I’ll be absolutely honest. The cover of Barking Buddha: Simple Soul Stretches For Yogi and Dogi cracks me up. Author Brenda Bryan demonstrates three different Hatha-based yoga poses with her pooches, Honey and Gus. Completely carefree, the two canines look perfectly natural beside Bryan as she demonstrates her own version of poses cleverly named Xtra Angle Triangle Floating Dog and Puppy Paw Mudra.

Appealing to animal lovers from around the world, the Yoga Teacher and licensed Massage Therapist teaches her Barking Buddha Dogma classes in Seattle while training others and traveling to give demos to people in nearby cities and states. With her devoted partners by her side, Bryan is photographed in a variety of poses. Members of her classes are also featured with their four-legged friends.

Divided into chapters titled Gratitude, Unconditional Love, Perspective, Focus, Joy, Inspiration, Faith, Ease, Encouragement, Liberation, Divinity, Play and Letting Go, Barking Buddha combines inspirational quotes with useful advice and photographs to form a truly unique book for dog-lovers near and far.

Offering proven physical and psychological benefits for both human and man’s best friend, Bryan notes that the stretches featured in the book can help older dogs improve muscular skeletal health and aid in hip dysplasia. Humans focus on flexibility and improved cardiovascular control, thus increasing their fitness levels and reducing copious amounts of stress.

A very short read that serves as a reference guide for Yogi and Dogi, Barking Buddha is a new release from Skipstone, an imprint of Mountaineers Books. Bryan has been featured in The New York Times in a story titled “Bonding with Their Downward-Facing Humans.” The photographer for her book, Bev Sparks, specializes in photographing dogs. She has completed work for numerous publishers, ad agencies, greeting card companies and non-profits, as well as on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Noting that it is alright to pamper your pooch, Bryan’s life work started with a few awkward yoga classes which eventually allowed her to carve out a niche and tap the market in the most enlightened way possible.