Fans pick 100 books like Mudras

By Gertrud Hirschi,

Here are 100 books that Mudras fans have personally recommended if you like Mudras. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice

Alexandra DeSiato Author Of Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses: A Practical Workbook for Integrating Themes, Ideas, and Inspiration Into Your Class

From my list on yoga teachers who feel stuck in a rut.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for teaching yoga stems from over a decade as a yoga teacher. I’ve taught a variety of populations including college athletes, aging practitioners, and prenatal and postpartum moms and people. I’ve written two books on yoga; one is about how we can use yoga as we age healthily and the other is a helpful guide for yoga teachers who would like to incorporate philosophical theming in their classes. I know what it means to feel stuck in a rut as a yoga teacher, and I have so often counted on these well-loved books to help me find my way out of that rut and into inspired teaching. 

Alexandra's book list on yoga teachers who feel stuck in a rut

Alexandra DeSiato Why did Alexandra love this book?

Desikachar’s clear wisdom in The Heart of Yoga can’t be understated. Returning to this book reminds me of why I love yoga, why I teach yoga, and why I do yoga. Much of the value of this book is in Desikachar’s simple prose and exposition regarding yoga philosophy. He ends many chapters with a Q & A section, answering questions he anticipates readers will have. And while there are translations in abundance of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Desikachar’s translations have real-world applicability. His approach to yoga helps us understand why the practice has endured for so many years—and it reminds yoga teachers that bringing yoga to our students is an undertaking of immense importance. 

By T.K.V. Desikachar,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Heart of Yoga as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who lived to be over 100 years old, was one of the greatest yogis of the modern era. Elements of Krishnamacharya's teaching have become well known around the world through the work of B. K. S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Indra Devi, who all studied with Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya's son T. K. V. Desikachar lived and studied with his father all his life and now teaches the full spectrum of Krishnamacharya's yoga. Desikachar has based his method on Krishnamacharya's fundamental concept of viniyoga, which maintains that practices must be continually adapted to the individual's changing needs to achieve…


Book cover of Awakening the Spine: Yoga for Health, Vitality and Energy

Annie Buckley Author Of The Kids Yoga Deck

From my list on yoga books to inspire creativity and joy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm an artist, writer, teacher, and longtime yoga practitioner. I started practicing yoga in my early twenties during a difficult time in my life and the peace, grounding, and community that I discovered in yoga have stayed with me over the years, growing and evolving over time. One of my favorite experiences was the opportunity to teach children and teens who had never even heard of yoga before. Now I'm a professor at San Diego State University and also started and run a statewide program called Prison Arts Collective, bringing art programs to people who are incarcerated. We often include mindfulness and breathing exercises along with art. 

Annie's book list on yoga books to inspire creativity and joy

Annie Buckley Why did Annie love this book?

This is my all-time favorite yoga book—and I have lots and lots of books on yoga that I really love! The main reason I relate to this one is that it is written in a way that embodies what yoga is and means by someone with a depth of knowledge in the practice—the author studied for years with one of the world's leading yoga instructors, B. K. S. Iyengar. With brief and insightful entries on topics as wide-ranging as transformation, gravity, time, the eagle, and organizations, Scaravelli gradually and generously invites readers into understanding the relationship between ourselves and the world, and through it, yoga. You will find instructions for breathing and postures, but more importantly, you will find the wisdom, expansiveness, interconnections, and joy that define yoga. The is interspersed with beautiful images of art and nature and a number of beautiful photographs of the author in her eighties…

By Vanda Scaravelli,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Awakening the Spine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A fully revised and updated edition of the classic yoga book, with a new foreword by B.K.S. Iyengar.

For more than twenty-five years, until her death at ninety-one, Vanda Scaravelli helped transform bodies and lives with her innovative approach to yoga through the proper alignment of the spine. She listened to the body and worked with—instead of against—it. She used gravity, grounding, and breathing to achieve dramatic improvements in health and wellbeing.

Awakening the Spine offers a gentle way to achieve and maintain overall health and a naturally supple spine at any age. Scaravelli’s lasting message reminds readers that, “if…


Book cover of Babar's Yoga for Elephants

Annie Buckley Author Of The Kids Yoga Deck

From my list on yoga books to inspire creativity and joy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm an artist, writer, teacher, and longtime yoga practitioner. I started practicing yoga in my early twenties during a difficult time in my life and the peace, grounding, and community that I discovered in yoga have stayed with me over the years, growing and evolving over time. One of my favorite experiences was the opportunity to teach children and teens who had never even heard of yoga before. Now I'm a professor at San Diego State University and also started and run a statewide program called Prison Arts Collective, bringing art programs to people who are incarcerated. We often include mindfulness and breathing exercises along with art. 

Annie's book list on yoga books to inspire creativity and joy

Annie Buckley Why did Annie love this book?

This beautifully illustrated Babar book does not disappoint. It is a fun and playful visit with a beloved childhood favorite and includes a bonus chart of basic yoga poses performed by elephants. Children and their adult friends and family will be charmed by the invitation to join the family of elephants in finding tranquility through yoga poses and breathing exercises.

By Laurent de Brunhoff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Babar's Yoga for Elephants as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Well before yoga became fashionable via Sting and Madonna, the elephant king Babar and all the residents of Celesteville were finding peace and tranquillity through yoga. And now elephants everywhere can join them!
Through easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step illustrations, Babar's Yoga for Elephants presents 15 positions and stretches as well as helpful breathing exercises. The book also provides useful advice on what to do with your trunk while in position, a dilemma that human yoga books often ignore.Written by Babar himself, the book explains how yoga was introduced to Celesteville and how he and Queen Celeste keep fit doing yoga…


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Book cover of Free Your Joy: The Twelve Keys to Sustainable Happiness

Free Your Joy By Lisa McCourt,

We all want peace. We all want a life of joy and meaning. We want to feel blissfully comfortable in our own skin, moving through the world with grace and ease. But how many of us are actively taking the steps to create such a life? 

In Free Your Joy…

Book cover of Practice You: A Journal

Annie Buckley Author Of The Kids Yoga Deck

From my list on yoga books to inspire creativity and joy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm an artist, writer, teacher, and longtime yoga practitioner. I started practicing yoga in my early twenties during a difficult time in my life and the peace, grounding, and community that I discovered in yoga have stayed with me over the years, growing and evolving over time. One of my favorite experiences was the opportunity to teach children and teens who had never even heard of yoga before. Now I'm a professor at San Diego State University and also started and run a statewide program called Prison Arts Collective, bringing art programs to people who are incarcerated. We often include mindfulness and breathing exercises along with art. 

Annie's book list on yoga books to inspire creativity and joy

Annie Buckley Why did Annie love this book?

This isn’t technically a yoga book but is a beautiful and relatable book for adult friends of children to connect to their intuition, decompress, and express themselves (so, in essence, it is a yoga book, just not in name!). Adults including parents and teachers can find a space to connect to their inner sense of truth and play, soothing and recharging the spirit. The book has lovely loose watercolor paintings and brief but meaningful prompts throughout, inviting readers to add their own thoughts, ideas, experiences, and responses right on the pages. 

By Elena Brower,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Practice You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When the way forward seems uncertain, where can we turn for guidance we can trust? For yoga luminary, meditation teacher, and artist Elena Brower, the answer has always been close at hand.

"Whenever I've needed direction, strength, or centering, I've so often turned to my own journals. Why? Because many of the answers we seek are found within ourselves."

Now, for those compelled to the pen and page, Elena invites us to gather our own wisdom through writing, self-inquiry, and reflection. Practice You is a portable sacred sanctuary to record our flashes of insight, find our ground, create and clarify…


Book cover of Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses: A Practical Workbook for Integrating Themes, Ideas, and Inspiration Into Your Class

Carol Krucoff Author Of Relax Into Yoga for Seniors: A Six-Week Program for Strength, Balance, Flexibility, and Pain Relief

From my list on for yoga teachers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a yoga therapist, health journalist, mother, and grandmother with a passion for helping people harness the powerful medicine of movement. Physical activity is essential to good health, and yoga can be particularly effective because it’s a holistic discipline that enhances all aspects of wellbeing—physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual. I started taking a weekly yoga class in my early 20s to stretch tight muscles and relieve stress from my busy job as a Washington Post reporter. Nearly 50 years later, yoga is central to my life, with practices that have helped me through several major health challenges, and kept me balanced, fit, and centered in our unpredictable world.  

Carol's book list on for yoga teachers

Carol Krucoff Why did Carol love this book?

Yoga is much more than a workout, and the difference between a good class and a great one often centers on the instructor’s ability to inspire students to make a deeper connectionwith themselves, with others, and with the world. In this practical and illuminating book, experienced instructors Sage Rountree and Alexandra Desiato offer a wealth of information designed to give yoga teachers essential tools to find their own, unique voice and take their classes to the next level. The book includes a section of 54 complete themes followed by blank temples and helpful prompts to create your own themes. Amidst bookshelves crowded with volumes on how to teach postures, this book stands out as a uniquely-helpful exploration of how to teach yoga.

By Sage Rountree, Alexandra DeSiato,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Create class themes with yoga philosophy, inspirational quotes, and simple concepts to inspire and motivate students
 
Experienced yoga instructors Sage Rountree and Alexandra DeSiato give yoga teachers the tools to find their voice and tap into innate wisdom. The authors offer ready-made, detailed themes to use in classes and provide flexible templates for building a toolkit of themes for future use. Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses offers guidance for both new and experienced teachers starting with a section on voice, authenticity, emulation, phrasing, practice, repetition, and finding inspiration. It continues with a second section that contains fifty-four complete themes that…


Book cover of Yoga Where You Are: Customize Your Practice for Your Body and Your Life

Dianne Bondy Author Of Yoga for Everyone: 50 Poses for Every Type of Body

From my list on revolutionize yoga by how you practice and teach.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm an author, movement coach, and yoga teacher. I've been practicing yoga on and off for about 48 years. I was introduced to yoga by my mom through a really old book called Be Young with Yoga at 3 years old. Yoga has been a part of my entire existence in one way or another. I have had the honour and privilege to study with yoga teachers and educators for the past 30+ years and it has been life-changing. I have been a yoga teacher and movement coach for 30+ years, I have watched yoga make sad people feel better, injured people get strong, and shy people become leaders in their communities around equity and diversity. 

Dianne's book list on revolutionize yoga by how you practice and teach

Dianne Bondy Why did Dianne love this book?

In my humble opinion one of the best and only books that address yoga, diet culture, pose adaptation, yoga history, body image, and progressive accessibility. Helping readers and practitioners to find their level of practice exactly where they are. You can start as a true beginner and progress to challenging arm balances and poses with this book.

By Dianne Bondy, Kat Heagberg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Yoga Where You Are as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Find freedom in your yoga practice with this empowering guide from beloved yoga teacher and social justice activist Dianne Bondy and Yoga International editor-in-chief Kat Heagberg.

Yoga Where You Are welcomes readers of all backgrounds, body sizes, and abilities into the practice of yoga. Dianne Bondy and Kat Heagberg offer everything you need to know to build a custom yoga practice that supports you exactly where you are--now and at every stage of your life's journey.

Yoga Where You Are discusses how yoga intersects with body image, introduces essential information on elements like breathwork and meditation, and celebrates yoga's diverse…


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Book cover of Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

Traumatization and Its Aftermath By Antonieta Contreras,

A fresh take on the difference between trauma and hardship in order to help accurately spot the difference and avoid over-generalizations.

The book integrates the latest findings in brain science, child development, psycho-social context, theory, and clinical experiences to make the case that trauma is much more than a cluster…

Book cover of The Professional Yoga Teacher's Handbook: The Ultimate Guide for Current and Aspiring Instructors

Alexandra DeSiato Author Of Teaching Yoga Beyond the Poses: A Practical Workbook for Integrating Themes, Ideas, and Inspiration Into Your Class

From my list on yoga teachers who feel stuck in a rut.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for teaching yoga stems from over a decade as a yoga teacher. I’ve taught a variety of populations including college athletes, aging practitioners, and prenatal and postpartum moms and people. I’ve written two books on yoga; one is about how we can use yoga as we age healthily and the other is a helpful guide for yoga teachers who would like to incorporate philosophical theming in their classes. I know what it means to feel stuck in a rut as a yoga teacher, and I have so often counted on these well-loved books to help me find my way out of that rut and into inspired teaching. 

Alexandra's book list on yoga teachers who feel stuck in a rut

Alexandra DeSiato Why did Alexandra love this book?

If you haven’t read The Professional Yoga Teacher’s Handbook, you need to. This book covers so many aspects of teaching that otherwise get overlooked in yoga teaching texts. Of course, I’m deeply biased, as Sage is my mentor and co-writer! But I promise my bias doesn’t undermine the value of this book. Sage’s observations are honest and clear. She reminds readers that being a yoga teacher is about so much more than just knowing how to teach asana. It’s about having a clear intention, thinking financially (something yoga teachers don’t always do!), and doing the work to discover the yoga teacher you truly want to be. 

By Sage Rountree,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Professional Yoga Teacher's Handbook as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There's so much more to teaching yoga than doing yoga - from building a relationship with a studio (or opening your own) to navigating client relationships, publicising classes, and avoiding burnout. Sage Rountree has been training yoga teachers for over a decade, and she's heard the same concerns over and over: How can I help my students best? How can I keep my teaching fresh? How can I make smart choices around my schedule, my money, and the next steps in my career?

The Professional Yoga Teacher's Handbook speaks directly to these concerns in a warm, friendly voice - boosting…


Book cover of Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga...

Eyal Shifroni Author Of The Extended Chair for Yoga: A Comprehensive Guide to Iyengar Yoga Practice with a Chair

From my list on essential to the study of yoga.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've always been fascinated by yoga and the wonderful stories about yogis. When I was in the fourth grade, studying the subject of 'India', I taught myself to stand on my head and fold my legs in the lotus position. I love practicing yoga – every morning, I thank the Gurus and teachers from whom I learned! I've taught yoga for almost 40 years now and strongly believe that the practice and teaching of yoga, done with devotion and love can transform one's life for the good. I wrote 7 books about yoga (the last, Yoga in Nature is forthcoming) I regularly write articles on yoga and have translated two of B.K.S. Iyengar's books into Hebrew.

Eyal's book list on essential to the study of yoga

Eyal Shifroni Why did Eyal love this book?

I first met my Guru, B.K.S Iyengar, in 1988; since then, I kept coming back to his center in Pune, India, every other year for a month of study, until his passing away in 2014. Light on Yoga is ever a source of inspiration for me. I come back to it almost daily when I am on my yoga mat, I read and study the instruction given by Iyengar while trying to perform the asanas shown in the photos. B.K.S Iyengar is a renowned teacher and Guru. Light on Yoga, which came out in the '60s, soon became 'the bible of yoga.' It contains photos of Iyengar demonstrating the asanas (yoga postures) with amazing precision and clarity. 

By B.K.S. Iyengar,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Light on Yoga as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The definitive guide to the philosophy and practice of Yoga--the ancient healing discipline for body and mind--by its greatest living teacher. Light on Yoga provides complete descriptions and illustrations of all the positions and breathing exercises. Features a foreword by Yehudi Menuhin. Illustrations throughout.


Book cover of Accessible Yoga: Poses and Practices for Every Body

Carol Krucoff Author Of Relax Into Yoga for Seniors: A Six-Week Program for Strength, Balance, Flexibility, and Pain Relief

From my list on for yoga teachers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a yoga therapist, health journalist, mother, and grandmother with a passion for helping people harness the powerful medicine of movement. Physical activity is essential to good health, and yoga can be particularly effective because it’s a holistic discipline that enhances all aspects of wellbeing—physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual. I started taking a weekly yoga class in my early 20s to stretch tight muscles and relieve stress from my busy job as a Washington Post reporter. Nearly 50 years later, yoga is central to my life, with practices that have helped me through several major health challenges, and kept me balanced, fit, and centered in our unpredictable world.  

Carol's book list on for yoga teachers

Carol Krucoff Why did Carol love this book?

In recent years, there’s been a growing appreciation that yoga is not just for slim, bendy, twentysomethings, but can offer profound physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual benefits to people of all ages, sizes, and health conditions. Much of this increased awareness is due to the work of Jivana Heyman, director of the non-profit Accessible Yoga Association, whose mission statement proclaims that “all peopleregardless of ability or backgrounddeserve equal access to yoga.” Heyman has spent more than 20 years teaching yoga to people with disabilities, with an emphasis on community building and social engagement. In this book, he offers inspiring and practical guidance on how to break down complex yoga practices in ways that make them accessible, enjoyable, and healing for anyone—regardless of limitations or challenges.

By Jivana Heyman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Accessible Yoga as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“A treasure trove . . . what Yoga, capital Y, is all about.” —Donna Farhi
“Nothing less than a gem.” —Judith Lasater
“A vital tool.” —Book Riot

This daring, visionary book revolutionizes yoga practice, making it truly accessible to everyone—in every body, at any age, and in any state of health

Yoga practice has so much to offer us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. But many of us feel discouraged to practice because we see young, slim, flexible, well, and able-bodied people dominating yoga spaces. Yet, yoga is truly a practice for all—conferring enormous benefits to our overall well-being as…


Book cover of The Sivananda Companion to Yoga: A Complete Guide to the Physical Postures, Breathing Exercises, Diet, Relaxation, and Meditation Techniques of Yoga

Joan Budilovsky Author Of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Meditation

From my list on meditation from a meditation expert.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was introduced to meditation through a hatha yoga course I took as a college student. That’s when I first became enthralled with eastern philosophy. I studied and later taught these subjects becoming a College Professor in them. I’m also a musician and massage therapist. I consider music, meditation, yoga, massage to be beautiful healing modalities with endless transformative possibilities. My various books have been translated into French, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Turkish, Russian, Bulgarian, and more. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Meditation (co-written with Eve Adamson) has recently become available as an audiobook on Audible.com. This book has turned thousands of people onto the meditative path and I hope it will you too.

Joan's book list on meditation from a meditation expert

Joan Budilovsky Why did Joan love this book?

This book introduced me to a steady practice of yoga postures. I read it daily and with practice I was eventually able to even do the headstand! The pictures in it are beautifully done and inspiring. This book encouraged me to travel to many Sivananda Yoga Ashrams, where I studied for weeks at a time submerging myself into the yoga lifestyle. I learned a great deal about living in yoga thru this book.

By Sivananda Yoga Center,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Sivananda Companion to Yoga as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The essential companion for beginning and experienced yogis alike! Now with fresh, colorful pages throughout, The Sivananda Companion to Yoga remains the classic guide to yoga. Featuring easy-to-follow instructions, inspirational teaching, and detailed illustrations, this authoritative guide covers every aspect of the yoga lifestyle—including relaxation, exercise, dietary guidelines, breathing, and meditation.

A highly regarded organization for yoga studies and practices, the Sivananda Yoga Center created the first edition of The Sivananda Companion to Yoga in 1983. Since its publication, it has sold more than 700,000 copies worldwide and has become a standard text for both yoga students and teachers.

Whether…


Book cover of The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice
Book cover of Awakening the Spine: Yoga for Health, Vitality and Energy
Book cover of Babar's Yoga for Elephants

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Hatha yoga, yoga, and philosophy?

Hatha Yoga 18 books
Yoga 119 books
Philosophy 1,790 books