Review of Yoga for Stuttering: Unifying the Voice, Breath, Mind & Body to Achieve Fluent Speech, by J.M. Balakrishnan
I have been taking Yoga for about five years now, and have found it a very enjoyable form of exercise. Whereas I normally avoid going to the gym, yoga has held my interest for quite some time now and although I still cannot do a headstand or bend backwards all the way I have notice progress. That is why I was excited to see this book, Yoga for Stuttering. Although skeptical, I ordered it mainly out of curiosity.
The introduction to the book describes how these exercises helped a friend of the author control stuttering. The text describes some of the traditional yoga moves that open the chest and airway, such as "upward dog", a move that involves lying on your stomach on the floor and pushing up the front of your body with your arms. The exercises are not explained very well, and the photographs don’t always match the explanations. This book would be difficult for someone who did not already have knowledge of the yoga positions to do them correctly. I think that constant practice of these exercises would probably improve the quality of one's voice and airflow, but not impact their stuttering.
I would recommend Yoga practice for anyone as it helps with flexibility, strength and relaxation. It might indirectly have a small effect on your speech, but I see no indication that it is in any way a treatment for stuttering. Nice try though!