This article showcases our top picks for the Books To Learn Yoga. We reached out to industry leaders and experts who have contributed the suggestions within this article (they have been credited for their contributions below).
We are keen to hear your feedback on all of our content and our comment section is a moderated space to express your thoughts and feelings related (or not) to this article This list is in no particular order.
Yoga for Beginners: Simple Yoga Poses to Calm Your Mind By Cory Martin
This product was recommended by Will Tigerton from LeanBack Player
This book can essentially start your yoga journey. As it was written for beginners, it contains all the necessary information for you to start doing yoga. It contains instructions for the 35 beginners’ poses plus nutrition tips to help you get into your best shape. It also contains helpful tips so you can create specialized and personalized yoga sequences best for your body.
Science of Yoga: Understand the Anatomy and Physiology By Ann Swanson
This product was recommended by Craig Miller from Academia Labs LLC
Science makes you understand things so this book, The Science of Yoga, will provide you with a deeper understanding of yoga anatomy and all the science behind yoga and the different poses. It has artworks that show 30 asanas and detailed physics of the poses. It also reveals how your blood flow, respiration, muscles and joints work for each yoga pose. Aside from that, it teaches about how to achieve technical excellence in your practice, from the comfort of your own home.
Yoga – The Path To Holistic Health By BKS Iyengar
This product was recommended by Fern Joseph from Chihuahuamad
This book by BKS Iyengar is the perfect starting point to learn Yoga and instil a practise that will last a lifetime. Alignment in poses is crucial for so many reasons including preventing injury and BKS Iyengar is the master of teaching Yoga in this way. This book breaks down each pose, explains the benefits, cautions, corrections in the pose and how to come out of each pose. It also includes Yoga sequences for health such as Women’s Health, Men’s Health, the Hormonal System, Nervous System and many more.. Each pose is photographed from multiple angles with clear written descriptions of each angle of the pose, what to expect and how to correct. Every aspect of Yoga is touched on, and includes an extensive chapter on 23 Classic Poses, followed by a fascinating Chapter on Yoga Poses For Stress followed by a Chapter on Yoga For Ailments. The final chapter offers a 20 week Yoga course and an Anatomy guide too. This invaluable tome from Mr Iyengar is a must for any Yoga practitioner, from beginner to advanced Yogi, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga By BKS Iyengar
This product was recommended by Emilia Flores from UK Bad Credit Loans
Light on yoga is created by the world-famous Yogi BKS Iyengar and has been described as the Bible of Yoga by Yogis around the world. The book is filled with breathing exercises, asana descriptions, detailed illustrations and the ancient art of Yoga philosophy. Added together, this provides an ideal yoga book to allow you to master the poses and meditation straight from home! Perfect for anyone from beginners to masters, this yoga book gives you weekly step by step guides for your practice, including specific poses and methods if you have health problems (one of BKS Iyengar specialties). All you need now is dedication and within weeks you will start to see major differences happening to your body and mind!
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali By Sri Swami Satchidananda
This product was recommended by Meera Watts from Siddhi Yoga
As a Yoga expert, I have some of my favorites as well, when it comes to books that teach you yoga. Books help you to understand the greater context of yoga and get involved in it deeply. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda is one of my all-time preferences for beginners. Being an essential guide to the practice of yoga’s non-asana work, this book focuses on offering advice and insight for mastering the mind. In this translation, the Sutras—thought threads—are presented in Sanskrit as well as in English. This book is one you’ll return to again and again, seeking insight and wisdom from the practice and taking away something new each time you read it. So, go for it, the book is a timeless gem.
Emily’s Day in the Desert: A Kids Yoga Desert Book By Giselle Shardlow
This product was recommended by Joshua Davis from OutdoorFamilyHQ
This children’s book, Emily’s Day in the Desert, is a story about a young girl who goes on a journey through the desert with her parents. While learning about the desert through easy yoga poses, kids will also experience the benefits of yoga. A storybook with a list of children’s yoga postures and a parent-teacher guide is included. This desert yoga story for ages 4 to 7 is more than a storybook, but it’s also a unique experience for children.
The Outdoor Adventurer’s Guide to Yoga By Jana Kilgore
This product was recommended by Joshua Davis from OutdoorFamilyHQ
The Outdoor Adventurer’s Guide to Yoga is a comprehensive book for athletes and explorers wanting to customize their yoga routines to enhance performance, recovery, and longevity. This book provides an in-depth look at the foundations of yoga, anatomy, alignment, breath work, and asanas. It then applies these disciplines to hiking, backpacking, cycling, climbing, paddling and snow sports in detail. Include yoga into your backpacking trips and other athletic activities to enhance your strength, balance, connectivity, and recovery. Understand the specific anatomical requirements of backpacking, paddling, climbing, and other outdoor sports to avoid common overuse injuries.
The Heart of Yoga By TKV Desikachar
This product was recommended by Lyle Florez from EasyPeopleSearch
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m a big proponent of having a home yoga practice. This was partly prompted by my profession, which requires me to travel frequently and prevents me from regularly going to yoga class. Furthermore, I discovered that practicing at home aided my growth in areas where I needed the most assistance — I could devote more time to certain asanas or transitions.
Yoga: Mastering the Basics By Sandra Anderson
This product was recommended by Steven Walker from Spylix
This book covers every facet of yoga practice, including postures, breathing, relaxation, meditation, and lifestyle. It also gives an overview of yoga philosophy. It includes two illustrated yoga sequences as well as over 400 photos. It comprises Asana sequences and postures grouped by posture type, which can be used as a rapid reference to certain body locations. Each part provides a sequence of postures arranged by posture type, making it simple to discover what you’re looking for.
Yoga: The Iyengar Way By Silva Mehta
This product was recommended by Steven Walker from Spylix
This is a well-produced book with clear images and simple instructions to read and follow. The clear and simple instructions are accompanied by excellent photographs of ideal posture held from various views. A diamond guide illustrates the degree of difficulty for each pose, indicating the level of skill required to achieve it. This book has two amazing features: it shows the asana titles in Devanagari, Sanskrit, and English, and it uses props to teach appropriate alignment and technique. This book focuses on the fundamental Iyengar yoga postures, but there is also a brief section on pranayama in the back.
Perfectly Imperfect: The Art and Soul of Yoga By Baron Baptiste
This product was recommended by June Griffith from Garden Furniture
I’ve always wanted to learn yoga, so when I discovered this book, I decided to give it a shot right away. Baron Baptiste, one of the finest yoga instructors, wrote this book. In this book, he beautifully presents yoga principles and the concept of yoga. There are high-resolution yoga posture images, which makes it very useful for beginners learning yoga.
Stretching to Stay Young By Jessica Matthews
This product was recommended by Kimberly Silva from FindPeopleFirst
If you’re not a workout person like me, this book will change your mind. I can’t say I was eager to pick up a book about stretching (I’m more of an intense cardio person and have never been one for stretching), but this book is engaging and easy to read. It is full of great tips and insights into the power of physical movement. If you’re feeling stiff or tight, having trouble sleeping, or just need to find something that feels better than hours spent on your couch with Netflix, this book provides a wealth of information. Warning: there’s a lot of information, so pick it up and read it all the way through. I am sure that this book would also make a great gift for someone who is looking to keep their body flexible and strong.
Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times By Judith Hanson Lasater
This product was recommended by Smriti Tuteja from Yogic-Experience
Being a yoga instructor, I suggest this book to all my students because it features all poses that relieve stress. These restorative yoga poses are easy to follow for beginners and offer a great experience at the beginning without causing overwhelm. The poses are not too physically daunting and combined with the breathing techniques mentioned in the book offer relief from stress and help to calm the inner chaos. The instructions and pictures are clear and the poses are ideal for people of varying strength and flexibility. They do not demotivate beginners. The book also offers insights on sequences, yoga for common issues like headaches and back pain, women’s issues, stress management techniques, etc. It is a great book that helps one understand the benefits of yoga without professional training.
The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy, and Practice By Georg Feuerstein
This product was recommended by Ronald Williams from BestPeopleFinder
I would suggest making it your “bed book” if you want to indulge in Yoga. The book is inspiring, with easy practices and illustrations (over 200). It contains the foundations of all Yoga. From the ancient process of “tapas” to the most current concept of the Yoga movement, the book gives excellent support to the research of a Philosophy that extends to more than five thousand years of pure Wisdom. I believe that there is no other so profound and, at the same time synthetic. And for those who want more, just consult the bibliography available at the end. I strongly recommend it.
The Yoga Bible By Christina Brown
This product was recommended by Stephy George from The Creative Muggle
‘The Yoga Bible’ helps to educate yogis not only about various postures but also about the true purpose of yoga. Divided in four parts, the book explains how yoga can benefit both the physical and mental health of a yoga practitioner. This book can also help you plan individual yoga routines.
Yoga for Couples By Guillermo Ferrara
This product was recommended by Madeline Blackstone from Oh Lovely Day Mag
It’s a great choice for couples who want to try a stimulating and rewarding activity together and build a closer connection. It is also suitable for any two people wanting to try double yoga poses. There are many exercises to boost flexibility. But Yoga for Couples is packed with info well beyond just yoga poses! You’ll find cooking ideas, dance moves, insight into the philosophy of yoga and couples’ meditation.
The Yoga Mind: 52 Essential Principles of Yoga Philosophy By Rina Jakubowicz
This product was recommended by Madilyn Hill from Truepersonfinder
Yoga is one of the best ways to relax, feel good and improve your health. From those who experience chronic pain to those who need more energy throughout the day, yoga can be a great stress reducer. With over 4 million people practicing yoga worldwide, it is clear that this ancient practice has something for everyone. Yoga can also inspire you to live your life differently as it teaches us to let go of things we don’t need and cultivate what matters in life. This book contains 52 essential principles of Yoga philosophy with their modern-day applications. Each principle includes a quotation from the yoga scriptures (Hindu texts like the Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and Upanishads) as well as a commentary from many contributors. It also includes a yoga moment to help you better apply the principle in your life.
Yoga For Beginners: Learn Yoga in Just 10 Minutes a Day By Olivia Summers
This product was recommended by Ellie Walters from FindPeopleFaster
Yoga For Beginners is a perfect book to start your yoga journey. The author has listed 30 essential yoga poses that will help you to transform your body, mind and soul. Not only this, the author has included various forms of yoga. The book contains essential information to guide you about the best yoga pose for your body. Calm yourself every morning by practicing the art of mindfulness. The author also suggests a few poses that you need to transform in case of injury and restrictions. Learn about the benefits of practicing yoga every day and become the best version of yourself. The book also includes a Sanskrit terminology reference guide for beginners.