Book Review The Yoga Diaries: Stories of Transformation Through Yoga (Volume I)
The Yoga Diaries: Stories of Transformation through Yoga is a comprehensive collection of powerful personal stories by yogis from all over this big blue ball we share. The richly varied personal stories are written in the writers’ own voices, allowing us to intimately connect with their experiences.
I responded deeply to many stories, ranging from a person using yoga for rehabilitation after a car crash, to addressing addiction and PTSD in part through practice. The writers are brutally truthful about themselves ad they aptly capture the range of profound feelings and shifts that occur.
Contributor Bridget Lyons describes her yogic journey in the beginning as, “These folks chant in Sanskrit, but whatever, my back feels better,” to the gradual yet dramatic shift of deeply believing that, “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a gift to be celebrated.”
The editor, Jeannie Page, is no stranger to the power of yoga. She escaped the dot-com world and transformed her life into one of joy through yoga. As she explains in the preface, “when one maintains a regular practice . . . magic begins to flow into your life and synchronicity abounds.” If you’re feeling stuck or want to dive into a collective confirmation that yoga can heal the world, this book offers a rich and reply moving opportunity to be inspired.
Reviewed by Jule Hale, LMFT, RYT, a psychotherapist and yoga teacher with a private practice who teaches classes and leads retreats. JulieHale.net
