My Favorite Yoga, Spirituality & Philosophy Books
I’ve had a few friends ask me recently for my personal recommendations on books related to yoga and spirituality. Through my YTT—and just being interested in the subject for as long as I can remember (thanks Mom, she started me young with yoga and Deepak), I’ve read quite a few books over the years. Here are some of my favorites:
Yoga & Meditation
The Secret of the Yoga Sutra: I have to put this one on here—and also put it first, because Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are the core teaching of the entire yogic tradition. There are many translations, but I enjoyed this one by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait of the Himalayan Institute.
The Heart of Yoga: If I had to pick…this might be my favorite. Desikachar gives a thorough overview of the theory and practice of yoga—covering both philosophy and the physical practice.
Bringing Yoga to Life: Donna Farhi writes about yoga beautifully and in a way that is both engaging and accessible.
The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga: For anyone interested in yin yoga, this is a really comprehensive guide to the practice itself and the philosophy behind it.
Restore and Rebalance: Yoga for Deep Relaxation: I did a Restorative yoga teacher training with the daughter of the author of this book and it was lovely. We all could use a little more Restorative yoga in our lives.
Yoga for Wellness: A wonderful resource on therapeutic yoga that goes through each area of the body with physical practices to support it.
Yoga Anatomy: This is a great reference book for yoga asanas by Leslie Kaminoff, a well-respected specialist in the field of yoga anatomy.
Moving Inward: The Journey to Meditation: My favorite meditation book, Rolf Sovik teaches the philosophical foundations of meditation and presents a series of simple steps to help guide your own personal practice.
Spirituality & Philosophy
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: I read this book one summer in college—which just so happens to be the perfect time to read it (I think so anyway). Outwardly, it’s about a father/son motorcycle trip across the United States, but it’s more of a philosophic trip than anything else. It truly changed my perspective on life.
The Art of Joyful Living: Swami Rama: This man is a delight. This book is a delight. Read it.
Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change: I only got about 5 pages into this book before I decided that it should be required reading for the entire human race. Pema Chodron’s teachings are a gift.
The Power of Now: A classic—and rightfully so. Eckhardt Tolle describes his personal spiritual transformation and teaches the art of living in the present moment.
The Alchemist: A story about finding your destiny and trusting the path that gets you there—even when it doesn’t seem to make sense. This quote from the book about sums it up: "When you really want something to happen, the whole universe will conspire so that your wish comes true."
The Celestine Prophecy: Theories on synchronicity, energy (not in the traditional sense), tapping into your intuition, and following the flow of the universe.
Anatomy of the Spirit: A very interesting look at the connection between our emotional body and our physical body, with a focus on the 7 major energy channels in the human body as defined by the Hindu chakras, the Christian sacraments, and the Kabbalah's Tree of Life. Intriguing, right?
Astrology for the Soul: I don’t know exactly where astrology fits into the picture here (philosophy?), but wow, once you get past just learning about your sun sign, a whole new world opens up and it becomes harder to question the validity of it all. This book is all about your north node and it is eerily spot on (p.s. mine is in Gemini).
On My To-Read List:
p.s. I plan to update this list periodically as I read more and my list of favorites grows. If I’m missing one of your favorites, let me know.
