This is an ok book on Kundalini Yoga. It is easy to read, well formatted, and expositional. In the first section things are explained from this schools perception, the second section is all the excercises, the max time to do them, how to pronounce the words (Sanskrit), and usually a clear way on how to do them (first this, then that..then this..repeat). Obviously a lot of time went into its production. There are very nice vegetarian recipes as well - including the recipe for yogi tea.
The mantras for each chakra as given over in other tradions are not used -> instead satnam is. Also, for some of the excercises, the instructions are not as clear as can be (example: the sat kriya is not explained adequately).
After reading this book over again I realized a lot is being said about how to live a healthy lifestyle of which no empirical studies are referenced. When it comes to the philosophies mentioned, I can't read them without putting the book down in disgust, its like out of a fantasy world. Some of what the author says seems more like making her Yogi Bhajan into a god and talking about him, rather than how to reach enlightenment through yoga. Also there are a lot of mindless sayings throughout the book.
Buy at your own risk.

so i heard about kundalini yoga from a friend in my composition class... i'd been practicing meditation for about a year and a half at this time and was looking for something new... I didn't like the life-denying view that some of the schools seemed to take, nor their meditations.

kundalini yoga, as i was informed, and later read, was meant to let you live a life in the body to its fullest potential, using everything, all situations, to your advantage. that's what attracted me to it. that's what attracted me to tantra as a whole.

so i got this book, read it, and was rather disappointed to tell you the truth. the exercises, i will admit, are well detailed. the philosophy behind kunalini yoga is laid out well. all of the mantras are there. but still, something is lacking. other reviewers speak of her free-flowing style, and, while it may seem free-flowing, it clearly isn't. It's nothing at all like reading the works of enlightened masters. rather than clarifying, in my opinion some of the more esoteric aspects of the yoga, she seems to muddy them up a bit. this, perhaps, is because she lacks the depth of insight of someone who has arrived and, therefore, the information she gives on various aspects of kundalini yoga are things that she has read or heard, not things she expereinced firsthand.

to sum it all up, i certainly wouldn't recommend this book. it is, i will admit, good for the body, as the exercises are well-detailed and laid out in an easy-to-read manner. for the mind, though, it is definitely lacking. i would recommend a book by osho called "the book of secrets" for actual meditation methods. combining this one and that could benifit one greatly.

This book is a complete course in Kundalini Yoga. It covers breathing, chanting, the chakra system, plus a wealth of less frequently found information on diet, foot massage, communication, a chapter specific to women, and even some yogic recipes. I especially appreciated the strong focus on spirituality and the analogy of life as a movie. This is not a typical yoga book. It is much deeper and more thorough than any other I've read. The author's sincerity comes across clearly--as does her sense of humor. While reading, I felt as if I had a live yoga teacher right there with me. I will read this book many times.