Awakening the Spine: Yoga for Health, Vitality and Energy

Lovely book with unique photos and history of yoga; wonderful tribute to Vanda Scaravelli as an inspiration to us all. I will be purchasing more as gifts for special friends.

Gorgeous book for every yoga devotee or people just looking to improve their posture.

I loved the illustrations, I loved the author's discussion of the various parts of the body and breath that yoga deals with, I loved her discussion of early studies with Iyengar and Desikachar, and her own development of a non-aggressive approach to yoga asanas. The illustrations are inspired, and the author, a highly cultured Italian woman, musician, and yoga teacher, brings a refreshing European approach to the study of yoga, which has been watered down by so many western gym bunnies and rats, who seem to be unaware of the spiritual underpinnings of yoga, or who so often fake a kind of pseudo-spirituality. Warning: it's not a textbook, it's not a how-to, it's a why-to.

It never really tells you anything in particular, it’s mostly opinion. Literally teaches you nothing, except a few poses toward the end of the book. If it was trying to be philosophical, it failed. The only thing it’s good for is passing time, and occasionally making you think a little bit. Also comes off slightly negative at times, in my opinion. If you’re having to read it for yoga training or anything, I highly suggest borrowing it if possible. It is not worth buying, unless you’ve read it and truly enjoy it enough to own it. Toward the end of the book is the best part of the book.

I suggest you read the one-star reviews for earlier editions of this book. They are accurate. The book is fluff - pretty, to be sure - but fluff nonetheless.

Why is this book so expensive? It's the second edition!

Es un libro muy interesante y completo. No tengo el anterior pero esta edición me parece genial.Visualmente es muy entretenido ya que incluye muchas fotografías con relación a los temas que van tratando

This is a true gem, infused with a sincere love for the practice, a love that is communicated through her words and inspires one to commit, or recommit to yoga. An absolute must read.

O livro é muito interessante. Mas dependendo do estilo que pratica ou do nível que o leitor está não conseguirá entender bem o que a autora diz...

Vanda Scaravelli's book makes an exposition of yoga as an art. There is an innate rhythm to everything in the universe. The trees, the birds, the planets in outer space all move according to their rhythm. Yoga, as spoken about in this book, is about coming in touch with the rhythms of our own bodies and psyches, and live with the grace, ease and spontaneity that is present everywhere in nature. The centre of this way of being, and the movement that arises from it, both psychic and physical, is the spine. Yoga elongates the spine, opening up its suppressed spaces, and makes room for a way of being in the body that is more open, alive, sensitive. Without explicitly discussing the energy body, Scaravelli teaches a way of practicing yoga that enlivens it.This is not a book of instruction on how to do particular yogic exercises. It is rather a book on a particular way of being, which it expresses through many poetic and philosophical passages on the body, and through many photographs. At the same time, this way of being certainly has effects on one's physical and psychological health. Anybody interested in yoga as a way of life, rather than only as exercise, will be helped by it.

plus que le yoga même ou les postures l'intérêt vient de la philosophie de l'auteuret du témoignage de certaines rencontres;