Breaking out the Books!

Last week, in a burst of impulse shopping inspired by some yoga teacher message boards, I ordered TWO shiny new yoga anatomy books from Amazon.  They arrived in the mail a couple days ago, and I felt like it was Christmas morning!  The first book, Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff, is a heavily illustrated book that I've looked through several times before.  The first two chapters are the best bits of this book.  Chapter one is about breathing and chapter two is about the spine.  There are so many good tidbits in there, and I found this book really illuminating the first time I read it; I clearly never understood the mechanics of pranayama breathing until I saw the pictures in the first chapter.  It's a fun read, and pretty easy to get through.

The second book, Anatomy of Hatha Yoga by H. David Coulter, is more intimidating.  It's a manual for yoga students and teachers, fairly dense, and heavy enough to make a good doorstop.  I've consistently heard two things about this book: it has excellent information and it's very hard to get through.  Most people tell me that it's a really good reference book to have on hand, but I'm not sure if any of my friends have read it cover to cover.

Well, you might be able to guess where this is going.  I wasn't planning on setting any challenges for myself, but I started reading the second book today and I loved it.  So now...

30 Day Reading Challenge - DAY ONE!

Over the next 30 days, I am going to read this book from cover to cover.  I could use a good fun challenge.  And this Coulter book is about 600 pages long, which means I only need to read 20 pages a day, which seems manageable.  I got through 20 pages today and it wasn't too hard at all.  Once I got out my pen and started "interacting" with the text (i.e. scribbling marginalia all over the place), I had a grand old time.  I felt like I was enjoying coffee with a friend named David, a friend who just happened to be an anatomy professor with extensive interest in yoga.

I think this will be good for me.  I like having goals and intellectual stimulation.  Gotta keep myself on top of my game.

Also, this might give me something to blog about, since I've totally been neglecting my blogging lately...