Asana and Beyond: 16 of the Best Yoga Books for Beginners

This is a classic Hindu text and there are a number of options when it comes to translation and interpretation available. But to truly understand the roots of yoga practice, it’s a must-read. It’s an epic poem in the form of a conversation between warrior Arjuna and Krishna, the manifestation of God. The dialog is about the lessons Arjuna must learn to change the course of the war he’s about to fight, and the book is brimming with lessons on living well, on making choices, and what it means to live into your true cosmic form.

Iyengar sets out the postures, breath work, and mindfulness essential to a yoga practice. It’s comprehensive, and it includes hundreds of images of the physical postures, as well as instructions for pranayama (breath work) to marry breath, mind, and body. Note that the images here will be intimidating for beginners—it’s intimidating to me as an advanced yoga practitioner—and Iyengar himself is hypermobile. Consider the images templates from which to work, as opposed to the be-all, end-all. Iyengar wrote a couple of other essential texts on the practice worth checking out too: Light on Life, Light on Pranayama, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, among others.

An essential guide to the practice of yoga’s non-asana work, this book focuses on offering advice and insight for mastering the mind. In this translation, the Sutras—thought-threads—are presented in Sanskrit as well as in English.

The very first Sutra sets up what it means to practice yoga: “If the restraint of the mental modifications is achieved, one has reached the goal of yoga.” This book is one you’ll return to again and again, seeking insight and wisdom from the practice and taking away something new each time. Personally, I find some of the ways these Sutras are discussed or explained to be purposefully humorous in a way that makes the lessons really stick. I think that the Four Keys and Four Locks changed my entire way of interacting with other humans.

You’ve likely heard of or seen images representing the chakras and wondered what those were. They’re energies within every body, and Judith’s text explains them perfectly, aligning the eastern philosophies with western psychology in a way that makes ancient beliefs and practices click. Western white ladies love calling eastern philosophy “woo woo,” but this book is a reminder that the things western folks believe in psychology and call scientific actually come from eastern philosophy from centuries ago. These practices have been around a lot longer than western psychology and science. This is a slower read, as well as one you’ll return to again and again.

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya was instrumental in developing yoga, and his work inspired countless lineages of the practice. This book is the distillation of his teachings and understandings as written by his son. It’s based on the idea of viniyoga, encouraging practices to continually evolve and adapt to each person’s own needs throughout their lives to achieve the best benefits—something that too often can get lost in the desire to achieve a “perfect” asana. Included are poses, meditations, philosophical practices, and more that each person can use to adapt and find their own perfect yoga practice.

Bachman’s book is a postural guide, but I’m including it in this portion of the guide to books for yoga beginners because it’s crucial to understand that yoga is an ancient practice and even in more modern manifestations of asana, their names are in Sanskrit. This book honors those roots. There are over 200 illustrated poses here, their Sanskrit and English names, as well as chants, sutras, and pronunciation guides.

For those who really want a journaling and meditative practice around the Sutras, this would be a great resource. The Sutras are laid out succinctly and DiNardo and Pearce-Hayden offer excellent reflection space after each. A perfect guide for dipping your toe into where and how you understand the Sutras and their impact on your own life.

Many yoga teachers cite Gates’s earlier book—cited below—as a foundational text, but I found this book to be especially moving and powerful. Focused on the ideas of intention and what it means to live your yoga, Gates’s book is broken into 365 short passages that dive deep into the yamas (ethical practices) and niyamas (observances) and where they fit into everyday life, particularly in the West. Gates struggled with alcohol and many of his insights come from the 12-step program and take a wide, global view of living your yoga.

In 365 short passages, Gates explores how one can integrate yoga, mindfulness, and the principals of the practice into every day life. This book would be excellent for seeing the yamas and niyamas in practice (i.e. the lessons of the Sutras and the eight-fold path as they relate to modern western life).

A perfect text to counter the cultural image of the thin, privileged white women who practices yoga, Johnson’s book is meant to explore how to use the practice as a radical tool of change. It’s meant to help find liberation for all bodies and gives space for people to find whatever that means for them within their own lives, marrying the tools of change with the deeply radical roots of yoga. Yoga isn’t a practice of complacency. It’s one of being and living change—that’s right there in the Sutras, and Johnson’s book is a refreshing reminder of how yoga isn’t just what you do on the mat. It’s what you do off it.

The practice of yoga doesn’t happen solely on the mat, and for some, there is no real mat component to yoga at all. Jakubowicz’s book is a guide to the yoga philosophies underpinning the entire practice, and it’s written in an extremely accessible and easy-to-apply manner. There are 52 practices here and that’s exactly the purpose to the book: the practice.

It’s nice that there are professional yoga teachers who write books about the yoga life, but what about the average person who enjoys yoga? Where are their stories or experiences?

The answer is right here.

Klein’s book has 30 stories from those who practice yoga and what it is that yoga brings to their lives. What’s essential here, though, is the intersectionality of the stories: contributors talk about body size, ability and disability, race, sexuality, class, age, and so many other points of social challenge they find themselves in and how yoga has been part of understanding, challenging, and living within those worlds. A book about liberating the body through yoga.

If you’re going to pick up one book about the physical postures, let it be this one. Stanley’s book offers not just asana, but modifications for different bodies throughout. The models are many different shapes and sizes and showcase how adaptable and incredible the physical practice can be when made to suit the body practicing it, rather than insisting a body conform to a certain posture.

Likewise, Stanley’s own understanding of yoga and how it plays a role in her life will connect with many readers—especially those from marginalized backgrounds.

If what you want is simply a way to destress and relax, you’ll love this book deeply. Lasater focuses on supported poses that allow you to sink, settle, and completely bliss out. There are sequences in here for short practices, for yoga at your desk, and more.

Marrying easy yoga poses with meditation, Tarkeshi’s book is an outstanding guide for understanding the ways the body, mind, and breath come together to form the physical practice of yoga. There are step-by-step instructions and the book is designed with the very beginner in mind.

No matter what your body looks like—whether it’s big or small, whether you have four limbs or fewer, whether you use a wheelchair or not, whether you’re pregnant or face challenges relating to an aging body—this book has 50 poses that are accessible for all. In addition to the poses, there are 10 sequences in the book that weave the poses together, giving every body an outstanding series of movements they can do without needing to figure it out on their own. An empowering essential guide to physical yoga.