
Most of the yoga poses I have learned, like this side bend, I have learned from books. Not classes or television or videos or DVDs. I find books with detailed, step-by-step instructions to be arguably one of the best ways to learn yoga.
I admit. I am a bibliophile. As such, every so often, I like to share the yoga books that I have found most helpful and inspiring for my home yoga practice. A book is always there at your disposal to consult if you need to refresh your memory about how to do a particular pose (if you have put it on the back burner for a while). Leaving yoga books sprinkled around your home is also a good way to remind you to stay committed to your practice.
When I first learned yoga at age 15, I relied solely on two tomes, Yoga for Beauty and Health by Eugene Rawls and Eve Diskin and Yoga, Youth, and Reincarnation by Jess Stearn. My yoga library has expanded over the past 4 decades. Below you will find a list of yoga books that were key references in doing the research for my own book, Yoga at Home: Gain Energy, Flexibility, and Serenity in 20-30 Minutes a Day that was published in May 2011.
As a yogi who practices at home, I encourage you to regularly add to your yoga library. Well written yoga books can offer myriad tips and techniques to improve and inspire your practice. These days our life is so easy with the Internet and Amazon.com. Go to Amazon.com periodically to find out what's new in the yoga book world and check out the "Look Inside" feature and the book reviews. It's a wonderful, easy way to keep up with the latest releases and to decide what to buy.
Laura's recommended yoga books:
YOGA CLASSICS! – Oldies But Goldies
Yoga for Beauty and Health by Eugene Rawls and Eve Diskin
This clearly written, comprehensive tome gives you virtually all you need to know to reap the rewards of numerous classic hatha yoga poses. You can find copies on Amazon.com or perhaps in your local used bookstore.
Because the book was first published in the 1960s, the pages in my copy are tattered and some of the descriptions of and references to “modern day” life seem quaint. However, the information and precise, step-by-step instructions on how to perform yoga poses and the benefits of each are timeless—still relevant today
Yoga, Youth, and Reincarnation by Jess Stearn
This work is one of the first two books that taught me gentle, yet powerful hatha yoga! I own two yellow copies that I would never part with. Jess Stearn shares his experiences about studying yoga with a feisty, fit yoga instructor who opened a whole new world to him. Skeptical at first, Jess took on the challenges his yoga teacher gave him and within a few months he felt new from the inside out.
Some of the references and examples in this book also seem dated because it is so 1960s. You would almost expect to see hippies with flowers in their hair and layers of beads hanging over tie-dyed shirts to pop out from between the covers! So—what do I find so fantastic about this book?
Stearn’s story captures and explains the essence and spirit of how to do yoga to transform your body and mind. Especially useful are the in-depth explanations of how to execute yoga poses and what to expect as you evolve in your practice. I refer to this book every so often to refresh my memory about why I do yoga and what got me started. You can still find copies on Amazon.com.
Richard Hittleman’s Yoga 28-Day Exercise Planby Richard Hittleman
The book offers clear explanations about the origins and nature of yoga. Its detailed instructions and photos show you how to do classic yoga poses.
More Recent Publications
Ageless Yoga by Rosie Reichmann
Rosie Reichmann shares an inspiring story of her journey with yoga. By learning yoga at an Iyengar center in London, she was able to heal from severe back pain and insomnia that she had wrestled with for 20 years. Reichman offers excellent tips for the beginner—how to breathe with each movement. She is flexible in her instruction and offers various options for executing the poses.
Moving into Stillness by Eric Schiffman
This is a comprehensive book that delves fully into the spirit of yoga. If you want a complete presentation of yoga’s myriad benefits and guidance on how to plumb its depths and make yoga a daily part of your life, invest time to read this excellent work.
Moving Toward Balance: 8 Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee by Rodney Yee with Nina Zolotow
Renowned yoga instructor Rodney Yee, who has at least 20 years of experience teaching yoga, was once a ballet dancer, Yee attended his first yoga class back in 1980 and fell in love with this ancient practice. He eventually moved from full-time ballet to full-time yoga instruction.
Yee's book offers valuable tips for staying motivated to do a daily yoga practice at home. Yee says that true power and knowledge of yoga's potential comes from a consistent home practice. He offers many pointers on how to gain maximum benefits from a home practice. I especially like his guidance on how to create an inviting space in your home for your yoga practice. He also explains in detail the many benefits—physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional— that you gain from a consistent home yoga practice. The book motivates you to make yoga an every day part of your life. Check it out!
The Easy Yoga Work Book: A Complete Yoga Class in a Bookby Tara Fraser
Written by British yoga instructor, Tara Fraser, this soft cover book has a ring binding which makes it easy to open out and view the photos of yoga poses. I like Tara's explanation of what yoga is and how it differs from other physical regimes. For example, she says yoga differs from Pilates because "it is not concerned solely with the musculo-skeletal body. Yoga operates on other levels such as the deep tissues, internal organs, and the endocrine and nervous systems."
When I read Tara's book, I feel her genuine enthusiasm for the practice and her interest in sharing yoga's myriad benefits to the reader. And, I believe, she conveys the innate spirit of yoga and its power for creating oneness and harmony in our minds and body and as a "tool for radical change and self-development."
Especially useful are Tara's explanations of classic poses such as the cobra, the downward facing dog pose, and child pose. She offers ways to modify poses that initially may be difficult for beginners who have stiff lower backs and legs. She includes a chapter on the benefits of yoga as cross-training for racquet sports like tennis and for dance and aerobics. All in all, the book is a tastefully done reference that is helpful for any beginner seeking to learn and practice yoga at home.
Walking Yoga: Incorporate Yoga Principles into Dynamic Walking Routines for Physical Health, Mental Peace and Spiritual Enrichment by Ila Sarley and Garrett Sarley
Written by husband and wife yogis, this book is a treasure for the beginning yoga student. It teaches you how to create a nurturing, enjoyable, and consistent yoga practice that you can't help but want to continue for the rest of your life! The couple offers numerous tips for sustaining your practice, the most important of which are "experiencing" yoga, listening to your body, being in the moment, and connecting with your inner self, others, life, and Spirit. Also, the book teaches you how to combine the benefits of yoga (increasing your flexibility, conditioning, expanding your range of motion, enhancing your awareness and oneness of mind, body, and spirit) with walking-—the authors offer creative, soothing ways to fuse both.
What stands out the most for me about this book is its emphasis on creating a physical practice that is nurturing and uplifting rather than whipping or coercing yourself into shape. I love their philosophy about gentling coaxing and inspiring yourself to better health and vitality through yoga and walking. I think inspiration and joy encourage you to sustain a practice forever. Such practice becomes your oasis for relaxation and conditioning and your life can thus become more like a love affair. Check it out!
Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff
This book offers fascinating, detailed anatomical illustrations of classic yoga poses so that the reader can see the specific muscle groups targeted by each poses and offers some pointers on doing the poses. It may give the beginner more than he/she really needs, but it’s an informative, intriguing reference book.
Yoga as Medicine by Timothy McCall, MD
With over 500 pages, this comprehensive resource explains the many medical conditions that the practice of yoga can alleviate. Part 3 of the book, "Yoga Therapy in Action" offers detailed information about how yoga can help with anxiety and panic attacks, arthritis, asthma, back pain, cancer, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, excess weight and many more conditions!
McCall, a Western-trained physician, decided to try yoga because he thought it would be "interesting." At first, McCall practiced off and on. However, once he began regular practice, "inserting yoga into the cracks in my day,” he noticed amazing results. His chest started to open and his posture improved. Most important, he says, were the mental and psychological benefits he gained. He worried less and problems that in the past would have had him caused him to blurt out profanities, no longer fazed him. He eventually studied with yoga teacher Patricia Walden.
The only area in which I disagree with McCall is that he doesn't recommend learning on your own at first. Other than that, I love this book - it's a wealth of research and information about the health benefits of yoga. You can read excerpts from the book at: http://www.drmccall.com.
Yours for learning yoga with great books! (Oh - and don't forget to check out mine too, on Amazon.com)

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginner's Yoga at Home Coach

TM
Also see: http://www.DoYogaAtHomeNow.com