Balancing Acts

Fishman strikes the right balance in her warm-fuzzy debut of rekindled friendship and self-empowerment. When four women who'd gone to college together run into each other at an alumni mixer, an instant bond is formed as Charlie convinces Bess, Naomi, and Sabine to join a beginner yoga class for just the four of them at her Brooklyn yoga studio. During the six weeks of class, the foursome proves to be easy to relate to as each discovers the strength to overcome some obstacle in their life. Bess has hard news aspirations, but is stuck peddling celebrity news at a gossip rag. Single mom Naomi has shuttered her photography career for better-paying Web design work. Sabine has worked at the same publishing house since graduation, shelving her desire to be an author. And though Charlie has taken the leap from her Wall Street career to business owner and yoga instructor, she's weighed down by the hurt left by an ex-boyfriend. It's perfectly adequate if not especially distinguished from the trove of other books of female friendship, bonding, and weathering the vicissitudes of life with a little help from a hobby. (Mar.)