Ashtanga Yoga

Literature

Among the huge flood of literature on the subject of yoga, there is today a broad offer available also on Ashtanga Yoga and associated with this on anatomy, yoga philosophy and the effect of yoga in general:

Ashtanga Yoga

The selection of books specifically on Ashtanga Yoga is so large that the following list is definitely not comprehensive:

Sri K. Patthabi Jois: Yoga Mala
R. Sharath Jois: Astanga Yoga Anusthasana
Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor: The Art of Vinyasa
Kino MacGregor: The Power of Ashtanga Yoga
Kino MacGregor: The Power of Ashtanga Yoga II
Gregor Maehle: Ashtanga Yoga – Practice and Philosophy
Gregor Maehle: The Intermediate Series – Mythology, Anatomy and Practice
Lino Miele: Ashtanga Yoga
Linda Munro and Gérard Disse: Ashtanga Yoga – The Primary Series, Yoga Chikitsā
Petri Räisänen: Ashtanga Yoga
Petri Räisänen: nāḍī śodhana – The intermediate series practice manual
John Scott: The definitive step-by-step guide to Dynamic Yoga
David Swenson: Ashtanga Yoga – The Practice Manual

Each book has its individual advantages and disadvantages, one may have a large theoretical background, another almost none, one many pictures, another focussing mainly on the exact sequence.

The classic is certainly Yoga Mala. The other books are also all interesting – I could not objectively chose “the best Ashtanga book”. This is also a question of taste. Personally, I like the two books from Petri most, as he has written them in close exchange consultation with Patthabi Jois and his grandson.

History of Yoga

Peter Conolly: A Student’s Guide to the History and Philosophy of Yoga
James Mallison und Mark Singleton (Hrsg.): Roots of Yoga
Geoffrey Samuel: The origins of Yoga and Tantra

Yoga Anatomy

Simon Borg-Olivier, Bianca Machliss: Applied Anatomy & Physiology of Yoga
David Keil: Functional Anatomy of Yoga – A Guide for Practitioners and Teachers
Ray Long: Anatomy for Vinyasa flow and standing poses
Ray Long: Anatomy for hip openers and forward bends
Ray Long: Anatomy for backbends and twists
Ray Long: Anatomy for arm balances and inversions

Yoga Philosophy

Edwin F. Bryant: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Richard Freeman: The mirror of Yoga
Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor: When love comes to light – bringing wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita into modern life
Sri Swami Satchidananda: The living Gita
Sri Swami Satchidananda: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Ken Wilber, Georg Feuerstein: The Yoga Tradition

Effect of Yoga

Richard Freeman: The Mirror of Yoga – Awakening the Intelligence of Body and Mind
Eddie Stern: One Simple Thing – A New Look at the Science of Yoga and How it Can Transform Your Life

Students who come to my shala may use the relatively large collection of literature concerning yoga and the other activities that I offer under the heading of “Plus” and beyond. The actual list of books available (sorry, not searchable, just a simple PDF) can be found here.