How We Live Our Yoga

Starred review from September 10, 2001
This captivating, fresh collection of personal stories provocatively explores the question of "what happens to a practice based on stillness and acceptance, in a world based on striving, distraction and insatiable appetites." More than a dozen yoga practitioners shine light on their own lives to reveal a great breadth of possibilities about the reach of yoga for Americans. Editor Jeremijenko has done fine work pulling together startlingly different lives that are revealed through superior, thoughtful writing. Not all the stories are glowing tributes by any means, which gives this compilation all the more credibility. Fulbright scholar Elizabeth Kadetsky's "Coming Apart in Pune" commences the collection with a less-than-flattering account of a stint in yoga guru B.K.S. Iyengar's studio in India. Indian-American poet Reetika Vazirani's poignant, ironic and hopeful "The Art of Breathing" crystallizes America's variant of yoga, detailing its strengths and weaknesses. For the estimated 15 million Americans who practice yoga, this book is a real boon. It isn't at all about how to do
yoga, but it is about how to comprehend
yoga in a very rich way. Lacking a glossary to explain some terms, this work is not for those with no familiarity with the world of asanas
(poses). But for those with even a cursory knowledge of yoga practice, it proffers a highly interesting, refreshing and deeper gaze at an ancient gift.

September 1, 2001
Most yoga texts instruct readers on how to achieve postures, how to sit during meditation, and so forth. In contrast, the evocative essays assembled in this volume illustrate yoga "off the mat" that is, practicing yoga in daily life. The contributors are practitioner-writers who follow a variety of yoga paths and have published in periodicals and anthologies. They do not shy away from tough subjects: practicing celibacy as a spiritual discipline, the way we subsume cultures without according them their depth, what yoga can teach us about death, and the relationship of yoga to injury, illness, and depression. The voices are strong even when they are unsure, as in essays that question the deification of teachers and gurus. Editor Jeremijenko, a yoga teacher and professor of dance and choreography at Virginia Commonwealth University, presents vital, high-quality, writing that speaks directly. Highly recommended for all public libraries and academic libraries with movement therapy collections. Elizabeth C. Stewart, Portland, ME

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2001
Most American yoga books present photographs of fit people doing asanas, but the physical aspect of yoga is only one facet of a complex and demanding way of life, a truth editor Jeremijenko unveils in this unique and striking collection of personal essays by yoga students and teachers. A discipline aimed at unifying body and mind, yoga appeals to creative people, and Jeremijenko's eloquent contributors include writers, poets, and artists, making for an exceptionally literary as well as a profoundly affecting collection. Here are testimonies to yoga's healing power, including Samantha Dunn's dramatic tale of how yoga helped her recover the use of her shattered leg, and Lois Nesbitt's and Robert Perkins' beautifully composed accounts of how yoga saved them from debilitating depression. Others, including Adrian Piper, Stanley Plumly, Alison West, and Reetika Vazirani, explore the differences between traditional yoga taught in India as a spiritual practice and America's fitness-oriented approach in penetrating essays that question notions about the self, suffering, growth, and one's place in society.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)