Review: If you're a true beginner, you may find this useful
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 19, 2013
Full disclosure:  I was alerted by the authors that the book was available for review and was free at that time.I have been practicing Yoga for several years, and take classes on a regular basis.  I am hoping to do Yoga Teacher Training at some point.  For me, Yoga isn't just the asanas (poses).  Yoga is always first about the breath, which is what oxygenates your muscles and helps you to find calmness in your mind.My Yogic journey began 4 years ago when I was around 375 lbs.  I'm lucky enough to live near a Lifetime Fitness gym which features LifePower Yoga.  I was also fortunate to have teachers who were very encouraging, as I was definitely the largest person by far in the classes.  Obviously, I had to make a lot of modifications in my practice and I couldn't do some poses at all.Did the physical practice of Yoga help me lose weight?  Not at that time.  I think it gave me a glimpse at what my body could do.  It helped me slow down and be in the moment, which was very difficult for me.  However, I was going to Yoga classes 5 days a week, and eventually I just burned out and stopped going for about a year.Over the last year, I've lost over 100 lbs.  For me, it came down to having weight loss surgery.  I had pushed my body to a place where nothing else worked.  I was deep in Metabolic Syndrome.  So I had the surgery and was able to finally lose weight. Of course, that helps with the physical part of it, but there will always be the mental part.  I will always be "recovering" from my food addiction.Three months after weight loss surgery, I had to have my ankle rebuilt and could only work out in the pool. I started back to Yoga almost a year after my ankle surgery and have been excited about how much easier it is with 100 lbs gone!  Poses I couldn't do at all before I'm rocking.  I had originally thought I would need to start weight training as well, but I have found that Yoga is enough, because you are lifting and supporting your own body weight.  The definition in my arms and shoulders is pretty amazing.  My quads are getting quite a bit of definition as well.So let's look at what the book claims to do:*What Yoga is and what its main benefits are:  Yes, it does describe this.  I would say it's more of an overview than an in-depth presentation.*How Yoga helps reduce weight.  Can Yoga help you lose weight?  Yes, I believe that it can.  Even though it's not how I lose weight, I can tell you that Yoga will definitely help you want to make better choices in your diet.  Sometimes I get up in the morning and think, okay, if you go to Yoga, you can then go to IHOP or whatever and have pancakes.  But I never do.  Because I feel so good and so at peace after Yoga, I don't need to go stuff myself.  Instead, I want something light, something fresh.*How any woman with a busy schedule can find time to practice Yoga.  Well, without know you personally, I don't think so. We all have 24 hours a day, but we all have different jobs, family lives, etc.  I hope that you can find time to practice.*What are the different Yoga forms and poses and how they induce healthy weight loss.  It does give you a description of each pose and also a link to a YouTube video for further reference.  Here's my issue with this:  The authors didn't do any of the videos I sampled.  If I'm an author presenting a book as a guide for Yoga for weight loss, I think I would do my own videos.  Otherwise, why don't I read the books of the people who did the videos?  Also, I will throw in what I always say about Yoga:  Do NOT start a home practice until you have attended class.  You can't adjust yourself until you develop the muscle memory for the pose.  And you can't know if you're in the pose correctly until a certified Yoga teacher has adjusted you in a class.  Otherwise, you can injure yourself.  On top of that, you won't get the full benefit of the pose.*What a beginner's Yoga routine looks like. See above.*What are relaxation and meditation and how breathing deeply affects your practice of Yoga.  Does Yoga relieve tension and help with stress (and stress does contribute to weight gain)?  Absolutely. If the entire world was doing Yoga, there wouldn't be any wars.  I really do believe that.  Does this book help with that?  Ummmm, a little.  I didn't see more than mention of the word Ujjayi, which is an important type of breathing in Yoga.  They did discuss two other types of breathing (Kapalbati and Anulom Vilom) which are great but I would have focused more on Ujjayi for beginners.What I enjoyed:1.  The discussion of the three main types of Yoga diet.2.  The revelation that hot Yoga is not good for people on stimulants.  I'm so glad they said that, as I am on a stimulant for my ADD, and I found the hot Yoga class to be really awful for me.  This makes sense.3.  The reference section at the back.What I didn't like:1.  A lot of links to other people's work.  Again, why should I listen to you if you can't show me your own work or value?2.  Format.  Poses were all over the place.  I get that they were trying to group them for weight loss, but it made it very disjointed.3.  Again, as with many self-published e-books unfortunately, this is all information I could have found myself by googling it.  Or by reading Yoga Journal.Okay if you're truly new to Yoga, though I would stress going to classes before starting a home practice.  Experienced Yogis/Yoginis will be bored.