STUDENT RESOURCES
Book Recommendations: Yoga & Yoga Practice* as distinct from the bhakti (devotional) books, not starred, I also did not star anything that I have not read from cover-to-cover.- Sherry Summers 2010
B.K.S Iyengar Yoga the Path to Holistic Health, B.K.S. Iyengar
Sequences for healing particular ailments, detailed instructions for each pose*
The Tree of Yoga (Shambhala Classics), B.K.S. Iyengar
Nice comprehensive overview of all Yogic aspects…*
Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga…, B.K.S. Iyengar
Especially good for instruction on advanced poses and how to get into them. Succinct.*
Yoga Anatomy, Leslie Kaminoff
Very cool Illustrations! Detailed guide for poses, breathing techniques*
Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times, Judith Lasater, P.H.D.
Restorative practice, very detailed, use of props, Nighttime and healing practices, etc*
The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice, T.K.V. Desikachar
Developing personal practice, some bgd on lineage, some Yoga Sutras.*
Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Swami Muktibodhananda
Important Vedic text as important as the Sutras, “practical” applications, Recommended by Rod, I have not yet read it all… http://www.kundalinibooks.com/Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika-by-Swami-Muktibodhananda-p-8.html *
Books published by the Himalayan Institute:
Portion of proceeds go to humanitarian concerns ~ better than buying from Amazon…
Yoga & Ayurveda: Self-Healing and Self-Realization, *David Frawley ~ (I recommend ANYTHING by him!) Ayurveda is the healing, sister science to Yoga, very important for understanding of the whole cosmology of Yoga and it’s major aspects, Gunas, Doshas, Koshas, etc…*
Ayurveda and the Mind: The Healing of Consciousness, D.F…
authentic… he transmits the wisdom as a Vedic scholar and also through his own personal experience of consciousness, …rare!) Some of the same as above, approach is more for specific our psyche…
Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses, D.F
Explains Tantra and the devotion to the Goddess, very beautiful and important work! Not easy to find authentic work on this subject …
Four Chapters on Freedom: Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Swami Satyananda Saraswati In the lineage of Swami Rama and H.I. Interprets the Yoga Sutras, the most respected ancient treatise on Yoga. Includes the full Sanskrit text, explains the text and path of Raja Yoga.*
Kundalini Tantra/2009 Re-print, Swami Satyananda Saraswati
Kundalini, Chakras and Kriya Yoga. Details of Kundalini awakening… advanced practice!
The Art of Joyful Living, Swami Rama guru, founder of H.I.
Philosophy of living and practical suggestions… a wonderful and easy read… *
At The Eleventh Hour, Pandit Rajmani Tigunat, Ph.D., head of H.I.
Biography of Swami Rama, guru of The Himalayan Institute.
The Himalayan Masters, A Living Tradition, Pandit Rajmani Tigunat, Ph.D.
Explores the lives of 8 Himalayan sages who held the distilled wisdom and power of the world’s spiritual traditions… plus practical insight.*
Other Lineages:
The Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda
A “must read.” Founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship and their Kriya Yoga practices…. so inspiring*
I Am Harmony, A Book About Babaji…, Radhe Shyam
*Babaji is the Guru for the ashram that I stay at each summer, with beautiful devotional practices. You can buy books and CDs, murtis (statues) and other devotional items at their shop: http://shop.babajiashram.org/
Fire of Transformation, My Life with Babaji, Gauri Devi
Another book about being in the presence of the Guru… Same as above
Sri Karunamayi, A Biography, Murugan
*Divine Mother incarnation, I follow Sri Karunamayi’s devotional practices, especially in the form of her beautiful chants… buy her books and especially CDs: http://www.karunamayi.org/
The Book of Secrets: Keys to Love and Meditation,*Osho
~ I recommend any book by him that attracts you Osho reveres spiritual freedom and meditation as the way. He is a bit of a Spiritual renegade as far as teachers go and I love him.
Other Inspirations and Teachings:
Anything by him!, ***Adyashanti ~ in the Advaita, non-dual tradition… http://www.Adyashanti.org
I highly recommend any of his CDs and DVDs – especially if you have a practice and have been spiritually striving… gives a clear idea of what being in awareness is, what consciousness really is…