Book Review: THREADS OF YOGA by Pamela Seelig

As an occasional yoga participant, I was thrilled to be offered a copy of this book to read and review, hoping it would reignite my passion and commitment to practicing yoga regularly. Scroll down for my complete review.

THREADS OF YOGA

by Pamela Seelig

Published by Shambhala

Publication Date: September 28, 2021

ISBN: 978-1611808797

Description from Publisher: Deepen and enliven your yoga practice with 30 themes based on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras that can inspire on and off the mat. Yoga draws many practitioners because of its physical benefits, but it is often the experience of peace that people return for. Threads of Yoga supports those seeking to learn more about yoga’s deeper spiritual teachings. Each short chapter introduces a foundational yogic theme, such as letting go, the breath, the yamas and the niyamas, and the chakra system. Each theme is accompanied by practices, including meditation, complementary poses, breath work, or quotes to contemplate. It is an ideal guide for both practitioners and teachers who want to connect with the spiritual wisdom of yoga, deepen their personal practice, or develop and support a theme for yoga class.

About the Author: Pamela Seelig is a yoga teacher based in New Jersey. She began her yoga and meditation journey in 1991 when an illness interrupted her Wall Street career. Along with helping recovery, the impact of her meditation led to a lifelong pursuit of perceiving and sharing yogic wisdom through practice, teaching, and writing.

My Review:

During the pandemic, at a time when I most needed yoga, I neglected my practice. When I heard of this book, I selfishly hoped that something within the pages would reignite my desire to hit the mat again. It did, and I am so thankful.

I loved reading this book. I devoured every chapter, page, paragraph, sentence, and word. 

THREADS OF YOGA by Pamela Seelig is packed full of ancient wisdom and presented in a digestible manner for today’s average person. To quote from page two: “Threads of Yoga relies on ancient texts, such as Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, but it isn’t religious or scholarly.”

As with every nonfiction book I read, I started this one by scanning the table of contents, flipping through the pages, and reading the author’s credentials. The table of contents is concise and easy to process. It gives a clear picture of what to expect within the pages of the book. I love that. Flipping through the pages, I noticed there were no pictures or diagrams, but the end of each chapter consistently features practices to explore and consider during your own daily rituals. These contain tips for meditation, physical practice, relaxation, and quotes to contemplate. I look forward to returning to these pages to explore in depth the suggested practices. Regarding the author’s credentials, at first I was concerned, wondering what a former Wall Street career woman could sincerely offer on this topic of yoga, especially when she writes in the introduction: “the present-day perception of yoga is often of a purely physical practice with its associated clothing and accessories.” That rubbed me a bit wrong, thinking that is a mindset for the rich and affluent but not your average yoga practitioner. Who knows? Maybe I’m wrong. But the fact of the matter is that regardless of Seelig’s background and former career on Wall Street, she has put in the time (many years) studying and researching “ancient yogic wisdom.” She is a talented writer, and her knowledge is evident on every page. 

This is definitely a book I will read again, and again, utilizing it as a resource manual, a daily meditative guide, and reminder to check myself. Where am I on my path? I’m I heading intentionally in the direction I want? Am I being kind to myself? Do I need to realign and balance myself?

My only criticism of the book is I wish it had pictures and diagrams. I am not an expert at yoga, and so pictures of poses would have been helpful. Likewise, pictures of the mudras would make it easier to practice them. While I am familiar with chakras, diagrams would help drive home the relevance of the content.

There are so many valuable nuggets within this book, I suggest buying your own personal copy and mark it up as you read – mark it with Post-it flags, highlighters, and penciled-in notes. Then read it again.

If you have friends you practice yoga (on any level) this book would make a perfect Christmas present.

[I received a copy of this book from FSB Associates in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion.]