Resources to Boost Your Yoga Practice

You can find a wealth of Yoga resources for further study and practice. This list recommends a few yoga-related books, DVDs, and more worth taking a look at.

Get a Leg up with Yoga Props

Your own forgiving limbs and the walls of your house are props enough for Yoga practice. Still, a little help from a block, bolster, cushion, strap, or blanket can provide additional ease, and props are essentials for certain restorative practices. Some of the props the recommended vendors list here are way beyond what's recommended for a gentle Yoga practice, especially for beginners. Nonetheless, you may enjoy window shopping.

Here are some Yoga suppliers you may want to look into:

• Gaiam: In addition to props, you can find Yoga clothing, DVDs, and other Yoga goodies here.

• Hugger Mugger: This site is easily navigable, to help you find an array of options for the basic props.

• Yoga Accessories: If you need to buy in bulk, this vendor offers quantity discounts.

• Yoga Props: The Yoga Equipment Specialist: In addition to common props, this vendor carries specialty items for a wide variety of Yoga styles.

• Amazon: Of course, you can find almost everything on Amazon.

Access master teachers through DVDs and audio

Many Yoga teachers have produced their own DVDs and audios of varying quality. Here's a small selection that come recommended. To take a closer look at any of the resources, visit the teacher's own website, or do an Internet search for other vendors.

DVDs for Hatha Yoga and meditation

• Gaiam Kids: Yogakids Fun Collection, by Gaiam

• Kripalu Yoga/Dynamic, starring Stephen Cope

• Kripalu Yoga Gentle, starring Sudha Carolyn Lundeen

• Lilias! AM & PM Yoga Workouts for Seniors, starring Lilias Folan

• Meditation for Beginners, starring Maritza

• Relaxation & Breathing for Meditation, starring Rodney Yee

• Total Yoga: Original, starring Ganga White and Tracey Rich

• Total Yoga: The Flow Series — Water, by Ganga White and Tracey Rich (series also features Earth and Fire DVDs)

• Yoga in Motion, by Radiant Child Yoga (includes a Spanish option)

• Yoga for Beginners, starring Barbara Benagh

• Yoga for Families: Connect with Your Kids, starring Gerardo Diego

• Yoga for Stress Relief (with the Dalai Lama), starring Barbara Benagh

General conditioning and Yoga therapy DVDs by Yoga For Dummies coauthor Larry Payne

Available at Larry's site, Samata International:

• Classic Beginners' Yoga for Men and Women

• Common Lower Back Problems

• Common Upper Neck and Back Problems

• Immune Booster & General Conditioning, Levels One and Two

• Restorative Health for Women

• Weight Management for People with Curves

Audio resources

• iRest at Ease/Yoga Nidra, with Richard Miller

• The Lost Teachings of Yoga, by Georg Feuerstein

• Yoga: A Basic Daily Routine, by John Schumacher

• The Yoga Matrix: The Body as a Gateway to Freedom, by Richard Freeman

• Yoga Nidra/Yoga Sleep, by Brenda Feuerstein

• Yoga Wisdom, by Georg Feuerstein

Further reading

The following resources provide further reading on Yoga and Yoga-related topics. They represent a small but quality selection from a huge body of literature.

Other reference works by Yoga For Dummies coauthor Georg Feuerstein

• The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga (Shambhala Publications)

• The Shambhala Guide to Yoga (Shambhala Publications)

• The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy, and Practice, 3rd Edition (Hohm Press)

Hatha Yoga (beginners and advanced)

• The Awakened Union of Breath, Body and Mind, by Frank Jude Boccio (Shambhala Publications)

• The Deeper Dimensions of Yoga, by Georg Feuerstein (Shambhala Publications)

• Hatha Yoga: The Hidden Language, by Swami Sivananda Radha (Timeless Books)

• The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice, by T.K.V. Desikachar (Inner Traditions)

• Light on Pranayama: The Yogic Art of Breathing, by B.K.S. Iyengar (Crossroad)

• Light on Yoga, by B.K.S. Iyengar (Schocken Books)

• The New Yoga for People over 50, by Suza Francina (Health Communications)

• Power Yoga: The Total Strength and Flexibility Workout, by Beryl Bender Birch (Fireside Books)

• Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times, by Judith Lasater (Rodmell Press)

• A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya, by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (Bihar School of Yoga)

• The Tree of Yoga, by B.K.S. Iyengar (Shambhala Publications)

• Yoga for Body, Breath, and Mind: A Guide to Personal Reintegration, by A.G. Mohan (Rudra Press)

• Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness, by Erich Schiffman (Pocket Books)

Raja (classical), Jnana, Bhakti, and Karma Yoga

• The Essence of Yoga, by Bernard Bouanchaud (Rudra Press)

• Jnana-Yoga, by Swami Vivekananda (Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center)

• Karma-Yoga and Bhakti-Yoga, by Swami Vivekananda (Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center)

• Raja-Yoga, by Swami Vivekananda (Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center)

• Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge, by Arthur Osborne (Red Wheel/Weiser)

• The Yoga of Spiritual Devotion: A Modern Translation of the Narada Bhakti Sutras, by Prem Prakash (Inner Traditions International)

• The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation and Commentary, by Georg Feuerstein (Inner Traditions)

Tantra and Kundalini Yoga

• Energies of Transformation: A Guide to the Kundalini Process, by Bonnie Greenwell (Shakti River Press)

• Kundalini Yoga for the West, by Swami Sivananda Radha (Timeless Books)

• Layayoga: An Advanced Method of Concentration, by Shyam Sundar Goswami (Inner Traditions International)

• Living with Kundalini: The Autobiography of Gopi Krishna, edited by Leslie Shepard (Shambhala Publications)

  The Serpent Power, by John Woodroffe (Ganesh & Co.)

• Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy, by Georg Feuerstein (Shambhala Publications)

Meditation, mantras, and prayer

• Healing Words, by Larry Dossey (HarperSanFrancisco)

• Mantra & Meditation, by Usharbudh Arya (Himalayan International Institute)

• Meditation For Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Stephan Bodian (Wiley)

Yoga for pregnancy and children

• Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful: Experience the Natural Power of Pregnancy and Birth with Kundalini Yoga and Meditation, by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa (St. Martin's Press)

• Yogakids: Educating the Whole Child through Yoga, by Marsha Wenig

Yoga therapy

• Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy: A Bridge from Body to Soul, by Michael Lee (Health Communications)

• Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing, by Yoga Journal and Timothy McCall (Bantam Books)

• Yoga for Common Ailments, by Robin Munro, R. Nagarathna, and H.R. Nagendra (Simon & Schuster)

• Yoga RX: A Step-by-Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments, by Larry Payne and Richard Usatine (Broadway Books)

• Yoga Therapy: A Guide to the Therapeutic Use of Yoga and Ayurveda for Health and Fitness, by A.G. Mohan and Indra Mohan (Shambhala)

• Yoga Therapy and Integrative Medicine: Where Ancient Science Meets Modern Medicine, by Larry Payne, Terra Gold, and Eden Goldman

General Yoga topics

• The Art of Positive Feeling, by Swami Jyotirmayananda (Yoga Research Foundation)

• Dancing with Siva: Hinduism's Contemporary Catechism, by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (Himalayan Academy)

• The Future of the Body: Explorations into the Further Evolution of Human Nature, by Michael Murphy (Jeremy Tarcher)

• Golden Rules for Everyday Life, by Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov (Prosveta)

• Green Dharma, by Georg Feuerstein and Brenda Feuerstein (Traditional Yoga Studies)

• Green Yoga, by Georg Feuerstein and Brenda Feuerstein (Traditional Yoga Studies)

• Health, Healing and Beyond: Yoga and the Living Tradition of Krishnamacharya, by T.K.V. Desikachar with R.H. Cravens (Aperture)

• Lucid Dreaming, by Stephen LaBerge (Ballentine)

• Lucid Waking: Mindfulness and the Spiritual Potential of Humanity, by Georg Feuerstein (Inner Traditions International)

• The Nine Stages of Spiritual Apprenticeship: Understanding the Student–Teacher Relationship, by Greg Bogart (Dawn Mountain Press)

• The Relaxation Response, by Herbert Benson (Avon Books)

• The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, by Sogyal Rinpoche (HarperSanFrancisco)

• A Year to Live: How to Live This Year as If It Were Your Last, by Stephen Levine (Bell Tower)

• Yoga & Health: A monthly Yoga magazine.

• Yoga and Total Health: A monthly magazine on practical matters.

• Yoga Morality, by Georg Feuerstein (Hohm Press)

• Electronic Yoga magazines

  Yoga International

  Yoga Journal