SNEWS -- Athlete’s Guide to Yoga

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Athlete’s Guide to Yoga

Posted: 01/14/2008 In Category(s): Reviews :: Book Reviews

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By: Sage Rountree
Publisher: VeloPress
ISBNs: 1-934030-04-X, 978-934030-04-2

We’re not sure how much more we can say about this book, except we athletes on the SNEWS® team just simply love it.

Somehow Sage Rountree has managed to maintain her yogic voice – or enough of it to keep some authenticity, which she has by leaps and bounds – while also toning it down just enough to speak directly to an athlete, which she also is by leaps and bounds. Even the cover says YOGA while also saying ATHLETE in its choice of colors, clothing and style – straightforward without all the frou-frou and implied incense-burning and ohmmm of yoga that could turn off some athletes.

Get this: The photos are also of real athletes in sometimes less-than-perfect poses. And an athletic reader can identify with the attempt to do the hip-openers and hamstring-lengtheners – with that little bit of grimace and strain the models sometimes let sneak out. No, it ain’t all comfy and cozy, but isn’t that authentic too?

The beauty of this book for athletes is how she can use the training terminology (mesocycles, for example) and speak to training needs since she herself is a triathlete and runner. She knows exactly where you get tight and why, what it feels like before and after certain workouts, the difficulties of combining a good yoga practice with hard training, and what’s realistic or not for an athlete.

A reader will even find sample training schedules – real athletic schedules – that include yoga in a manageable way. You’ll also find suggested routines for athletes that hit particular weak spots known to athletes. You’ll even catch her saying, look, if you can’t do anything else, try to fit in this one pose each day.

The only thing we wish is that the cover were a more pliable material. It’s impossible to open the book and let it lie flat to refer to while doing a pose or suggested routine.

Along with being a long-time yoga teacher, Rountree is a certified coach for USA Triathlon and USA Cycling and has herself raced distances from 5K to a half-Ironman. You can see her in action on a 15-minute DVD with warm-up and cool-down routines included with the book. On that she also shows modifications.

SNEWS® Rating: 5.0 hands clapping (1 to 5 hands clapping possible, with 5 clapping hands representing functional and design perfection)

Suggested Retail: $22

For more information: www.velopress.com

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