Hanson Lasater - The Essential Guide to Skillful Hands-On Assists and Verbal Communication

One of the most enjoyable things about writing a book is having the chance to formally thank the many people who have helped me to create it.

First, I would like to acknowledge with deep appreciation the students from all over the world who have studied with me since 1971. You have allowed me the privilege of teaching you. You have allowed me to show you some new and sometimes unusual approaches to yoga practice. You have laughed at jokes that were only sometimes funny. But best of all, you have stuck with me through all the ups and downs of your lives and mine, returning to classes after many life events.

I have learned so much from you. Manyif not allof the things I caution the readers of this book to avoid I have learned by not avoiding them when I was teaching you. I offer a deep and abiding Namaste for your patience, your sense of humor, and your dedication to this yoga we all love so well.

I would like to thank my team at Shambhala Publications, beginning with my editor, Beth Frankl. She has been a great companion as we shaped and refined this book. This is our second book together, but I certainly hope it will not be our last.

I also want to acknowledge all the others at Shambhala who contributed time and attention to this book: Samantha Ripley, assistant editor; Cannon Labrie, copy editor; Gopa &Ted2, Inc., interior designer; Adria Batt, marketing manager; and Katelin Ross, publicity manager. I will think of you every time I see the book.

A warm thank-you to Meg ODonnell, who modeled for the drawings and also served as the art director on set. It would be hard to find someone easier to work with than Meg. Our photographer was Joe Hanneken, a special person in my life and a patient and helpful photographer. Joe, you make everything better.

This is the second book I have written where I have worked with illustrator extraordinaire Wren Polansky. I am continually delighted to see how she turns the photographs and incomplete drawings I send her into works of art. Thank you, Wren, for the beauty you gave this project.

I additionally would like to thank those people who I do not know nor will never meet: those involved in the printing, shipping, distributing, and selling of this book. Without you, there would be no book.

I want to enthusiastically thank my high school journalism teacher from San Antonio, Texas, Bobbi Abbott, who taught me what it is to write a clear sentence. Im still working on that, Miz Abbott. But please know I will keep trying. Know also how much I appreciate you for your competence, your humor, and your fierce dedication to teaching. You will always have my admiration.

And nothing in my life, neither my teaching nor my books, would have any real meaning without my family: my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren. Collectively and individually, you make my life sweet.