Below are 5 books that helped me understand yoga philosophy, asana and principles on a deeper level. Some of these were reading requirements on my first 200 hour teacher training in Rishikesh, India. The photos are from my 5 weeks on the teacher training at Vinyasa Yoga School. Rishikesh is an alcohol free, plastic bag free and meat free town at the bottom of the Himalayas. Also where the Beatles stayed to write a lot of their songs in the sixties.
I hope you enjoy.
Claudia x
Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga
The definitive guide to the philosophy and practice of Yoga--the ancient healing discipline for body and mind--by its greatest living teacher. Light on Yoga provides complete descriptions and illustrations of all the positions and breathing exercises.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
This valuable book provides a complete manual for the study and practice of Raja Yoga, the path of concentration and meditation. This new edition of these timeless teachings is a treasure to be read and referred to again and again by seekers treading the spiritual path. The classic Sutras (thought-threads), at least four thousand years old, cover the yogic teachings on ethics, meditation, and physical postures, and provide directions for dealing with situations in daily life. The Sutras are presented here in the purest form, with the original Sanskrit and with translation, transliteration, and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda, one of the most respected and revered contemporary Yoga masters. In this classic context, Sri Swami offers practical advice, based on his own experience, for mastering the mind and achieving physical, mental, and emotional harmony.
The Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita is the best known of all the Indian scriptures, and Eknath Easwaran's best-selling translation is reliable, readable, and profound.
Easwaran's 55-page introduction places the Bhagavad Gita in its historical setting, and brings out the universality and timelessness of its teachings. Chapter introductions clarify key concepts, and notes and a glossary explain Sanskrit terms.
Easwaran grew up in the Hindu tradition in India, and learned Sanskrit from a young age. He was a professor of English literature before coming to the West on a Fulbright scholarship. A gifted teacher, he is recognized as an authority on the Indian classics and world mysticism.
The Bhagavad Gita opens, dramatically, on a battlefield, as the warrior Arjuna turns in anguish to his spiritual guide, Sri Krishna, for answers to the fundamental questions of life. Yet, as Easwaran points out, the Gita is not what it seems – it's not a dialogue between two mythical figures at the dawn of Indian history. "The battlefield is a perfect backdrop, but the Gita's subject is the war within, the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage if he or she is to emerge from life victorious."
Arjuna's struggle in the Bhagavad Gita is acutely modern. He has lost his way on the battlefield of life and turns to find the path again by asking direct, uncompromising questions of his spiritual guide, Sri Krishna, the Lord himself. Krishna replies in 700 verses of sublime instruction on living and dying, loving and working, and the nature of the soul.
Yoga Anatomy
With more asanas, vinyasas, full-color anatomical illustrations, and in-depth information, the second edition of Yoga Anatomy provides you with a deeper understanding of the structures and principles underlying each movement and of yoga itself.
From breathing to inversions to standing poses, see how specific muscles respond to the movements of the joints; how alterations of a pose can enhance or reduce effectiveness; and how the spine, breathing, and body position are all fundamentally linked.
Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
Who are you? In this remarkable book, author and spiritual guide Michael Singer explores this fundamental question, seeking the very root of consciousness in order to help readers learn how to dwell in the present moment. Written in an engaging and uncomplicated voice, this book will open readers up to the radical and powerful experience of simply being themselves.
