Supermodel Turlington, whose angelic face has graced the pages of Vogue, Elle
and other fashion glossies since the 1980s, has lately been lending her image to a more profound pursuit: yoga. The 33-year-old has been practicing yoga for 15 years, has her own yoga clothing line, is a Yoga Journal
contributing editor, and—with the publication of this book—becomes the first mainstream celebrity to write a book about yoga and how it's affected her life. There's a lot to digest here, between the historical and technical explanations about yoga and Eastern philosophy and the anecdotal asides from Turlington's life, but the book's clean, Zen-like layout and simple prose help make it accessible. Turlington's aim is to help students who may be overwhelmed by the unlimited information available on yoga and to emphasize reasons to practice that go beyond getting a nice butt. She attempts to understand yoga's universal spiritual appeal, examining the basics of Hinduism (Turlington is a practicing Catholic), and draws parallels between chanting and saying the rosary. She shares a bit of personal information about her modeling career, her father's death from lung cancer and her relationship with her sisters, and includes the obligatory photographs of her scantily clad self doing salamba sirsasana
(headstand) and bakasana
(crow pose). The combination of serious yoga talk with memoir-like reminiscences make for an engrossing and inspiring overview of yoga. (Oct. 8)
