Hi,
Just as we’d all settled into lockdown life, we’re now being told that the ‘Stay home’ message is being changed to ‘Stay Alert’. Most of us have responded by thinking ‘what does that even mean’?
It’s hard to stay alert to something 120 nanometres big. To get a sense of scale, a human hair is around 80,000 nanometres wide. What we do need to stay alert to is our mental health and well-being (neatly this week is Mental Health Awareness Week 2020).
To this end, I’d like to talk about some of the books that I’ve been turning to during this period to keep my practice going and my head and heart on an even keel.
My TOP FIVE Yoga books
Light on Yoga
By B. K. S. Iyengar
This is the ‘Bible’ of Iyengar yoga. First published in the 50s it was a radical book. Up until that point, yoga was seen as something that only wandering holy men in India would do. The knowledge of yoga was passed from Guru to Shishya (pupil) and was kept as a mystery.
B. K. S. Iyengar was an extraordinary character who worked hard to master yoga. After teaching and befriending the great Yehudi Menuhin, and with his encouragement, he decided to spread the wisdom of yoga to the West, and this book was the culmination of that effort.
I would encourage everyone who is a committed Iyengar yoga practitioner to have this book on their shelves. Not only is it inspirational and aspirational in terms of the poses he demonstrates, but there is great wisdom in his introduction to the book.
There are also sequences at the back of the book covering a wide range of ailments, although a word of caution, as these are really aimed at advanced yogis.
Light on Life
By B. K. S. Iyengar
Another Iyengar classic, this book was written much later, when he was in his 80s, with all the benefit and wisdom of hindsight, and a life devoted to yoga. This isn’t a practical guide in the physical sense, but a practical guide in the philosophical sense. If you’re at all interested in the philosophy of yoga, it’s an absolute MUST.
It's one of those books that you probably won’t read all in one go. But it’s one that you’ll come back to again and again for the stories, the diamond-like clarity of understanding of the human condition, the perfectly percolated wisdom.
He’s firm, but compassionate; qualities that I understand he had as a teacher of yoga too. From the preface:
"Many of you worry that you are unable to meet the challenges that lie ahead. I want to assure you that you can. I am a man who started from nowhere; I was heavily disadvantaged in many ways. After much time and effort, I began to reach somewhere. [-] What held good for me will hold good for you too."
The Woman’s Yoga Book
By Bobby Clennell
This book has been my saviour for many years now. It’s a beautifully illustrated book that has asana and pranayama poses and sequences for all phases of the menstrual cycle, as well as sequences for the joys that can come with hormonal fluctuations such as PMS, migraine headaches, bloating, insomnia, lower back pain, etc.
Bobby Clennell, the author, now lives and teaches in New York, and she’s a fabulous teacher, with an instinctive understanding of yoga and how it works for people’s bodies.
The book has sequences at the back which are so easy to follow – I do the sequence for when you’re menstruating every month, and it is so calming and stretches and opens all the right bits.
As well as focusing on the phases of the menstrual cycle, there are also some brilliant practical instructions for many of the basic poses, especially restorative poses and pranayama.
Yoga - The Path to Holistic Health
By B. K. S. Iyengar (and other editors)
This hefty hardback is published by Dorling Kindersley as an encyclopaedic, step-by-step picture guide to Iyengar yoga. It’s a brilliant book, and if you’re going to buy any book from this list, I would recommend this one.
The publishers worked closely with Iyengar on the book, and occasionally he is pictured adjusting the students who are modelling for the photos. The book’s opening chapters are on Iyengar’s life and works, the benefits of yoga and the philosophy of yoga, clearly written and with lots of nice pictures (always helps).
The rest of the book is a practical guide to nearly all the basic poses. Each pose is clearly described and photographed from every angle, with the benefits and cautions for each pose clearly stated. It also has sequences at the back for most ailments, as well as a 20-week plan for home practice for beginners.
Yoga – The Iyengar Way
By Silva, Mira and Shyam Mehta
The Mehta family worked closely with Iyengar in the early days, and the evidence is there in the beautiful postures photographed for this book. Another Dorling Kindersley book, the format is not dissimilar to the Holistic Health book, but this is a slimmer, more portable version, and there are more advanced poses in this book.
Each pose has a ‘ways of practicing’ and a ‘work in the posture’ section, which offer variations if the final pose is too hard, as well as some key things to think about while practicing.
The sequences at the back are also very useful for those of you who are thinking of progressing your home practice if you feel that you’re getting into a bit of a rut. The final course is not for the faint-hearted, however!
Other books
I would say that these are my top 5 books that I reach for on an almost daily basis, but there are other essential books that I also refer to often:
Yoga – A Gem for Women – by Geeta Iyengar
A Chair for Yoga – by Eyal Shifroni
Props for Yoga, Volume 1: Standing asanas – by Eyal Shifroni
Props For Yoga, Volume 2: Sitting asanas and forward extensions – by Eyal Shifroni
Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali – by B. K. S. Iyengar
Light on Pranayama – by B. K. S. Iyengar
Hatha Yoga Pradipika – by A. G. Mohan and Dt. Ganesh Mohan