The Complete Book of Yoga & Meditation for Pregnancy
This is a useful resource for the practice of Hatha Yoga during the perinatal period. It focuses primarily on poses, breathing exercises, and meditations, providing easy-to-follow written and photographic instructions. The book is unusually thorough in its directions for individual poses, including explanations of mental and physical benefits, safety precautions, pose variations, breathing instructions, and Sanskrit names. Jamieson, who holds degrees in traditional and herbal medicine, runs a healing sanctuary in Australia, and teaches prenatal yoga, here includes poses typically omitted from more cautious treatments. This is a fun book, rich in detail and background, with birth stories, techniques for dealing with pain, and historical and cultural background. The author's holistic approach will not match that of many readers, but this does not compromise the book's clarity or credibility. This is not, however, a complete treatment of the subject, the title notwithstanding. Although it is more comprehensive than other perinatal yoga books on the market, many aspects of yoga and many poses are not covered. Recommended for public libraries.DNoemie Maxwell, Seattle Midwifery Sch., WACopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.