Review: Tales from the Yoga Studio by Rain Mitchell

Provided to me by FSB Media in exchange for a review

ISBN #: 978-0-452-29691-6

Page Count: 279

Copyright: 2011

Book Summary:

(Taken from back of book)

The Yoga Studio is where daily cares are set aside, mats are unfurled, and physical exertion leads to well-being, renewal, and friendship.

In Los Angeles, yoga teachers have become celebrities and designer tank tops can cost a small fortune.  Still, many students flock to the relatively unglamorous Edendale Yoga in the hip, out-of-the-way Silver Lake neighborhood.  It's here where Lee uses her extraordinary teaching skills and unusual empathy to help students gain control of their bodies and possibly their lives as well.

But will Lee's students have learned enough from their beloved teacher to help her when she faces financial problems and a marital crisis of her own?

Mandy's Review:

Cover

The cover promotes a sense of peacefulness, friendship and a oneness with others.  I was automatically drawn to this cover when I first received the book and am still drawn to this cover.

Plot

We're all familiar with story lines where there is unity among a group of women (i.e. Sex & the City, Waiting to Exhale, Steel Magnolias), which was portrayed throughout this book.  Though their stories were interwoven, you got a feel for them outside of the group as well.  You understood what brought them together and united them ... other than the Yoga Studio ... =)

Characters

Lee is the teacher at Edendale Yoga.  I found her to be nice, but overly so.  She ignored obvious signs of betrayal because she chose to be "blind."  Purposeful ignorance tends to get on my nerves, especially when it's a woman being purposefully ignorant.

Katherine is Edendale Yoga's masseuse.  She is grateful to Lee for helping her during some rough times.  Katherine is funky and fun, but a little too hard on herself sometimes.  She tends to sabotage any decent relationship that comes her way.  Will she ever be able to get over her past?

Graciela is gorgeous and an excellent dancer.  She winds up at the Yoga Studio due to an injury that she's trying to heal before an audition for a famous singer's video.  Graciela is hard-working and much more tolerable that I would be.  She has poise and appears to be a wonderful friend.

Overall

This was definitely an easy read.  It is geared towards women and promotes women's empowerment.  I would recommend this to women (and possibly men???) who enjoy stories about women's relationships reminiscent of those mentioned above.