The best yoga books for a path to enlightenment

This beautifully illustrated book provides informative notes from Annand as she shares her wisdom. It provides a guide to poses, which makes this book a fab read for beginners and more experienced yogis. Not only that, but the flexible spine means you can easily lay this book flat at the end of your yoga mat to follow the positions. Isn’t that awesome? This book is a great all-rounder.

B.K.S. Iyengar is one of the world's leading teachers of yoga, having practised and taught for over 70 years. He is still internationally recognised as a leading authority, so his definitive step-by-step guide will provide the perfect path to doing each pose. It comes with a breakdown of each position and sequence, as well as photographic guides so you can mirror the movement being demonstrated.

This book provides the essential poses to follow for this more relaxing form of yoga. Yin yoga focuses on alignment and the holding of positions, helping to make you feel at peace, and reducing stress and anxiety with these slower movements. The book comes with beautiful hand-drawn illustrations of the poses too, which provides a good guide and lovely aesthetic.

Barkataki's book focuses on respecting ancient yoga philosophy by embracing and empathising with more traditional practices and lifestyles. It explores deepening your practice by learning about the history of yoga, reflecting on this, reconnecting, and then liberating yourself with an integrated, more ethical practice of yoga that'll create unity between you and the world.

Donna Farhi’s exploration of the core philosophy of yoga is expanding upon the teachings of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Farhi explores yoga’s transformative power as a lifestyle, far beyond its reduction to exercise routine or stress management. Drawing upon her years of teaching students, Farhi guides readers through all the pitfalls and promises of navigating a spiritual practice. It’s an accessible guide to those seeking guidance, rather than learning about the physical side of yoga.

This beginner's bible does exactly what it says! It provides a good, basic introduction to yoga with some background on the practice to help inform your experience. Morello shares explanations as to the usefulness and practicality of yoga as a practice in the modern world, and then clearly illustrates and describes the positions with 63 illustrated poses. It is a great aid to learning on your own or as a pre-first-class confidence booster to getting your downward dog and sun salutation perfected.

The eight limbs of yoga are a guide to the thoughts and practice of the exercise that you can apply to everyday life. This enlightening read explores the eight limbs – the five outers looking at your lived experienced and the three inner limbs focusing on the mind. These deep philosophical ideas are written to be easily understood by beginners and more advanced yogis alike.

This book doesn't just look at the poses and history of yoga – it provides a complete practice and lifestyle guide with step-by-step asanas, detailed illustrations, programmes, mindfulness techniques, diet advice, and recipes. Perfect for all abilities, you can master each pose over time or try the variations to advance in your practice. For a more mindful experience, select this book to find your zen.

First published in 1969, it's still popular and used as an excellent resource today. Recognised internationally as one of the most systematic yoga manuals, this book provides step-by-step directions and a more thorough understanding of chakra awareness. This book combines a comprehensive overview of asana; while at the same time giving clear explanations of the deeper aspects of yoga, including pranayama, mudra, bandha and yogic cleansing.

World-renowned yoga teacher Erich Schiffmann offers an easy-to-follow, exciting new technique - the first to combine hatha yoga and meditation - to all who are seeking healthful beauty and inner peace. Through described through simple instruction and essential illustrations, you can discover how to feel balanced, centred, and coordinated. Not only that, but you can increase flexibility, eliminate pain, and become free of life's negativity through the spirit and practice of yoga.

This visual aid brings about a clear and structured way to learn about the asanas (postures) and the benefits of each pose, as well as contra indicators. With over 170 postures inside, The Yoga Bible is the ultimate, comprehensive guide to practising yoga and finding a mental and physical balance in life. The book encourages yoga beginners and experts alike to find a yoga sequence that suits their personal needs and abilities. It is a good one.

If you want to know exactly what effect your yoga positions are having on your body, Kaminoff provides a great read that shows how everything is linked and how to adjust your poses for a more enhanced movement. Through the different poses, see how each affects the different muscle groups, from standing and breathing exercises to the more advanced movements too.

Have you been meaning to practice or get into yoga, but don't have the time or know where to start? This book provides the solution with four 15-minute programmes for beginners, offering flexibility and ease of use whilst juggling a busy lifestyle. All you need is your yoga mat, and by regularly practising even just these 15-minute routines, you can begin to reap the benefits.

Yes! This is the second book by B.K.S. Iyengar on our list. This "Bible of Yoga" is a fantastic tool for progressing your practice with a weekly development plan for up to 300 weeks. So, if you like a bit of routine and a solid plan in place for your mindfulness, it may be for you. This book isn't recommended for complete beginners, but if you've practised alone or in an exercise class, this is a great way to progress.

If you can't stretch down to touch your toes, you might be able to do that and more by the time you've read this book. Yoga is for everyone and the writers prove that don't need to be flexible to practice yoga. In fact, they accommodate you with alternative positions. By engaging, you can hope to improve your flexibility over time, as well as improve strength, mobility, sleep, stress and anxiety.

Swanson looks at the effects of yoga on your muscles, blood vessels, nerves and the brain with scientific and medical research to back her up. Exploring the physiology of 30 key yoga poses, from seating and standing to inversion and floor asanas, she helps demystify the real benefits of yoga on every system in the body. Delve into the science behind your favourite poses with this cool book.

If you’re not keen on a class or can’t get to one, don’t worry. Understanding your body and mind can be a personal thing, and learning in the comfort of your own home is very much OK. So, Anderton-Davies gives tools to use around your practice with a step-by-step guide. Mainly, it shows you the challenges of starting, continuing and progressing in a yoga self-practice.