Light on Yoga

Best for:
Anyone interested in pursuing a serious yoga practice.

In a nutshell:
Igengar provides a summary of the history of yoga, beyond what many folks consider when attending yoga classes or watching videos.

Worth quoting:
“The study of Yoga is not like work for a diploma or a university degree by someone desiring favourable results in a stipulated time.”

Why I chose it:
Part of my goal for 2021 is to live more of the life that I want, and building a consistent yoga practice is high on that list.

Review:
This is an interesting book. I’ve always known yoga is not just breathing and stretching, but based more in a broader way of living. As a white woman raised in the US, most of my exposure to yoga has been through a Lululemon view. A way show more to stretch and build strength and relieve stress, without really looking at where yoga comes from. I’ve been in classes where there’s some lip service paid to it, but nothing more.

Obviously, one isn’t going to understand an entire cultural concept like yoga from reading one book. But this is a good starting place. It discusses the connection between what is going on with the body and what is going on in the mind. I’ll need to read it over a few times to understand it better, but again, a good place to start.

After the introduction, Iyengar offers instructions and photos of over 200 poses, which are quite easy to follow. He then has put together three ‘courses,’ spreading across 300 weeks (yes, you read that right). Today I started with course one, which lasts about 32 weeks. It’s been seven or eight years since I regularly practiced yoga, and I can feel it, but I can also see how this is going to work, and I’m excited about it.

Videos are definitely an easy way to start learning yoga, and I don’t think a book can fully replace that for more visual learners, but I do think this book is a great place to start.

Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
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I wouldn't exactly call this a great read. The introduction is useful for anyone new to yoga but it could probably fill out an entire book on its own so you're really skipping over a lot of ideas in that essay. The bulk of the book is an index of poses and commentary on their usefulness. The index is ESSENTIAL. Particularly the suggested schedule of asanas. This book is defining a trajectory for my practice and basically changing my life. So, yeah, 5 stars for that.

I wouldn't exactly call this a great read. The introduction is useful for anyone new to yoga but it could probably fill out an entire book on its own so you're really skipping over a lot of ideas in that essay. The bulk of the book is an index of poses and commentary on their usefulness. The index is ESSENTIAL. Particularly the suggested schedule of asanas. This book is defining a trajectory for my practice and basically changing my life. So, yeah, 5 stars for that.

This is a great reference book on yoga and its asanas by the well-known BKS Iyengar. My sister and I reference to it frequently as my yoga practice is growing and we live 500 miles apart. Besides a generally good description and photos of each asana, it frequently shows the stages of difficulty. Some asanas are accompanied by stories about great Hindu sages or even the the gods of Hinduism.

If you only read one book about the theory and practice of yoga, this should be it. I had been searching for such a book for quite a while, and at class one day my instructor read a passage from this one -- I was hooked right away. This book is very well-balanced, incorporating both philosophical information and minuscule details for how to work yourself into each asana. I particularly enjoy the sanskrit glossary in the back of the book, as well as the appendix with a 200 week program. I have been reading through this and marking passages as I read, and it is clearly helping to deepen my awareness and practice.

#98, 2006

It took me a while to get through this book. It’s very dense, and I could only read a certain amount in a single sitting before I’d start feeling overloaded. He’s got lots of very interesting information about the philsophy of yoga, and of course, his descriptions/photographs of asanas are considered the “Bible” of yoga. I enjoyed this book, but didn’t love it. It will stay on my shelf always, though, because I know I’ll be referring to it again and again over the years.

Other yoga books are easier to use (e.g. the Dorling Kindersley "Sivananda Yoga" texts), but I find myself refering back to this text regularly over the decades - now because I want to explore some connections between Qigong and yoga.

Deservedly a classic. Excellent if you want to follow the Iyenga yoga path. Also excellent if you want to explore other paths from a different angle.