PVPF 2024

5 Books To Read On Yoga

5 Books To Read On Yoga
on Jun 21, 2021

On this International Day of Yoga 2021, Here are some best books by BKS Iyengar, Swami Satyananda Saraswati ,T.K.V Desikachar for you to know more about Yoga.

Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar

“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what need not be cured…” Together with Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Light on Yoga (1966) and Light on Life (2005) an inspiring trilogy of works by Iyengar made up a sort of yogipedia for modern practitioners. When it was first published, Light on Yoga has illustrative descriptions of 200 asanas and 14 breathing exercises (pranayamas). A Student does not need a teacher if he has this book as a guide and it has 600 photographs with instructions. People with specific ailments can do their yoga exercises from this book.

Light on life

There is no progress toward ultimate freedom without transformation, and this is the key issue in all lives. Iyengar’s Light on Life, which tells how yogic postures and techniques of breathing can guide people in the quest for spirituality and harmony. But more than this, Light on Life is a moving, personal memoir of the veteran teacher’s own journey through yoga, and it includes stories of his many travels and experiences whilst teaching in India and abroad.

***Yoga Mala*, Krishna Pattabhi Jois**

“Do your practice and all is coming…” Yoga Mala was first published in kannada in 1962, and it's an authoritative guide to the Ashtanga Vinyasa tradition of yoga. This is an energetic sequence of postures coordinated to the breath. K. Pattabhi Jois taught Ashtanga Vinyasa for most of his life and also set up Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, Karnataka. Yoga Mala describes 42 asanas that talk about the Primary Series of the Ashtanga system. In Jois’s words, “anyone could attain yoga if they had the desire and enthusiasm”.

***The Heart Of Yoga*, T.K.V. Desikachar**

“Every shortcut is an illusion…” This book describes a step-by-step process of yoga practice for individual needs, a style known as Viniyoga. T. Krishnamachar is widely known as the father of modern yoga, reviving, and experimenting greatly with, hatha yoga. The title of this book however is in contrast, considering that Krishnamachar was known for achieving the “stopping of the heartbeat” during few of his yogic demonstrations.

***Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha*, Swami Satyananda Saraswati**

“Yoga is not an ancient myth buried in oblivion. It is the most valuable inheritance of the present. It is the essential need of today and the culture of tomorrow…” This book was first published by Bihar School of Yoga in 1969. It is a guide through classical yoga, explaining both the simplest practices for beginners and the most advanced practices of the hatha yoga system. Students and teachers should keep this book. If you’re looking for a university-standard textbook on yoga theory, or a systematically-written yoga manual, this book is right for you.