Yoga remains a popular pursuit for people of all ages, and veteran sportswriter and journalist John Capouya is among the committed devotees. With his Real Men Do Yoga: 21 Star Athletes Reveal Their Secrets for Strength, Flexibility and Peak Performance, the author provides a readable and well-illustrated guide to yoga practice. The ostensible “guy hook” here comes by way of testimonials from high-profile jocks such as Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George, New York Mets pitcher Al Leiter, all-star forward Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves and many others, all of whom endorse yoga as a serious adjunct athletic regimen that enhances flexibility, improves balance, helps prevent injury, increases breath support and relieves stress. “Regular” guys chime in as well truck drivers, restaurateurs, architects, etc. giving witness to yoga’s role in general fitness and mind-body awareness. Besides a rundown of basic yoga poses and how to achieve them, the text also offers sport-by-sport workouts, material on meditation (for the guy who strives to go “deeper within”), and a chapter on yoga’s positive impact on one’s sex life. Capouya’s own New York City-based yoga guru Michael Lechonczak serves as consultant to this earnest volume.
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
