yoga for warriors

By: Beryl Bender Birch
Edited date: November 9, 2022Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

While searching for new reading material to hone my teaching skills, I came across Yoga for Warriors. As a new yoga teacher and military spouse, my interest was piqued by this book. Yoga for Warriors bridges the seemingly large gap between military and yoga community. Many yoga teachers may be approached by military students in search of peace of mind, restoration and healing in an alternative manner, and this book is an excellent guide for those students.

The first half of the book frames yoga in a way that is familiar to military community. Birch goes into explicit detail about how to get started and the foundation of yoga. Birch constantly encourages the reader that yoga is a journey and to leave frustration at the door. Birch covers injuries, PTSD and other ailments common in the military. It should be noted, Birch uses service members of varying ages, abilities and backgrounds to demonstrate most of the postures in the second half of the book. The photography is well done, and the reader is provided with a short bio of each service member shown. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, perfect for adding to the reader’s verbal queuing or the beginning yogi. Birch offers plenty of modifications for each posture presented. This book continues to remind the reader that strength, resilience and peace of mind all take time. Her reminders to remain “at ease” or gentle with oneself is constant. In the final sections of the book, Birch presents the reader with meditation.

Yoga for Warriors is a heartfelt and powerful resource for anyone within the military. I stumbled across this book and can’t believe it hasn’t gotten more buzz. Beryl Birch writes an excellent book that breaks down yoga basics for those accustomed to military lifestyles and terminology. She continually connects the heart, mind and body in a down to earth and easy to understand manner. It’s a straight forward, clear and easy read and a MUST for anyone with a military background looking to get into yoga.

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