Reflections on Asana & Pranayama: Bibliography

(letters in “ [  ] ” refer to the abbreviations used in the class outline.

 The Yoga Sutras and Theory

B. K. S. Iyengar. Light on Life. Rodale, 2005.[LOL]

The book is organized according to koshas, or sheaths of the body.

Chapters 2 and 3 deal with the physical body (asana) and the

energy body (prana), corresponding to the third and fourth limbs

of classical yoga s described by Patanjali.

B. K. S. Iyengar. Light on Yoga. Rev. ed. New York: Schocken Books, 1977 (various

editions available) [LOY]

Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.  New York: Thorsons, 1993 [LOS]

(various editions available) [LOS]

Edwin F. Bryant

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. New York: Northpoint Press, 2009. [YSP]

         A new commentary by an American Sanskrit scholar.

 

Pranayama and Breath Physiology/Anatomy

B. K. S. Iyengar. Light on Pranayama. New York: Crossroad Publishing  Company,

2001.  [LOP]

Geeta S. Iyengar. Yoga: A Gem for Women. Spokane, WA: Timeless Books, 1995.

Especially Part Three: “Experience” (pp. 257-302, sections on  Mudra, Savasana,

Pranayama & Dhyana (meditation)

Some other references:

 David H. Coulter.  Anatomy of Hatha Yoga. Honesdale, PA: Body and Breath, 2001.

For an extended technical/anatomical discussion of pranayama, See

Chapter  Two (pp. 67-138) on “Breathing.”

Leslie Kaminoff. Yoga Anatomy. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2007.

See Chapter 1, “The Dynamics of Breathing,” pp. 1-16, for

an anatomically-based but less extensive treatment than Coulter.

Shah, J. T.  Therapeutic Yoga. Mumbai: Vakils, Feffer and Simons, 2001.

This book by a physician who practices in the Iyengar tradition has unique

diagrams of the body, color-coded according to the effect of each asana or

pranayama practice.

 Some Other Resources

Judith Lasater.  Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times. Berkeley, CA:

          Rodmell Press, 1995.

Presents a straightforward treatment of asana practice for relaxation, including

passive chest opening postures that are helpful  for relaxation and preparation for

pranayama.

Rajvi H. Mehta, ed. Yoga Rahasya:  Therapy Issue

A compilation of articles pertaining to yoga therapy published from 1994 to 2009). 

Mumbai, YOG, n..d.

Linda Sparrow and Patricia Walden.

The Woman’s Book of Yoga and Health. Boston: Shambala, 2002.

Chapter 15, Strengthening your Heart, and the Sequence for High Blood

Pressure” contains practices and asanas for relaxation and chest

opening.

Lois Steinberg. Geeta S. Iyengar’s Guide to a Woman’s Yoga Practice, Vol 1.(c) Lois

                Steinberg, 2006

                       A rich source of  supported postures for the chest and abdomen, framed in

                       the context of women’s health. .