Review: Substantial content makes this a solid contender in Yoga books
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 4, 2014
Before we begin on this review, something to remember: this is #2 in a series (the first wasn't free at the time of download so why I'm reviewing this first), and the word Intermediate in the title (some of these poses will be challenging to someone completely new to Yoga and the book by titling itself Intermediate, warns you of this).This book has substantial content and for that alone I am giving it a high grade, especially as I received it as a free download and generally you don't get this time of thoroughness except in a published book for purchase. Even at a purchase price this would be a good solid book for someone to learn more about Yoga positions, sequences and how to gain its benefits in flexibility and strength.History of Yoga and beginning a Yoga practice is covered in the beginning with a segue into how Yoga affects the glands and hormones. While I believe Yoga does a lot of things to make my life better, and I found this area of the book interesting, I would have liked just a little bit more references here (she does give hyperlinks to quoted material throughout the book and I do appreciate that greatly, a just bit more here please).Yoga poses are broke into three categories: Relaxation, Stamina and Balance. There is a fat burning sequence at the end. Each pose (asana) is gone into depth on what to look for, issues you may have, some variations are offered and almost all have at least one photo showing the pose.A weak area here in the book is that most people who are over 30 pounds overweight would find many of these Asanas difficult to do without a prop. She does offer a few suggestions at the end of each Asana but no photo showing how to do the accommodation. There are also no health warnings that I found (i.e. migranes, high blood pressure, heart, liver etc...) which may be issues for overweight readers, especially those who have not been on a consistent exercise program prior to this.The section of Yoga and eating I feel is probably the weakest area of the book. She has written other books primarily on diet/nutrition so perhaps this subject is covered more fully in them or the first book in this series, however, for a book aimed at weight loss, discussing food (selection, meal planning, emotional eating alleviated by meditation, etc...) would have improved the book's purpose.The eating areas cover the idea that certain food burns more fat, something I am not sold on. Neither am I sold on the Paleo diet/fad (which would be against some vegetarian/vegans ideas I would think).  Breathing and meditation are also covered briefly but pretty thoroughly. Near the end is a summary of pose sequences which are pretty standard.Overall, this book offers substantial content that is covered in a very thorough fashion by someone who is passionate about Yoga. If you have read the first book, or another beginner Yoga book this would be a good step up for more details and information.Reviewed by Cinnabarys.com