3 out of 4 stars
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I have heard of Yoga for many years but have not bothered to find out what it is all about. I almost concluded that Yoga is for unique people until I read the journal Nora Santini: Engineer and Yogini. This is a children's book written by T.J. Horton and published in 2018. This book has rightly introduced children to the practice of Yoga. Yoga has been described as the movement of the body into a certain shape. The particular shape is called a pose. It has been established that there is a pose for everything. The body can, therefore, be transformed into the shape of an aeroplane, a mermaid or a mountain. Making of different poses has been referred to as practice.
Different types of poses have been explained and demonstrated. To do the butterfly pose, one has to sit on the floor with knees bent. The bottom of the feet is brought together and then the legs are flapped like butterfly wings. This process starts slowly and then the leg-wings are flapped faster and faster. The eyes are closed and the one practising imagines to be a butterfly soaring. Among the various poses are the flamingo, mountain waterfall, runner, dolphin, etc. Each of the poses has been designed for a particular situation. The various poses have also been put under different classifications such as the sun salutation, the garden poses and the group poses also known as Agro-Yoga.
I see this book as an introduction to the practice of Yoga. Various poses have been explained and further demonstrated with clear illustrations. Yoga has been simplified, and it is easy for individuals to practice it on their own without coaching. Readers are trained to appreciate the importance of each of the poses and their meaning. It is not only the physical body that is trained but the mental faculty through meditation. I see Yoga as a discipline because it commits the practitioners to a routine behaviour which becomes part of their lives. The poses are done with determination. The elements of the practice of Yoga have been fairly explained and demonstrated.
It is easy for children to read this book because the font sizes are visible. There are clear diagrams showing the various demonstrations. Children wouldn't need a dictionary in the reading process because the words and sentences are within their comprehension. There are few rhyming words which will improve children's literature. The contents are interspersed with the academic story of the main character making it more entertaining. Advance vocabulary has been explained and clearly demonstrated. The author has a good command over the English language. She has written this book with impeccable grammar. This book is highly recommended for both children and adults. Unfortunately, the lazy type may not like the various Yoga poses.
However, I realized there was poor capitalization of words and sentences. The upper and lower cases have been mixed together, and children may take this as a normal way of writing. If the author has employed a special way of writing it should be specified so readers may know exactly what to expect.
Although I am impressed by the work done by T. J Horton, I had to remove one star from her ratings because I see the limitations above as significantly undermining this piece of work. I hope she will fix this and present the book for another review. I, therefore, rate her book Nora Santini: Engineer and Yogini 3 out of 4 stars.
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Nora Santini: Engineer and Yogini
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