Hello Dears,
Do you have any Yoga (or yogic) books you return to time and time again? Or those you recommend to anyone taking up the practice? I sure do. I think these are absolutely essential to the Yoga Library.
1. Philosophy: Bhagavad Gita & Yoga Sutras. These two go hand in hand, in my opinion. The Gita is the heart of yoga, while the Sutras are the blueprint for getting there. There are gobs and gobs of translations, I like Mukunda Stiles’ rendition of the Sutras (and Nishala Joy Devi for a feminine/feminist perspective) and Eknath Easwaran’s Gita. (I think Bob Weisenberg’s Nutshell Series is AWESOME and want to read Stephen Mitchell’s translation.)
2. Asana: Moving into Stillness by Erich Schiffmann. Sure there are tons of books showing you postures, but Erich describes being in the shapes in such a glorious way. I would absolutely say this is my favorite asana book. For Yin Yoga, I love Bernie Clark’s The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga. He is so funny! And down-to-earth!
3. Embodying Yoga in the 21st Century: Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates. I have given this book as a gift no fewer than 4 times and recommend it to any of my students who seems like they earnestly want to bring yoga into their lives. Rolf Gates synthesizes the Sutras and tells stories of his own experiences with the 8 limbs of Raja Yoga.
My extra credit books are The Ramayana— so many stories!– and Hatha Yoga: The Hidden Language, Symbols, Secrets and Metaphors. (Books are definitely part of Jnana, Raja, Bhakti, Hatha & Karma Yoga– see the Margas illustration above + discussion here.)
What is essential to your Yoga Library?
om shanti! kelly
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