Light on Yoga

First published in 1966, B.K.S. Iyengar’s Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika has become a yoga classic and a reference stable for modern hatha yoga. Light on Yoga, a must-have for any yoga practitioner’s library, remains the gold standard for its illustration and explanation of hundreds of yoga poses.

In the introduction, entitled “What is Yoga?,” Iyengar discusses the history of yoga practice and philosophy, explaining each of yoga’s eight limbs.

The heart of the book is the section on asanas, which includes over 600 photographs of 200 postures. Given the Iyengar method’s emphasis on alignment, these photographs have become the definitive source for correct alignment. The text accompanying each pose includes a section on technique (precise instructions on how to do the pose) and effects (the benefits of the pose and which ailments it may cure, as well as precautions).

Light on Yoga also includes pranayama instructions, information on the bandhas and two useful appendices, one outlining sequences of poses and another recommending asanas for various diseases and conditions.