There are two books I’d like to bring to your attention, both have different subjects – in fact one is non-fiction and the other fiction. However, while each subject is not new they depart from the expected norm and this is what I found welcome; had they not they may have stayed in the dusty ‘unread’ shelf of my library.
The first, the non-fiction, is titled Kitchen Yoga, “off-the-mat” yoga for people who have no time, by Ruth Shaw, a youthful, lithe lady whose bright appearance epitomizes that of a healthy, happy practitioner. Yoga has always attracted me because I believe the practice of it feeds the areas of our body which rarely get but seriously need a good work-out. Our normal activities scarcely cause our bodies to reach a satisfactory level of exertion or stretching that will improve or even retain our health.
However, as much as I believed yoga was desirable two aspects kept me from involvement. Firstly, after a hard day’s work I did not want to take yoga classes in a gymnasium or hall, dragging my mat to and from the car, especially in the winter – and I’d probably be the only guy among a bunch of girls from 15 to 90 – not that I look great in leotards anyway. Secondly I was not attracted to the usual pantheistic and spiritual aspect of yoga and that seemed to be an integral part of the classes I tried attending previously.
What Kitchen Yoga does is remove both of those aspects I found undesirable: It doesn’t require me to adhere to a spiritual dimension and it allows me to work out at home, when I want to and for how long I want to, whether it be an hour or five minutes. I don’t have to do it with the tv at 7 a.m. nor follow an instructor for an hour. I do it in my kitchen for 5 minutes before work while I wait for my coffee, utilizing the counter, chair or table. I can do it in my office or bedroom and even when I travel using some removable novel cards each depicting an exercise shown in the full book.
The superbly illustrated and well-printed full-size book displays excellent photographs of all exercises to guide the reader, lists the benefits of each pose, with precise instructions for correct breathing which is so important in yoga. Sore back, knees or shoulders? Here are exercises and poses that will help -- your mobility will increase, and as you learn to breathe correctly the benefits will improve your quality of life.
Order through
www.ruthshawyoga.com. A bargain at $29.95 Canadian, well worth it.
The fiction is entitled “The Shack” by Wm. Paul Young. This is a riveting story I just could not put down. This is spiritual but in a beautiful way removes the reader from the clichéd dogmatic religious pomp so frightening to many these days. I believe the usual strict dogma is damaging, with the church and man-made doctrines so far-removed from the truth, using guilt and fear to control. It is no wonder our society is in an undeniable moral decline.
This may be just what you are looking for if you yearn for a spiritual void to be filled. It is gentle, humorous, poetical, wonderfully and engagingly descriptive and will take you through every emotion while answering some of the questions you have always asked. If you are receptive it will leave you very satisfied but wanting more.
Do read it. You won’t want it to end.
www.theshackbook.com. $15.99 Canadian, a steal.
Michael is a freelance writer in Toronto. 
