Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika by B. K. S. Iyengar
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Book Reviews of Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika
Book Review: The Master tells it all!
Summary: 5 Stars
During early 1980s there weren't many books on Yoga and it was easy to spot this book. I was amazed by the number of photographs as well as the depth of asanas covered in this book. From a simple Standing posture to the most complex asana ever performed, Mr. Iyengar shares his experience in a way that even beginners can start practising Yoga w/o a teacher. What I like most of this book is not that asanas, but the great, concise introduction to the philosophy of Yoga. In a nutshell his whole understanding of it has been condensed to a great advantage for the reader.
Another unique aspect of the book is the layout of the asanas, or groups thereof, for practise for a student - weekly progression can be accomplished by following the schedule. The asanas according to the category of physical ailments is another plus for either a student or a teacher.
Even a great book will have to have something missing? The posture photographs depicts the steps, but from another book (Yoga Self-Taught by Andre Van Lysbeth) I found it immensely helpful to look at photographs of common mistakes one can make/avoid while performing an asana.
While I have had this book for more than 20 years, it is only now that I refer to it more often - i.e., after I have passed the intermediate stage. That is because the sheer number of asanas covered as well as the precision with which Mr. Iyengar illustrates could more of daunting for the beginner; a beginner may think this is too much.
Book Review: The Best Yoga Book on the Market
Summary: 5 Stars
I fell in love with yoga after severely breaking my leg in three places. Rehab only took me so far, but thankfully yoga took me the rest of the way. After discovering the many health benefits of yoga, I began studying it seriously. Part of the journey of any student is to become a teacher. For two years, I taught yoga classes at local gyms and dance studios 5 times a week.As a teacher, I became more of an avid student than I was before. I bought just about every book and tape on yoga, and I even had friends bring me books from respected Yogi's in India. But the best book I ever found was Light on Yoga. It starts at the beginning with, "What is Yoga?" before continuing on with each position. It details the technique in both written form and with a photograph, and then it discusses the effects of each position. You see, yoga is not just designed to make you more flexible or releave stress--each position can help treat/prevent certain sickness and infections.
For those of you who are just getting started, this book might seem overwhelming when you see photographs of Iyengar doing things with his body that seem humanly impossible. But don't focus so much on the flexibility aspect, as the healing aspect. If you take each position to your own level, you will be doing a great service to your body, and to your health. Bottom line--buy the book and join a local yoga class!
Book Review: A great, encyclopedic, illustrated guide to yoga
Summary: 5 Stars
Light on Yoga is a comprehensive guide to yoga asanas (poses). For each pose there is at least one photograph of the pose performed by Iyengar. He gives clear, complete instructions for performing every pose and practical suggestions for improving your practice. For example, in his instructions for headstand he not only gives a list of correct body actions, but also suggests practicing in a corner to prevent misaligning the legs.
I met a wonderful yoga teacher who studied without a yoga instructor for ten years, following only the instructions in this book.
The book is so complete. It has wonderful instructions on basic poses and a suggested set of asanas to perform each week of your practice. For inspiration, check out the poses toward the back of the book! I aim to perform these after 20 more years of practice. :-) This book is a must-have for any yoga student.
The book gives some forward to yoga philosophy and instructions on pranyama as well, but the focus is on the asanas (poses).
My only complaint about this book is that it is so encyclopedic that it is too difficult to use while I am actually practicing yoga. I find it's too hard to keep the book open flat while I try to perform the asana. Now I try to focus on a pose every week. I reach Iyengar's instructions each night and try to put them into practice the next day.
Book Review: Kind of the Encyclopedia of Iyengar
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a yoga fan, and I bought this book a few years ago when I was going through a new phase in my practice. It now holds a cherished spot on my bookshelf. One of the reviewers said it was for beginners and they are oh, so wrong. It's a kind of reference guide to Iyengar method of yoga. So if you even know what that means, you are obviously not a beginner, and I'm not being tough, I'm just saying that the other reviewer who was grossed out, that also makes sense to me. For serious yoga folks, this is a definitive guide to all the positions and how they should be done. So if you want to work on a few poses that you've never been good at in class, or you want a home practice that is more scholarly, this is the book for you.
What I like about it is that it's no nonsense (one reviewer says 'blunt'). If you can decode the shorthand of yogaspeak, it's a very useful manual. The photos are somewhat useful but in reality you know most of the poses from class so it's not really helpful to look at this incredibly flexible teacher doing them. The photos in a way give it a historical point-in-time feeling.
Far from other yoga books, this is a very practical one and doesn't go into the theory or religion much (as Iyengar is a more practical practice). This is what I like about it, it is a great catalog of definitive poses.
Book Review: It's what Robert's Rules of Order is to parliamentary bodies
Summary: 5 Stars
Iyengar himself has disavowed this book long ago...even so, it's the single greatest reference book out there.
The first thing that will blow you away is the treatise on hatha yoga. The ease with which he describes the philosophy of yoga foreshadows his complete book on the subject. It's quite a foreshadowing!
The bulk of the book is an exhaustive detailed pictorial and written description of most practical poses (and several impractical ones).
However, I fell in love with his close to 300-week practice schedule in the back of the book. I must say that it's implausible that someone can follow it exactly and include all the poses all the time (even he says to skip the ones you can't master), it's a very keen insight into what HIS practice might have been like back when this book was published, before he started a huge yoga empire.
Now he has curriculum that changes every year (to keep teachers coming back to his $chool - smart man!). The current Iyengar school details exact angles in which to keep your body in specific poses. I love 'Light on Yoga' because it lacks that exactness, and allows you to feel the energy of poses, rather than getting stuck in anatomy of the poses.
A must read, and must re-read, and a must re-re-re-re-re-.........