Throughout the past year, I have had the opportunity to watch, evaluate and mentor a number of novice yoga teachers and teachers-in-training. The general consensus has been: whether one enrolls in a yoga teacher training program with ambitions to actually become a teacher, or simply to develop their personal practice more deeply, that program is really always just a springboard into a lifetime of continuing education. Below is a list of the four books I most frequently recommend to fellow teachers – newly graduated or years into their teaching career.
Disclaimer No. 1: No, I do not receive any compensation for purchases made via the links below. I am simply sharing the good karma vibes here. And when possible, I provide links to get these books through BookShop.org, my favorite online spot supporting local bookstores.
Disclaimer No. 2: I am unabashedly a bookworm. Yes, you will find more than four titles mentioned below!
In addition, of course, to all the books mentioned in my previous post Five Must Reads for New Yogis, I would say these books should be on every teacher’s reading list (or on the list of anyone who’d like to know what teachers [should] know.)
If it wasn’t on your teacher training required reading list, get Teaching Yoga today!
While there are plenty of lovely books on the subject of teaching, I haven’t found any that are more comprehensive or more well-written than Mark Stephens’ Teaching Yoga: Essential Foundations and Techniques. This book solidly covers everything from philosophy and history to anatomy and teaching technique. And if you find this first book helpful, you might also check out the other books Mark Stephens has written for teachers. He definitely resides in the ranks of a well respected teacher of teachers.
To give you a foundation for developing an educated teacher’s eye, Your Body, Your Yoga is where it starts!
A teacher’s ability to really see a student and begin discerning what is truly going on in the body (called having an educated eye) is what separates the ‘um, pretty good’ teachers from the ‘really great!’ ones. Although nothing develops your educated eye like time teaching and watching a variety of students (or better still, mentoring with an experienced teacher), this book has invaluable insight every teacher should have filed away in their brains: Your Body, Your Yoga by Bernie Clark. The second book in his series, Your Spine, Your Yoga, is equally excellent.
If you will be teaching multi-level, mixed group classes at a local studio – that is to say, if you are like the majority of teachers in the industry – this skill is what will make or break your attendance trends. Polls reveal that thousands of people want to practice yoga regularly, but they only drop into classes sporadically or worse, give up after a handful of trial classes, because they did not find a teacher who could teach them how to do the asana well for their body. Many people assume yoga is not right for them solely because there wasn’t a teacher with the educated eye and lengthy catalog of queues and variations to help meet them where they are.
As teachers, if we cannot meet people where they are, then we cannot ever get them to experience any growth or progress. And let’s face it, if yoga isn’t going to grow and transform you into the best version of yourself, why bother, right?
If you teach (or want to teach) a diverse group, the insider information in Yoga Rising is precious.
While the hundreds of hours we commit to teacher training programs [hopefully] gives us foundations to teach yoga safely (even artistically and creatively), we have to remember we are teaching people. Whole people. Complete with aches, pains, weaknesses, heartaches, stresses, and baggage. And, again, the difference between an ‘um, pretty good’ teacher and a ‘really great!’ one is the ability to recognize the diversity and hold space for it.
I love the way Yoga Rising (edited by Melanie C. Klein) has compiled stories that collectively paint a very real picture of the whole beings that step into our studio classes every week. This book is the follow-up to Klein’s Yoga and Body Image, which was published a few years ago. More recently, a third book was published in this series – Embodied Resilience through Yoga. Reading any or all are so helpful in reminding teachers to be mindful of all the individual perspectives that may be walking into class.
If you find Klein’s books helpful and also find concerns about body image (and disordered eating in particular) coming up among your students, I would also suggest checking out Hunger, Hope and Healing by SaraJoy Marsh. She is a PNW yoga teacher and certified yoga therapist with a wealth of experience in this arena.
Or, if you have a heart for holding space in your classes to be inclusive of cancer survivors, I recommend starting with Yoga for Cancer by Tari Prinster to get you started along that path.
Because no training program ever has enough hours to study the Sutras, The Secret of the Yoga Sutras is a must have.
I realize that it is unlikely most teachers will overtly bring commentaries and teachings from the Patanjali’s aphorisms into a westernized asana class; however, it is always the underlying current of every great practice. And while there are literally hundreds of translations and commentaries on The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, my favorite for those who should have a deep well of knowledge in this area is The Secret of the Yoga Sutra by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ph.D.
This book provides thorough, yet readible commentary on the first pada (chapter) of the Sutras. Yes, it is one, thick book that covers just the first of the four Sutra padas! And if you find you enjoy it, I would also suggest getting a copy of the second book in the set, The Practice of the Yoga Sutra, which was just published at the end of 2017 and examines the second pada.
While the books mentioned here are by no means an exhaustive list, they are my most frequently recommended. In fact, as a yoga student, I have passed on retaking someone’s class when it appears they don’t have the foundational teachings from these books in their repertoire. As an assistant studio manager, I have also passed on hiring new teachers who seemed to be missing the key elements of information these books have to offer (true confession right there!). Teacher training programs are just the tip of the iceberg. To move from ‘um, pretty good’ to ‘really great’, we have to continuously study and learn more along the way – Whether it is these books in particular, or one of the dozens like them on these topics.
So, fellow teachers: What good books have you read recently that inspire your teaching? And, fellow students: What good books do you wish your yoga teacher would read that might move their classes from pretty good to really great? Comment below. As an avid reader, I am always a fan of passing the booklist love around!