The Woman's Book of Yoga and Health is the first comprehensive book about women's health issues and how to treat them with yoga. The authors offer a complete yoga program for general health as well as pose sequences that address specific health problems--all in the Iyengar tradition, which targets health needs more than other forms of yoga. For example, in the first part of the book, Patricia Walden has organized three chapters showing yoga poses with clear instructions that tell how to get into each pose and describe its benefits: chapter one is the Essential Sequence for all women, and includes modifications for people who cannot or should not do all the poses; chapter two is the Restorative Sequence for stress relief and relaxation; chapter three contains advanced poses that energize and tone.

The second part is presented in four sections that broadly represent the stages of a woman's life: teen years and early twenties, later twenties and thirties, midlife, and wisdom years. Each section contains chapters offering specific information about a particular health issue from author Linda Sparrowe, as well as sequences of yoga poses from Patricia Walden that address the problem. For example, the back care chapter includes information about common back problems and their causes (scoliosis, arthritis, lordosis, sciatica, kyphosis, among others) with an emphasis on: emotional and psychological roots of some back problems; physiological information about the spine and back muscles; general information about how yoga addresses different areas of the back; and finally, Patricia Walden's sequences of poses that target different back problems with the goal of not only relieving back pain but of strengthening, and healing old injuries and misalignments.

Sections of the book include:

- Teens and Early 20s: Eating disorders, menstrual health, immune support
- 20s and 30s: Back care, pregnancy, headaches
- Midlife: Depression, menopause, digestion
- Wisdom Years: Osteoporosis, postmenopause, the heart

The final section of the book includes listings of yoga centers, instructional videos, yoga equipment, and where to go for more information about yoga.

Author: Linda Sparrowe, Patricia Walden
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Shambhala
Published: 12/03/2002
Pages: 352
Weight: 2.66lbs
Size: 10.82h x 8.40w x 0.97d
ISBN: 9781570624704


Review Citation(s):
USA Today 12/09/2002 pg. 1
Booklist 12/15/2002 pg. 716
Library Journal 01/01/2003 pg. 144
Library Journal 01/15/2003

About the Author
JUDITH HANSON LASATER has taught yoga since 1971. She holds a doctorate in East-West psychology and is a physical therapist. Dr. Lasater is the president emeritus of the California Yoga Teachers Association, and is one of the founders of Yoga Journal magazine.

She trains yoga teachers in asana, kinesiology, yoga therapeutics, and the Yoga Sutras, and she leads workshops and retreats throughout the US and abroad. She is a pioneer in the teaching and practice of Restorative yoga.

Dr. Lasater writes extensively about yoga. Her feature articles, columns, and essays appear in numerous books, magazines, and anthologies. She is the author of ten books on yoga, including Relax and Renew, Restore and Rebalance, Yogabody, 30 Essential Yoga Poses, Living Your Yoga, among others.