My favourite Books on Yoga #1
There are so many great books on yoga out there and I would like to share my favourites with you. I generally think that you should learn yoga from a teacher in person but books can be a great way to get some additional information. Moreover finding a yoga school where you can learn asana is quite easy but finding someone who can teach you the philosophy part can be rather difficult - so it is very handy to fall back on books.
Also svadhyaya (self study = studying the ancient texts but also study your own self) is mentioned as one of the niyamas (recommended activities and habits for healthy living, spiritual enlightenment and liberated state of existence) in ashtanga yoga - so reading and studying books is a part of the yoga journey.
The Art of Vinyasa
by Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor
An amazing book on ashtanga yoga asana as a form of meditation in motion. Every asana comes with an explanation of form, alignment, anatomy and with and great photos. The authors share their holistic approach on yoga. I highly recommend this book for beginners and advanced practicioners alike.
The Mirror of Yoga
by Richard Freeman
Richard Freeman gives an amazing and comprehensible overview of the many teachings, practices, and scriptures that serve as the basis for all the different kinds of yoga—hatha, bhakti, jnana, karma, tantra, and others.
The Mirror of Yoga
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Since this text was written down earlier than 400 CE there are many translations and interpretations of this classic. The yoga sutras consist of 196 sutras (aphorisms) organized into 4 padas (chapters). I recommend to read several different interpretations and also crossread them and make up your own mind.
Theses are two translations/interpretations I really liked:
Das Yogasutra: Von der Erkenntnis zur Befreiung (this one is only available in german unfortunately)
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda
A Yogis roadmap
by Bhavani Silvia Maki
A very personal and aproachable interpretation of the Yoga Sutras and the yogic path in general.
A Yogis roadmap
The Bhagavad Gita
by Eknath Easwaran
That is the most know Story out of the epic "The Mahabarata" about Arjuna and his charioteer Lord Krishna. There are also countless translations and comments on this text. I really liked the one by Eknath Easwaran.
Samadhi: The Great Freedom
by Gregor Maehle
After taking part in one of his Workshops I started reading this book and it was eye opening on so many levels.
Samadhi: The Great Freedom
I hope you find theses books helpful and if you have any book recommendations for me just post them in the comments below.
Thanks for the recommendations <3
I definitely agree that someone should learn from a teacher in person but books can be a great tool!
You are very welcome. Yes, books are awesome and as I wrote selfstudy is also a part of the journey. It was very hard to pick my favourites - but I will for sure post a follow up with more recommendations.
Great :) Looking forward to seeing more recs!
I love your post! I am really sure that books are a big part of yoga journey! and that is difficult find the philosophy in most of the institutions who teach today. In my photo I share my favorites! adding Bhagavad Gita by Gandhi that´s not in the photo and Basic Yoga by Walter Gardini.
Follow me if you like and share with me your knowledge. In my post I share practices and a lot of information about Yoga.
thank you for the recommendations. b.k.s.iyengars books are on top of my "read next" list :-) really curious about it. have a lovely day.
Have you this one?
I still feel like I'm not ready for it! I reverence him!
no, not yet :-) but i learned (and i am still learning) pranayama from my teacher studied with Shri O. P. Tiwari. i also took a workshop with gregor maehle who has another aproach on pranayama - he also wrote a book about it. i still have to read it :-) http://chintamaniyoga.com/product/pranayama-breath-yoga/ but i think especially pranayama is a method that should be learned directly from a teacher.
Yes! My teacher (unfortunately she has passed away) and her disciple, my reference now, both of them when teaches pranayama said that it must learn from a qualify teacher. When I began my Yoga instructor studies they gave us series with rounds to practice and then they verified live and direct on us, made corrections and they showed how to do it with With awareness.
Oh wow! I really appreciate this reading list. I have struggled with meditation for years so I think learning some of the philosophy of yoga will open my mind.
Glad you like it :-) I think it is really important to communicate that yoga is much more than streching or a workout. Of course it is benefitial to your physical health but this is just the tip of the iceberg... Have a lovely day!