Kareen Zebroff, happily married mother of three, bestselling author of four books, lecturer-demonstrator, researcher, Yoga and Nutrition expert, organic gardener and health food cook, qualified school teacher, sparkles with good health and joie de vivre. For the seven short years since she first took up Yoga she has changed from tense and brittle to graceful and flexible. Good nutrition practices and the soothing Yoga poses have transformed an overweight housewife with debilitating symptoms of anxiety, irritability and lack of energy, into a relaxed and joyous person. Now she shares her secret with you . . .
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
WHY THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN
After a few months' airing of my T.V. show it became obvious that I should have to write a book. By that time I had received over 2,000 letters requesting information about books and exercises and about how to apply Yoga to the individual's need. Many viewers wrote to say that they did not have the time nor inclination to wade through pages of a philosophical treatise or gushy generalities. They did not want to be sold; all they wanted was a "how-to" sort of book that stated precisely and concisely how to do the various Yoga postures and what their benefits were.
That is exactly what I have attempted to do here. Having, myself, first become acquainted with Yoga through a book, I know exactly what I want to find in such a book and what I could well do without. Here it is easy to find the postures because they are alphabetically arranged; the benefits are stated first, because most people want to know what they will get from their efforts before they start them; the exercises follow an explicit, step-by-step plan to make easier the glancing back at the page for further instruction as one little by little, gets into a position; dos and don'ts guide you in avoiding the most common errors; an exercise schedule plan in the back of the book will suit every individual's need or capacity; and finally, for specific health or appearance worries, a list of exercises suggests an appropriate Yoga exercise to help you overcome your problem.
A purist might easily object here to the westernized version of the Yoga I am describing in this book. But since we are Westerners with an entirely different life-style, life-attitude, life-pace and even physical tradition (we do not squat or sit cross-legged from the time we are toddlers) from the original Yogis of the East, such an objection is merely academic. What the average reader will most be interested in is the question "will it work for me?" My answer to that is an enthusiastic "yes", which has only one condition attached to it: regular practice. Because, whether your problem is tension or weight-control, getting old or lack of energy, sagging muscles or a weak or injured back, sluggish digestive processes or a wrinkled face, you will find that Yoga works for you and works wonders. Can you imagine the sort of letter you would write to your teacher if, after years of futile attempts, your problem suddenly exists no more with the practice of Yoga? That is the sort of grateful testimonial to the art of Yoga I receive daily from my viewers.
I know just what these people are talking about, because three years ago I was twenty pounds overweight and quite depressed. Buried in an isolated northern community with three small children under the age of 5, I was constantly tired. The children seemed to be ill all that year, the company-town was typically clannish and eventually I was full of self-pity. Then my mother wrote, urging me to study Yoga, because she had found it so beneficial to her at a trying time of life.
That is when my life changed. Together with a sensible diet low in carbohydrates, and the Yoga exercises, I dropped the over-weight within 3 months. My energy-level improved one-hundred percent and so did my outlook on life. I became more cheerful and patient with the children, attacked my chores with verve and concentration and looked and felt prettier with improved posture and complexion. My body became firm and streamlined and I lost inches everywhere, particularly in my inherited trouble-spot, the inner thigh. People said I looked years younger. But best of all was my tremendous feeling of vitality, of being ALIVE, of being ME, and liking it. Now, a day that does not include the Headstand, the Shoulder-stand and the Abdominal Lift is not complete.
