I… Need… Knowledge!!!
Does anybody have any good book recommendations for beginners?
The best book i have come across in my opinion for beginners, and also for yoga teachers alike is
Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyananda
APMB as some call it, is written in a very easily accessible manner, and have good descriptions of the usual yoga asanas (postures) but also deals with the inner energies… at least at a beginners to intermediate level. It is not one of these modern glossy loads of photos… but instead uses good line drawings and also explains contraindications for the postures, as well as dealing with the various methods of pranayama, mudra and bandha.
You can also see other very inspiring books such as Meditations from the Tantras etc athttp://www.mandalayoga.net/index-vente-en-livres.html
But please be aware that all the good teachers have said that your yoga quest (or path or practice) should consist of 95% practice and 5% reading ‘about it’ rather than practicing it.
In the west we have a tendency to keep the mind busy… so we love reading about things… discussing them… arguing about them rather than dropping the activities of the mind… and just doing them.
And especially with yoga, as one important aspect of yoga is dropping the busy 'iness of the mind… being present… letting go… just being… without the chatter.
So best to spend as much time… practicing the techniques… many of which are focused on ‘letting go the chatter’… rather than reading or analyzing too much… which is actually part of the chatter.
And yes it is a good thing to read some information about the subject in order to understand little better what the whole area is about… but then it is best to get on with the practice and after many years you will laugh when you look back and remember the time when you ‘thought you knew what it is about’.
Yoga is mainly about ‘being’. … without the chatter.
And hopefully over the years each one of us comes closer to that state of being… with love, living from the heart… without hatred… without anger… without fighting… and many other things which can arise when one is other than ‘being’.
Best Wishes,
Dave
Best Wishes,
Dave
Congratulations and best of luck on your pursuit of the path of knowledge.
Narrowing our focus might help us with our recommendations.
Yoga has many paths:
If you are looking for an encyclopedia style clear and concise how-to manual of Hatha asana…
I highly recommend: Hatha Yoga Illustrated by Martin Kirk and Brook Boon
If you are looking for an physical or anatomy perspective: I recommend Coulter’s: Anatomy of Hatha Yoga.
If you are looking for a single author trilogy: The Lord of the Rings of Yoga as it were I would pursue:
Iyenger’s Light on Yoga Light on Life and Light on The Yoga Sutras
I am so looking forward to other folks recommendations
The serpent power by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe)