money. Though these aren't the worst forms of trauma a child could experience - in fact, I feel pretty lucky for my upbringing - they all leave a mark.
The essays in <i>Embodied Resilience Through Yoga</i> showed me the ways in which thirty people, many with experiences similar to my own, others who experienced much stronger hardships, have used yoga to cope and to heal from trauma in their lives. I enjoy yoga; it feels good and leaves me relaxed. I've never found it to be cathartic, as these writers have, but now I'm intrigued. Can yoga help me process the experiences that are exacerbating my emotional struggles today? I plan to find out.
Many thanks to the authors and editors, Llewellyn Worldwide, and NetGalley for sharing an ARC of this fabulous book!
As much as I learned through reading this book, the most powerful lesson I gained was that everyone deserves access to the potential life-changing tools of yoga. Not all of the stories had a major impact on me, but many of them allowed me to challenge my views of myself, my experiences, and how I view yoga.
A full link to my review can be found here
https://medium.com/@cityofdeedee/book-review-embodied-resilience-through-yoga-30-mindful-essays-about-finding-empowerment-after-4c6965ad9793