5 Yoga Books You Should Read

Many yoga teachers wrote books in order to help people understand the philosophy of yoga or to help them improve their practice. Here are some of the best ones.

Light on Yoga – B.K.S. Iyengar

If you have time to read only one book about yoga then it should be this book. It’s a complete guide to yoga practice written by an experienced yoga teacher. In this book, you can find detailed explanations and descriptions of all yoga positions (more than 200). It’s also considered as the best-illustrated yoga book because it contains more than 600 illustrations of different postures. This book is also a solid background for people who want to learn more because after reading this book you’ll be able to understand other books much better.

Yoga Anatomy – Leslie Kaminoff

If you already know something about yoga postures but want to learn what muscles are working in which posture than you must read this book. This book focuses on the physical aspect of yoga. It explains how yoga affects your body and which body parts are involved. This book explains the role that each muscle has during certain poses and how they are linked. It also suggests what you can do to improve the effectiveness of every pose.

The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice – T.K.V. Desikacher

This book is written by one of the greatest yogis of the modern era and it has a different approach than the other books. He invites his readers to observe themselves and see what are the best asanas for them. He invites us to make our yoga practice more personal, because every human is different, and we have different needs.

Yoga and the Quest for the True Self – Stephen Cope

This book shows you how you can apply yoga to everyday challenges. It covers various topics such as psychology and philosophy of yoga and it can make you look at your practice from a different perspective.

Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice – Charlotte Bell

Many people are afraid that they won’t be able to incorporate yoga into their lifestyle. Charlotte Bell had those same doubts, but she managed to overcome her fears. Her goal is to show people easy ways to incorporate yoga style in their everyday life. This book can be especially useful for people who know something about yoga, but they’re still at the beginning of their yoga path.

Of course, there are many more books about yoga, but we recommend that you start with these five because they have everything you need to provide you with a solid yoga foundation.