Yoga Travel Book Review
April 30, 2010There’s nothing like a good book to pass time. Before your next yoga travel adventure, don’t forget to pick up an excellent yoga book. It will make those long plane rides fly by. I’ve put together a list of books that are all great, and very pertinent to the topic of yoga travel. Enjoy.
Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert
Likely the most recommended book for a yoga travel retreat. An intensely articulate and moving memoir of self-discovery, Eat, Pray, Love is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment and stop trying to live in imitation of society’s ideals. It is certain to touch anyone who has ever woken up to the unrelenting need for change. At the age of thirty-one, Gilbert’s journey to find herself takes her to Rome, for pleasure; an ashram in India, for spirituality; and to Bali, to regain balance. If you haven’t already read this, don’t wait any longer.“Sustaining a chatty, conspiratorial tone, Gilbert fully engages readers in the year’s cultural and emotional tapestry–conveying rapture with infectious brio, recalling anguish with touching candor–as she details her exotic tableau with history, anecdote and impression.”
Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga – B.K.S. Iyengar
The definitive guide to the philosophy and practice of Yoga, the ancient healing discipline for body and mind. Written eloquently by possibly its greatest living teacher, B.K.S. Iyengar. Light on Yoga provides complete descriptions and illustrations of all the positions and breathing exercises. Features a foreword by Yehudi Menuhin. Illustrations throughout.
I took Iyengar’s book with on a yoga travel vacation to Thailand. His writing helped me improve my own practice by understanding the spiritual side to yoga.
This valuable book provides a complete manual for the study and practice of Raja Yoga, the path of concentration and meditation. This new deluxe printing of these timeless teachings is a treasure to be read and referred to again and again by seekers treading the spiritual path. The classic Sutras (thought-threads), at least 4,000 years old,cover the yogic teachings on ethics, meditation, and physical postures, and provide directions for dealing with situations in daily life. The Sutras are presented here in the purest form, with the original Sanskrit and with translation, transliteration, and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda, one of the most respected and revered contemporary Yoga masters. In this classic context, Sri Swamiji offers practical advice based on his own experience for mastering the mind and achieving physical, mental and emotional harmony.
First, let me just say that Paul Grilley is the man. As Yoga matures in the U.S., this book describes a new approach to balance physical and mental health, for serious students and beginners. All yoga forms emphasizing either muscle (Yang)or connective (Yin) tissue. Today, all popular Yoga forms are Yang–muscular. Yin Yoga is unknown, but vital, as a balanced Yoga practice has many benefits, including better preparation for meditation. Yin Yoga focuses upon connective tissue, which does not stretch or respond to brief stresses as muscle will, so Yin postures are held a long time, with the muscles relaxed. Acupuncture meridians are also in connective tissues and Yin Yoga is specifically designed to stimulate them. Divided into two sections, the second part of the book deals with chakras, breathing exercises and meditation, and is fully illustrated with clear, concise descriptions of Yoga postures.
