3 Yoga Books Worth Reading
Renee Woodruff
Throughout the yoga training, we've been introduced to so many new wonderful books. There was one required text and several suggested texts for all participants:
Required Text:
“The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali” translation by Edwin F. Bryant *
Suggested Texts:
“Bhagavad Gita” translation by Winthrop Sargeant
“The Hatha Yoga Pradipika” translation by the Bihar School
“Light on Yoga” by B.K.S Iyengar
“Yoga Anatomy” by Leslie Kaminoff
“Key Poses of Yoga” by Ray Long
There were a few other books that were either mentioned during lectures, recommended by fellow yogis or introduced through our required book report presentations.
If you are a teacher-in-training or a yoga practitioner looking to deepen your knowledge, I suggest investing in a copy of each. Not only have I enjoyed reading them, but they’ve helped me tremendously throughout the training.
Light on Yoga
Light on Yoga was first introduced to me by one of my bestest friends, Kelly (who you'll be hearing more about on this blog). Written by the founder of Iyengar Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar, this book is referred to as "The Bible of Modern Yoga." It includes more than 600 photographs of various postures and breathing exercises. And my favorite part...it provides the benefits of incorporating them into your practice.
Eastern Body, Western Mind
Eastern Body, Western Mind was introduced during our lecture on Chakras. Each chapter focuses on a single Chakra, starting with a description of its characteristics and identity issues. (I nerd out on this type of stuff, so this book holds a permanent spot on my night stand.)
Jivamukti Yoga
Jivamukti Yoga was given to me by my yogi friend, Jessie. When she heard I was considering enrolling in the teacher training, she let me borrow her copy, and then told me to keep it. I'm glad she did because I destroyed it by underlining, highlighting and flagging so many pages. It's a great book that I’ve referenced and read from multiple times during our training.
All books can be found in the Words of Wisdom Shop.