You have made it this far! Now it is time to figure out what books to bring with you on your yoga adventure… or how to set your self up at home with all of the books that sparked your interest on your yoga teacher training.
Books every yoga teacher needs to read!
(these are all linked directly to Amazon so you can click and purchase here):
200-hr & 300-hr students:
- The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali – by Sri Swami Satchidananda
- Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution (Your Ayurvedic Constitution Revised Enlarged Second Edition) – by Dr. Robert Svoboda
200-hr students (also recommended for 300-hr students if you haven’t read these yet):
- Teaching Yoga, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Guide for Yoga Teachers and Trainers: A Yoga Alliance-Aligned Manual of Asanas, Breathing Techniques, Yogic Foundations, and More – by Mark Stephens
- The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice – by T. K. V. Desikachar
- Yoga Anatomy – by Leslie Kaminoff & Amy Matthews
300-hr students:
- Your Body, Your Yoga: Learn Alignment Cues That Are Skillful, Safe, and Best Suited To You Paperback – by Bernie Clark
- Yoga of the Subtle Body: A Guide to the Physical and Energetic Anatomy of Yoga by Tias Little
- Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga – by Sally Kempton
- Science of Yoga: Understand the Anatomy and Physiology to Perfect Your Practice – by Ann Swanson
Books we discuss in the training and are highly recommended to enhance your library (no need to read before the training or to bring but these are all excellent books and you should read every one of them):
Chakras:
- Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System As a Path to the Self – by Anodea Judith
- Wheels of Life: A User’s Guide to the Chakra System – by Anodea Judith
Yoga Philosophy & Mythology:
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika – by Swami Muktibodhananda
- The Bhagavad Gita, 2nd Edition (Easwaran’s Classics of Indian Spirituality Book 1) – by Eknath Easwaran
- Hanuman’s Tale: The Messages of a Divine Monkey – by Philip Lutgendorf
- The Greatness of Saturn – by Robert E. Svoboda
- The All-Eater (Sacrifice the World Book 1) by Satya Moses
- King Dharma (Sacrifice the World Book 2) by Satya Moses
Tantra:
- Aghora: At the Left Hand of God – by Robert E. Svoboda
- Aghora II: Kundalini – by Robert E. Svoboda
- AGHORA III: The Law of Karma – by Robert Svoboda
Spirituality & Psychology:
- All About Love: New Visions – by bell hooks
- Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill – by Matthieu Ricard
- Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience – by Sharon Salzberg
Anatomy:
- Yoga Anatomy Coloring Book: A Visual Guide to Form, Function, and Movement – An Educational Anatomy Coloring Book for Medical Students, Yoga … & Adults by Kelly Solloway & Samantha Stutzman
- Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual Therapists and Movement Professionals 4th Edition by Thomas W. Myers
- All of the Yoga Anatomy books by Ray Long
Restorative and Yin:
- All of Judith Hanson Lasater’s books
- Insight Yoga: An Innovative Synthesis of Traditional Yoga, Meditation, and Eastern Approaches to Healing and Well-Being –by Sarah Powers
Somatics & Trauma:
- My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies – by Resmaa Menakem
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma – by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
- Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter A. Levine
- The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Maté
- Somatics: Reawakening The Mind’s Control Of Movement, Flexibility, And Health by Thomas Hanna
Ayurveda
- Marma Points of Ayurveda: The Energy Pathways for Healing Body, Mind, and Consciousness with a Comparison to Traditional Chinese Medicine by Vasant Lad & Anisha Durve
- Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners: Familiar Western Food Prepared with Ayurvedic Principles by Amadea Morningstar