Iyengar Yoga Books: Your Fourth Eye to Burning Yoga Oxygen in Your Own Time

by Ben Parker · June 20, 2016

There is no doubt about all the physical and mental benefits of yoga. But, making it to yoga classes on time in today’s frantic society can turn out to be really stressful and that beats the purpose of yoga. If only there was a way you can practice yoga in your own time, at your own pace, wherever you want, whenever you want it. Well, there actually is a way and you probably guessed it. It’s called home yoga practice.

Starting a home practice is a great way to either deepen or maintain your yoga practice if you are having trouble fitting classes into your schedule or if you want to practice more often than what you can afford.

The good thing about yoga is that it is very accessible and you don’t need a specially designated place in order to practice. You can do it at home, in your backyard, on the roof of your building, in the park, on the beach, well basically, the only thing you need to practice yoga is you yourself and a place where you can lay down your mat. Find a place of your own personal preference which is peaceful, inviting, and it means something to you. The environment you choose should help you shift your focus from your everyday life and bring your attention to your practice. To set the mood you can also use candles, incense, a picture or a canvas, play some music and so on.

Whether you are a complete newbie or you have previous experience with yoga classes, when starting your own home practice, you will need some guidelines. Having a couple of Iyengar yoga books handy can be really helpful in getting you started or giving you some pointers on those days when you feel less inspired.

Here are some of the Iyengar yoga books that I found most helpful when starting my home yoga practice.

Light on Yoga is a large format yoga book by B.K.S. Iyengar which features detailed photography, quality paper, and quality binding. This is the most complete and most practical yoga book with over 600 illustrations and detailed explanation of over 200 yoga postures. It also has a very good introduction to everything you need to know about yoga and is widely known as “the bible of yoga”.
A ‘Class’ after a Class is a book by Prashant Iyengar that covers multiple aspects of Iyengar Yoga practice that can’t actually be covered in practical classes. This book also includes sequencing of asanas, the importance of timings and all the different technical intricacies. It also explains how the mind influences and how it is involved in one’s practice with various examples.
Core of the Yoga Sutras is the latest work from B.K.S. Iyengar and it is a complete guide to the philosophy of yoga. This book features the unique teaching style of B.K.S. Iyengar as well as the idea of “yoga for all” which has turned yoga into a worldwide phenomenon.