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Preface

As women, we are all seeking a way to achieve good health and inner peace in a world that is charged with tension and anxiety. Throughout my many years of taking and teaching yoga classes, I have found that the skills and understandings of this ancient tradition can be especially helpful in leading us to that goal.

I have also found that yoga is best learned in small increments, a little at a time. Seen as a gradual process, an unfolding, the stress of gaining immediate results is diminished and the learning process becomes an end in itself, providing an abundance of joyful self-discovery and new insights. For that reason I have chosen to present A Woman’s Book of Yoga in a journal format because accomplishments derived from the study of yoga are very subtle and can be easily lost or not completely understood unless they are recorded for future comparison. Also, writing in a journal is an extremely useful tool because it will enable you to become aware of new accomplishments gained from each practice session.

All of the information that you will need for your study has been presented in a logical step-by-step progression of new ideas and concepts. Because the concepts are at first unfamiliar to those of us who are accustomed to living in a Western culture, I have designed this book to encourage you to interact with these new ideas in a way that will make them readily understandable and relevant to your daily life. If you use it as a journal and on a regular basis, it will become an aid to self-discovery by giving you a chance to pause and reflect on past experiences and future goals. It should be perceived as a constantly available source that you can use whenever you wish to record your many new experiences.

Willingness to participate fully in the study of yoga can also open channels of personal growth that lead to a sense of well-being on many different levels. Many yoga students gradually develop deeper understandings that allow them to become free of the negative demands of our competitive society. The values of harmony within nature and a sense of love and unity may slowly replace the desires for materialistic gain.

It is my hope that A Woman’s Book of Yoga will afford you many hours of pleasure and become a source of inspiration to help you on your path of self-fulfillment and discovery.