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In your yoga journey, there will probably come a time when you wonder just how some Sanskrit term applies to daily life or how the physical practice of asana relates to yoga’s transformative powers. Or, you could be thinking of a gift for your yoga-loving friends who already have all the mats, blocks, and pants they need. Fortunately, people have been writing books about yoga for thousands of years – and no matter what your question, someone has probably addressed it in writing somewhere.

Arriving at a coherent understanding of this rich and varied tradition takes time and contemplation. Books can become great friends and guides along the path. Many ancient texts are deserving of serious, scholarly study, of course, but there are also plenty of great reads worthy of curling up with on a winter’s eve. Here, we’ve summarized small library of titles reviewed by Yoga Journal that will provide a broader understanding of the practice and a deeper awareness of how yoga can transform your life.

These titles were all published within the past 10 years, which will hopefully make them more relevant to your life right now:

 

 

Stephen Cope takes up the task of interpreting the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, widely recognized as yoga’s primary sourcebook, in The Wisdom of Yoga, chronicling the experiences of several students who spend a year actively applying the practice of yoga to their personal challenges.

  1. The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman’s Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras by Nischala Joy Devi

Radically unlike a traditional commentary on the Yoga Sutra, Nischala Joy Devi’s The Secret Power of Yoga interprets the terse, intellectual sutras as a meditation on living with ease. Her explication of the sutras is much different than traditionalists would expect.

  1. Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation by Stephen Mitchell

“The Gita is the sixth book of the Indian epic Mahabharata, which tells the tale of Arjuna, a warrior prince who loses his will to fight on the battlefield; his mind can’t make peace with the idea of fighting his cousins and friends. Fortunately, his charioteer is Lord Krishna, who delivers a treatise on dharma: You must act according to your duty but surrender the outcome of your actions.”

  1. Yoga: The Greater Tradition by David Frawley

This “mini-encyclopedia” is a simple, straightforward overview that shows what yoga is, where it came from, and where it can take you. “My aim is to provide students with a new vision of the universe of yoga in all its vastness,” Frawley writes.

  1. Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom by B.K.S. Iyengar

With Light on Life, Iyengar delivers a why-to book. It is a collection of the musings of a master yogi nearing the end of his life. “I am old, and death inevitably approaches,” he writes. “But both birth and death are beyond the will of a human being. They are not my domain. I do not think about it. Yoga has taught me to think only of working to live a useful life.”

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What’s better than a book about yoga? A beautiful place to read it!

You and your yoga-loving friends can join us on the breath-taking beaches of Nicaragua in our Bucket List of Bliss retreat with Cher Aslor, starting in March of 2017.
Read the full original article from Yoga Journal. Feature image from Hampton Artistic Yarns.

Yoga blocks are the Swiss army knives of the yoga world. You can do so much with this them, that you will definitely not regret the (very small) investment – and your yogi friends would be pumped to receive and learn how to use such an essential tool. At 4 inches x 9 inches x 6 inches, they basically look like slightly bigger and very lightweight bricks. But like the most inventive tools out there, the simplicity of their design is what makes then so perfect for almost anything related to your yoga practice. Here are some ways anyone, from yoga beginners to yoga pros, can use yoga blocks:

Support Tight Hips and Knees

One way to use a yoga block is to sit on one (or two) during poses that require your sit bones to be on the mat. Examples are Hero Pose (Virasana) or Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana). Men tend to have tighter hips than women, so stacking one or two blocks on top of each other so that you don’t injure yourself trying to force your sit bones down is perfectly acceptable. Even yoga teachers do this. Moreover, if you feel tension in your knees during seated poses that require your knees to touch the mat (such as Head-to-Knee Forward Bend) or even during poses where you are meant to be in a simple sitting position, yoga blocks can really help.

Help Find Your Balance in Standing Poses

Beginners can have a particularly difficult time finding their balance in standing hands-to-floor poses. Even for seasoned practitioners there are always days that feel a bit more off-kilter and uncentered than usual. Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana) is a particularly difficult pose that requires you to have one arm on the ground, and one leg parallel to the mat, while opening the front side of your body, gazing at your opposite arm lifted straight up above you. Use a yoga block as a shortcut to the floor. Also, if your can’t get your head to touch the floor in Wide-Legged Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), you can put the yoga block on the floor to add height.

Add Extra Length

If you are extra flexible and can touch your toes, or even bind your hands and wrists around your feet in Seated Forward Bends (Paschimottanasanas), you can use a block to extend your reach and challenge yourself. By placing the wide side of the block against the soles of your feet, you add extra length. If even that isn’t enough, you can vary the angles to the 6- or 9- inch dimensions.

To Fine Tune Your Poses

A block can be placed in between the thighs to ensure that the legs are properly aligned in poses like Bridge Pose (Setu Bandasana) or Wheel Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana), where the tendency is for your legs to splay out to the sides. It can even be used in more basic poses like Plank Pose (Chaturanga Dandasana) and Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) to make sure that the legs are active at all times.

There are many more uses of a yoga block. For a lightweight rectangular cube, it is a surprisingly useful piece of yoga equipment. Beginners and pros alike can benefit from the extra help a yoga block can provide.

To Personalize Your Yoga Retreat

Where are you or your yoga loving friends going to be using your yoga blocks this year? How about on a yoga retreat in the warm paradise of Nicaragua?

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Get Started

Try it out in your regular classes, or treat yourself to our Bucket List of Bliss yoga retreat with Cher Aslor in Nicaragua, March 19th – 25th, 2017  

Read the full original article from Do You Yoga.