More Yoga Books

Some Classics and Jewels from all Traditions

This small selection notes some classic scpritures on theory and practice of Hatha Yoga, Pranayama, Kundalini, and Tantra. Furthermore, it includes some biographies of great yogis.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha

Yoga Publication Trust, Munger, Bihar, India, 2002, 554 pages

This reference book about traditional Hatha Yoga is recognised as one of the most systematic yoga manuals available today. Since its first publication by the Bihar School of Yoga in 1969, it has been reprinted thirteen times and translated into many languages. It provides clear illustrations and detailed explanations of all postures and techniques including points like breathing, chakra awareness, contra-indications, and benefits. The book contains also a therapeutic index of problems and illnesses incorporating recent information from research into yoga. The author is a student of Swami Sivananda and the founder of the Bihar School of Yoga. Since 1988 he is living in retreat as a paramahansa sannyasin.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Kundalini Tantra, Yoga Publication Trust

Munger, Bihar, India, 2003, 454 pages.

This book provides a detailed account of Kundalini awakening, including the signs and effects of such experiences, and ways to both elicit and manage them. It contains a comprehensive description of each chakra and its significance in tantric and yogic practice. Techniques are given to balance each centre for greater harmony in mind, body, and spirit, and in preparation for the rising of Kundalini shakti. The author is a student of Swami Sivananda and the founder of the Bihar School of Yoga. Since 1988 he is living in retreat as a paramahansa sannyasin.

B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga

Schocken, 1995, 544 pages.

This reference book about traditional Hatha Yoga is recognised as the definitive guide to the philosophy and practice of Yoga by one of the greatest living teachers. It provides complete descriptions and illustrations of all positions and breathing exercises, and it features a foreword by Yehudi Menuhin.

From amazon.com Spotlight Reviews: It is no exaggeration to say that all yoga instructors in the United States know this book, and most of them own a copy and refer to it regularly. Iyengar’s text is characterized by a thoroughness of content, a detailed, precise, step-by-step “how to” for instruction in asana and pranayama. There are 602 photos of Iyengar himself demonstrating the poses with extraordinary flexibility and precision. The 34-page Introduction is a concise overview of the nature, aim and extent of yoga as gleaned from the ancient texts, in particular Pantajali’s Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita and Swatmarama’s Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

B. K. S. Iyengar, Light On Pranayama: The Yogic Art of Breathing

Crossroad General Interest, 1985, 294 pages.

This is a very profound and exhaustive textbook about theory, art, and technique of Pranayama, the Yoga branch of breathing and not breathing, written by one of the most acknowledged Yoga Masters and Teachers of today. It contains introductory chapters on yoga, prana, the respiratory system, nadis, chakras, nutrition, problems, solutions, and the effects of pranayama. After the main part of the book which gives detailed descriptions and 205 illustrations and fotos of all techniques, you find an appendix with a schedule how to set up a profound pranayama course.

Devi Indra, Yoga for You

Gibbs Smith Publishers, 2002, 252 pages.

Originally published in 1948 as Yoga for Americans, this book was one of the first to be issued in America that provided a program for the practice of the then relatively unknown science of yoga. This new edition is completely revised for the American market, in which yoga currently enjoys an unprecedented popularity, yet retains the honest simplicity that makes Indra Devi one of the great instructors to span two centuries. The Yoga of Indra Devi is gently, straight-forward and effective with simple, easy-to-learn techniques and a down-to-earth approach.

Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali

Vedanta Press, 1996, 224 pages.

There are many translations of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, some arguably more literal, scholarly, and technically sophisticated. However, this work is one of the most accessible, and beautifully captures the essence and wisdom of the work. This book is highly recommended for anybody who wants to approach the philosophy and science of yoga for the first time. The authors draw a lot of parallels to all religions and quote many masters, especially from the lectures of Swami Vivekananda.

Marshall Govindan, Kriya Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Siddhas

Kriya Yoga Publications, Canada, 2000, 286 pages.

This is a very comprehensive work on Patanjali’s Sutras and the Tirumandiram scripture of the South Indian Siddhas. It provides a very scientific word-by-word translation and commentaries of the famous Sutras. The Author is a direct disciple of Babaji, teaching the technology of Kriya Yoga in the Western World.

Osho, (various titles with precious discourses about all aspects of Yoga).
See for example www.osho.com/shop/all_books.

Osho, Tantra, The Supreme Understanding

Discourses on the tantric way of Tilopa’s Song of Mahamudra, Full Circle Publishing, New Delhi, 2004.

Nothing much is known about Indian Master Tilopa, yet his mystical insight into Tantra on the form of a song passed on to his disciple Naropa, has lived on through the ages. In this series of discourses, Osho speaks on Tilopa’s verses which contain many significant meditation techniques that are still as helpful and powerful today as when Tilopa first sang his song. Swami Anand Subhuti: “The highest tribute that I can give to this book is to simply say that when I had finished reading it, I sincerely felt that I never read another. The ultimate may not be expressible, but whatsoever can be said is included here within the all-embracing tantric vision of two enlightened masters: Osho and Tilopa. In this extraordinary meeting a key insight is given and the door opens to understanding, acceptance and transcendence.”

Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi

Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, 1998.

Similar like Yogi Bhajan, Paramahansa Yogananda was called by his master Babaji to go to the west and spread the art and science of Kriya Yoga to provide a technique for integral healing and development to all people all over the world. As part of his mission he wrote this book, the first of its kind, and gave an incredibly deep, touching, and uplifting insight in what life can be about when approached with bhakti and shakti, devotion and power, developed by living in the way of yoga.

It is very touching and amazing how Yogananda tells about his own spiritual seeking and development and about his most wonderful meetings with extraordinary indian saints and siddhas, beings with very special abilities and powers, some who don’t eat, or some who know how to manifest their bodies at different places at the same time. In very intense chapters he tells the story how he met his master, the great Avatar Babaji. Most interesting for western Christians may be his visit to Therese Neumann in Bavaria, Germany. Yogananda sensitively interprets not only his own spiritual evolution but also his relationship with elements of the West’s spiritual tradition, such as the story of Adam and Eve, providing a penetrating look at the ultimate mysteries of human existence. The book contains a lot of very illuminating scientific footnotes.

W. Y. Evans-Wentz, Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa

Munshirm Manoharlal, 2000, 315 pages.

This is the highly amazing and touching life story of the most famous Tibetan poet-saint and one of the greatest mystics and yogis ever. Starting as an orphan with black magic powers, Milarepa gets deeply entangled in karmic structures of revenge until he completely changes his mind in remorse, committing to a spiritual path in penance and renouncement, to the dharma, and to his extraordinary Guru Marpa. This book is an outstanding example of what it means to stay committed on a spiritual path and to the Teacher-Guru, no matter what examinations, challenges, and obstacles are to be faced and passed.