1. Light on Yoga
© Barry Stone
B.K.S. Iyengar's classic 1966 book is still the gold standard for its encyclopedic illustration of hundreds of yoga poses and many breathing techniques. A must-have for any yoga practitioner's library.
2. Yoga Anatomy
Courtesy of Human Kinetics
A great choice for any yoga lover, this book's unique strength is its illustrations. Rendered through a process of photography, medical illustration, and digital media, each pose is shown from the inside out with the pertinent anatomy highlighted.
3. Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses
Photo Courtesy of Farrar, Straus & Giroux
An outstanding entry in the increasingly popular yoga memoir genre, this book sets itself apart with truly good writing. I especially recommend this book to mothers who have struggled with finding balance in their lives after having children.
4. Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice
© About.com
A fascinating look into the history of yoga asana by scholar Mark Singleton. This book is a real game changer, taking everything you though you knew about yoga's roots in ancient India and turning it on its ear.
5. Yoga The Iyengar Way
© About.com
Iyengar's Light on Yoga is the undisputed pose encyclopedia, but this reference book has a lot to recommend it too. Key poses are covered and the large color photographs and explicit alignment points make it a more accessible companion volume.
6. Art of Yoga
Author: Sharon Gannon and David LifeThis beautifully produced coffee-table book features photographs of Jivamukti founders Sharon Gannon and David Life doing extremely advanced poses. This book is more inspirational than instructional, and lovely to look at.
7. Cool Yoga Tricks
© Barry Stone
This book is perfect for a beginner who wants to practice at home, because it offers creative adaptations of many poses using props such as chairs, blocks, blankets, and straps. Instead of showing super flexible advanced yogis in gravity-defying poses, it offers practical advice for real people. It is also ideal for yoga teachers, because it is full of ideas students will love.
8. The Living Gita
Author: Sri Swami SatchidanandaSri Swami Satchidananda's translation and interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita makes the lessons of this ancient text accessible to modern readers.
9. Watch Me Do Yoga
Image Courtesy of Rodmell Press
A great yoga book for kids that manages to be true to life and inspirational at the same time. If you are interested in having your kids join you for yoga, read then this book.
10. Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful
Author: Gurmukh Kaur KhalsaGurmukh is a leading Kundalini yoga teacher who is especially known for her prenatal yoga classes. The yoga in this book is gentle, but the anecdotes and advice for pregnant women is unique in the sea of books about pregnancy. It is empowering for anyone contemplating natural childbirth.
