12 Books To Read To Deepen Your Yoga Practice
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There are many ways to expand and deepen your yoga practice, both mentally and physically. Yoga itself is more than physical poses, or asanas; the inner work is just as important. Reading about yoga is a great way to explore the history of yoga, connect with different methodology and approaches, as well as learn new layers of the practice you can interpret as you please.
Books To Read To Deepen Your Yoga Practice
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Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali
B.K.S. Iyengar
Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patañjai is a translation of the ancient practices and teachings of Patañjali. His Yoga Sutras are “the bible of yoga” and date back 2500 years. This collection is a key text for anyone who wants to connect with the founding of yoga and its original intentions and practices. The book has four chapters (pādas) that translate to: On contemplation, On practice, On properties and powers, and On emancipation and freedom.
This is a resourceful book, and it contains a glossary, translation breakdowns, tables and charts, and interludes, calling out themes that are present throughout the teachings. This book is dense, but is an important artifact in the world of yoga, as well as a key way to connect with the cultural context associated with yoga.
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Yoga Anatomy
Leslie Kaminoff
Yoga Anatomy is an illustrated book detailing anatomy. It shows various bodies in yoga poses and highlights muscles, tendons, bones, the breath, and organ systems. You’ll often find this book on teacher training syllabi because it’s so useful to see poses from the inside of the body. The illustrations are simple and uncomplicated and use color selectively to call attention to key body elements in poses.
The book also has text with the images, giving context to poses from a scientific viewpoint. For example, the Navasana (Boat Pose) entry is classified as a “basic seated balance” and an “abdominal strengthener.” The page also says: “Ideally, the weight in this pose is distributed between the sitting bones and the tailbone. All the weight should not be borne on the sacrum… It is an interesting challenge to have to work hard to YouTube a neutral spine.”
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Radical Acts of Embodiment
Dages Juvelier Keates
This spiral-bound book has been key to my understanding of yoga and my approach to teaching. Dages is a phenomenal teacher, and her words translate well into the text within this resource. This book is primarily about Katonah Yoga, a New York-founded practice, but it is widely applicable and practical. Dages says Katonah Yoga is, “a way of organizing embodied narrative and can be used in conversation with almost any activity a person engages in.” In this way, yoga is life; not as a heady thought process, but as an everyday embodiment practice that is both intuitive and personal.
Radical Acts of Embodiment has 150 pages filled with musings, teaching advice, poses, sequences, and adjustment guides. There are hundreds of images of Katonah maps and theories as well as photos of people in poses to show detailed views of therapeutic adjustments and alignment.
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The Yamas & Niyamas
Deborah Adele
The Yamas and Nayamas are ten essential thoughts related to yoga. They “may be thought of as guidelines, tenets, ethical disciplines, precepts or restraints and observances,” says the author. The five yamas—nonviolence, truthfulness, nonstealing, nonexcess, and nonpossessiveness—and the five niyamas—purity, contentment, self-discipline, self-study, and surrender—are broken down into bite-sized philosophies that you can meditate on and apply to your own yoga practice. This text is simple and accessible to all, and is as much a spiritual book as a yogic book.
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When Things Fall Apart
Pema Chödrön
Pema Chödrön is an acclaimed author, mediation master, Buddhist teacher, and nun. She has written several books, including When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times. In the introduction Chödrön says, “If your life is chaotic and stressful, there’s plenty of advice for you here.” The book details thoughts and practices to connect with oneself and let being present act as a teacher.
“Being able to appreciate, being able to look closely, being able to open our minds—this is the core of maitri.” (Maitri is defined as: ‘loving kindness directed at oneself.’) This book is a self-help companion that can change your perspective and help you find contentment or inspiration. It may leave you feeling less alone, and for that reason, it also makes a great gift.
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Staying Healthy With the Seasons
Elon M. Haas, M.D.
Consider this book more of a guidebook that will help you find balance and success throughout the year. The book is split into five seasons: spring, summer, late summer, fall, and winter. Each season has practices and information for living bountifully and in tune with nature. There are elements, foods, organs, emotions, and physical practices aligned with each season according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and this book breaks down those supportive activities in a way that is scientific, inspirational, and accessible.
For example, the winter chapter details the yin of the season and its tie to the water element. “You must keep yourself warm and dry, especially in the winter, for those cold, wet days can bring out a deep stiffness or pain, especially in the back,” the book says. It goes on to connect the ears and kidneys as organs linked to winter, as well as optimal foods for the season like black beans, carrots, ginger, miso, and cayenne pepper.
Yoga asanas for winter exhibit “going in” and having an internal moment to yourself (like hibernating). They include forward folds, plow pose, and shoulder stand. If you’re looking for a whole-body approach to yoga and a TCM lens, this book holds incredible information.
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One Simple Thing
Eddie Stern
One Simple Thing is one of my favorite yoga books; it’s both lighthearted and incredibly insightful. It looks at yoga deeply and on the surface, exploring how yoga (doing it, believing it, learning it) can transform your life. If you’re new to yoga, this book is an approachable deep dive into mental and physical elements. It overlaps with other books on this list, too, briefly describing the Yamas and Niyamas and discussing poses and breathwork.
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The Artist's Way
Julia Cameron
The Artist’s Way isn’t specifically a yoga text, but it can help inform your practice and boost creativity and mental fortitude. The book is a progressive series of practices that help you re-find creativity, such as making your way through writer’s block. The practices are universal though; have you ever heard of morning pages?
The morning practice of writing three stream-of-conscious journal pages originated with Julia Cameron, and almost all of my yoga teachers swear by them. If you’re looking to add more originality to your teaching or expand your practice off the mat, definitely give this book a read.
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Yoga as Origami
Kat Villain
Yoga as Origami is another Katonah Yoga guidebook. It contains a wealth of asana information accompanied by photos. This book is a great resource for anyone searching for information about alignment and specific poses because it breaks down the body’s organization and leverage for each pose. Take a straight leg lunge, for example: the book describe the organization of the pose by saying “lunge + upward-facing dog back leg,” “front thigh bone is parallel with the ground,” and “back heel is lifted, weight on ball of foot, and eventually the foot is at a ninety-degree angle.”
These bullet points can be used as cues for new teachers, and they help you orient yourself in the pose by focusing on each body part. The text also offers leverage, or props, that you can use; in this case, blocks under the back leg for support. Common errors are also listed, which is especially helpful for yogis and teachers alike.
The Katonah element of Yoga as Origami is woven throughout by a narrative of metaphor and personal theory. There is a “Why Bother” section listed with each pose that details what the pose can do for you, and those physical elements can be applied to your life. So, when the text says a straight leg lunge “ignites the inner fires by strengthening the legs bones,” it’s implied that it also ignites other fires like body heat or imagination, as well as strengthening your footing or your beliefs.
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Between Heaven and Earth
Efrem Korngold and Harriet Beinfield
Between Heaven and Earth is a guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which shares a lot of terminology and theories with yoga. The book is written by Efrem Korngold and Harriet Beinfield, both of whom are longtime TCM practitioners. If you’re curious about eastern medicine and types of holistic healing, this book is a major resource. The first half of the book breaks TCM down into accessible teachings, and the latter half describes herbs and practices to overcome physical ailments.
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The Four Agreements
Don Miguel Ruiz
The Four Agreements is a cornerstone of spiritual practices, and I’ve seen this book recommended for various yogic and holistic practices. The premise is simple: four agreements to make with yourself to transform your outlook on life. The beliefs are 1) Be impeccable with your word, 2) Don’t take anything personally, 3) Don’t make assumptions, and 4) Always do your best.
The book is a quick 140-page read that is easily digested. You can come back to the words year after year as a reminder of simple premises that can help you recapture love and joy in your practice and more broadly in your life.
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Who Is Wellness For?
Fariha Róisín
Who Is Wellness For? is a 2022 non-fiction publication that questions wellness culture and self-care, positing ways that “whiteness and capitalism have co-opted wellness, relegating caring for oneself as a privilege when wellness should be for all.” Fariha Róisín’s words are poignant and speculative, and she provides a perspective that examines the mind, the body, self care, and justice with cultural understanding and journalistic integrity.
This book acknowledges that “healing is f%**^g excruciating” and that “The body is an inherently political thing.” All teachers and yogis can learn from this book, expanding personal understanding of wellness and who it lets in and keeps out.