A lot can happen in 8 years – this is a revision of the 2011 first version of this classic work. Indeed 8 years ago I was just starting to explore Yoga and my first acquaintance with Yin Yoga was six months away.
One thing we learn in Yoga is impermanence, everything changes over time, and thats very much true of our Yoga practices and our understanding around them. The time was thus ripe for this work to be updated.
The full title is “The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga – Philosophy and Practice” and the strap line adds “Revised edition with updates and expanded practices, postures, props and photos” – does it live up to this?
Yes, it does, in my view. Honestly, if you have one book on the shelf about Yin Yoga, you could do a lot worse than this one. Its well laid out with logical headings including, inevitably, a comprehensive illustrated section on 25 main Yin poses, with a slight evolution from the first edition – Camel is out, Supported Bridge is in (good call). There are also comprehensive sections on the Physical, Energetic and Psycho-Emotional aspects of Yin Yoga, some suggested flows (all things are relative).
Clark is a prolific author – see my reviews of Your Body, Your Yoga and Your Spine Your Yoga – which is just some of his work, and in his typical fashion you get a lot of detail in his books yet presented accessibly in such a way that you can dip easily into the bits you need.
For me reading this book was a refresher on the practices I both teach and use personally – not to relearn them, as my own approach won’t change wholesale, but as a chance to come back closer to the source (a loose concept in Yin Yoga), and get a reminder of the key concepts. I had read the first edition several times, and I am sure this revised edition will be coming on and off my book shelf.
This book is, in my view, suitable for experienced practitioners of Yin Yoga, those new to it, and those anywhere in between. It is a marvellous and clear resource.
You can buy The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga in the Yinspire Rowborough retail area (once re-open), or from Amazon
