Written By: Mita Majumdar | Updated : June 18, 2015 4:00 PM IST
Yoga is not just about exercise and breathing techniques, it is an invaluable ancient Indian tradition to discover the sense of oneness with self and the cosmos. Here s a list of books that could give you a deeper understanding of what yoga has to offer.
1. Yoga: The Iyengar Way by Silva Mehta, Mira Mehta and Shyam Mehta
This book is a comprehensive and practical guide to the yoga asanas (poses) developed by the renowned yoga guru BKS Iyengar. Iyengar method is based on hatha yoga, which is a set of asanas and sequences of asanas designed to align your skin, muscle and bones, especially the spine, so that energy can flow freely and correct the physical and mental imbalances that cause illness. The most articulated hatha yoga sequence is the Suryanamaskar. The USP of Iyengar yoga is his use of props such as blankets, straps, chairs, and bolsters. The purpose of these props is to help you attain the alignment even if your body is not yet open enough. Coming back to the book. The authors describe 100 key postures with detailed instructions and photographs. This easy to follow guide book was one of the bestsellers in the nineties. Highly recommended if you are a beginner.
2. Light on Yoga [Yoga Dipika] by BKS Iyengar
While on hatha yoga by BKS Iyengar, if you want it in the original, this is the book for you. First published in 1966, this book describes 200 postures aided by over 600 photographs. Each pose comes with the instructions on how to do the pose, the benefits of the asana in general, particular conditions it may cure, and also precautions you need to take while doing the pose. At the end are two appendices one on sequences of asanas, and the other listing the asanas and the condition it can treat /cure. The book also discusses the history of yoga practice, the eight limbs of yoga, and pranayama and bandhas. Don t miss this!
3. The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice by TKV Desikachar
Son of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, one of the greatest yogi of the modern era, Desikachar is one great yoga guru in his own right. The book gives a step by step sequence for developing a complete practice based on Krishnamacharya s fundamental concept of Viniyoga. The principle of applying yoga to the specific need of the person is viniyoga, that is, yoga practice should be adapted in a way so that it fits the individuality and specific requirement of the person to achieve maximum therapeutic value.
In Desikachar s words The spirit of viniyoga is starting from where one finds oneself.As everybody is different and changes from time to time,there can be no common starting point, and ready-made answers are useless.The present situation must be examined and the habitually established status must be re-examined. [1]
The book is a perfect blend of his father s system and his own practical approach, which he describes as a program for the spine at every level--physical, mental, and spiritual .The book will guide you to develop a yoga practice according to your age, health, occupation and lifestyle. So, whether you are uninitiated or are practicing for some time, this book will be useful to you. The interpretation of the yoga sutras is an added bonus. This book must find a place in your collection.
4. The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga by Vishnu-Devananda
Founder of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres, Swami Vishnudevananda, is a world authority on Hatha and Raja Yoga.The most esoteric concepts of yogic discipline are made simple to make this book the most widely respected handbook for the study and practice of yoga.
You will find the book even more useful if you want to understand the philosophy yoga and yoga lifestyle. Much of this philosophy relates to the belief that one cannot understand the soul and mind, as long as the person is trying to find the truth from the outside of the body. To do so, one must turn inward and transcend beyond the mind to find divine knowledge.
Asanas, breathing exercises, meditation, diet and other aspects of yoga are sufficiently covered in the book to make it suitable for every level of yoga practice. There are more than 140 photographs to demonstrate the asanas.
5. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Just yoga asanas not enough for you? Then it is time for some spiritual work and self-realization work. Maybe you could begin the spiritual process with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Yoga is not just about yoga asanas and pranayama, it is a science of unfolding the infinite potential of human mind and soul . And who can guide you better in this area than Patanjali, the ancient sage sent by Lord Vishnu to cure not just physical but more importantly mental and emotional illness! The story goes that Lord Vishnu sent his 1000-headed serpent Adishesha incarnated as sage Patanjali to transmit the knowledge of yoga to Earth. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a set of 195 sutras or aphorisms (short statement of a principle easy to memorize). The sutras are divided into 4 chapters. The second chapter is the practical approach to achieving the goals of yoga in the form of Ashtanga yoga or the Eight Limbs of Yoga. The yoga asanas (poses) and pranayama (breathing exercises) most of us practice today are just two of the eight limbs that have been made popular worldwide. So, if you want to know what yoga is really about, don t miss this book. Its best said here, that it is not one book; actually, the sutras have been described and explained by many experts including Swami Vivekananda and Sri Sri Ravishankar. Don t get confused if you see varieties of authors on yoga sutras. Go for the one which attracts you most.
6. Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing by Timothy McCall
Timothy McCall, is Western-trained physician who has travelled to India and throughout the United States observing, training with, and interviewing the world s leading yoga teachers and therapists, which makes him uniquely qualified to reconcile the medical findings and techniques of East and West. He is also the medical editor of the premier yoga magazine, Yoga Journal.
This book is a guide to using yoga for prevention as well as healing of illness, mastering the art of becoming in tune with your body through yoga, and adopting yoga techniques as an alternative or a complement to surgery and medications. Dr McCall shows how yoga can treat twenty different conditions, ranging from arthritis to chronic fatigue, depression, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, infertility, insomnia, multiple sclerosis, and obesity. He defines yoga as a systematic technology to improve the body, understand the mind, and free the spirit .
Here s how he introduces the book -
In this book, I m asking you to think of yoga as medicine a concept which is perhaps new and quite foreign to you. Because it is a kind of medicine that can benefit the healthy as well as the sick, I m going to suggest that you consider starting a regular practice, no matter what your current state of health. You may have seen pictures of yoga contortionists or heard about grueling power yoga and hot yoga classes that convinced you this isn t something you could possibly do. If so, I hope to show you that virtually anyone can do yoga, including those who start out with little strength, energy, or flexibility, and those who are ill or injured.
7. Yoga for Wellness: Healing with the Timeless Teachings of Viniyoga by Gary Kraftsow
Another book on healing afflictions, reducing stress and increasing flexibility that must make it to your reading list. Kraftsow is the founder of the American Viniyoga Institute, and is one of few Westerners certified to train teachers and therapists in Viniyoga, a yoga approach that adapts postures to individuals depending on your unique quirks, shape, structure, emotions, mind, energy, injuries, etc. The book is a comprehensive set of step-by-step instructions to focus on yoga as a means to attain physical and emotional health. Kraftsow uses case studies of people who have suffered from a broad spectrum of ailments to illustrate specific yoga sequences used to treat individual conditions. Each asana is accompanied by a black & white photo.
8. Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff
Co-authored by Amy Matthews, the book, as the name suggests, delves into the deeper understanding of the structures and principles underlying each movement and yoga pose. Clear instructions and detailed anatomical drawings add to the uniqueness of the book. You can learn how each muscle is used in asana, and how even a slight alteration of a pose can enhance or reduce its effectiveness, and how the spine, breathing and the body position are fundamentally linked.
Leslie Kaminoff is the founder of The Breathing Project, an educational corporation dedicated to the teaching of individualized, breath-centred yoga practice and education.Yoga Anatomy can be an invaluable resource for both, beginners as well as advanced practitioners of yoga to understand each asana movement and to see them in a new light.
9. Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekananda
Raja Yoga is one of the most influential works of Swami Vivekananda where he discussed the philosophy of raja yoga and the practice of meditation. A series of lectures on raja yoga that Swami Vivekananda gave including useful information on meditation and psychology from the Vedanta point of view make up the first half of the book. The second half is the interpretation of the Patanjali yoga sutras. This book is also a must-read.
10. The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga by Goswami Kriyananda
This is perhaps the most comprehensive text available on the theory and practice of kriya yoga. Kriya yoga is an advanced technique of pranayama (life-energy control) to reinforce and revitalize the life energy flowing through the chakras in the spine and brain. It is said that if you practice kriya yoga correctly, the activities of heart, lungs and the nervous system slow down, and you can achieve inner stillness, which is a prerequisite to attunement with one s soul and God. The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga takes the student step-by-step through the eight stages of Patanjali's Kriya Yoga system and contains extensive chapters on hatha yoga pranayama, mantra, meditation and samadhi. The book details how specific asanas can be used to balance each of the seven charkas.
The purpose of Yoga is not to create any waves in the mind. Keep the mind still. Then, you will see your True Self in the still water of the peaceful mind. Sri Swami Satchidananda
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