Helen Breckenridge

I was disappointed with this book. I had hoped for a Pilates book that I could easily carry with me when travelling. I was very excited to have an ebook with my favorite exercises in it. Unfortunately it is not illustrated and try as I might I could not figure out the instructions. I even asked others if they could interpret for me. (ie: "Lie face down on the mat. Bend your elbows on your sides and place them under your shoulders.") If this is clear to you then I am being too harsh. I even got another Pilates book that I own to see if I could figure out what was being asked. Parts of this book read as if written by an English language learner. Plurals in strange places and verbs that don't match the subject and oddly used prepositions. I received this ebook as a gift in exchange for my honest review. I'm sorry I wasn't able to speak more highly of it.… (meer)

Helen Breckenridge presents the fusion of Pilates and Yoga in a short ebook which I must assume is NOT for beginners of either art. As a person who has been a student of Pilates for several years. I was appalled NOT to see diagrams or photograph of the steps of each exercise which would have guided a student beyond the didactics (which are accurate). For the Yoga portion I would also have like a graphic depiction to accompany the description of the various poses. (I'm sure that these are available on the web - but this is a handbook- so put it all in. (I'm pretty sure I could pull of the corps pose in a pinch!). This is a nice first try for the more advanced students of both Yoga and Pilates and might provide a certified instructor good material, Having seen the importance of exact body movements required to maximize the benefits of Pilates, I would minimally suggest more didactics on the importance of form for Pilates as well as graphical depictions. Since this book deals solely with mat work (no reformers here), Breckenridge may also want to advise that Yoga practitioners use a Pilates Mat.… (meer)

A short but jam packed little book of pilates and yoga moves. There is some advice about how to use pilates to lose weight and a section for beginners. All of the poses and moves are clear and easy to understand. It would be a handy little book for anyone wanting to extend their own pilates routine by cherry picking a few of these techniques and adding them in.

For beginners, however, the absence of pictures or video links to YouTube for a visual description of the poses may be a drawback. It would be useful to have pictures for each movement so that you would have a better idea of what it should look like. I have a feeling that having no images or visual aids in this book will be a disappointment to many buyers and it would personally put me off buying a book of this nature.

I received a copy via librarything in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)