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Books & Resource Lists – Adaptation, Applications, Injuries & Conditions, Therapeutics, Yoga Therapy

Adaptation & Customization

Books

  1. Bondy, Dianne & Kat Heagberg — Yoga Where You Are  link
  2. Heyman, Jivana — Accessible Yoga  link
  3. Kraftsow, Gary — Yoga for Wellness  link
  4. Mohan, A.G. — Yoga Therapy  link
  5. Payne, Larry — Yoga RX  link
  6. Yee, Rodney — Moving Toward Balance  link

Teaching Tools

Yoga & Pregnancy

Books

  1. Campbell, Mel — The Yoga of Pregnancy Week by Week: Connect with Your Unborn Child through the Mind, Body and Breath  link
  2. Freedman, Francoise Barbira — Yoga for Pregnancy, Birth, and Beyond  link
  3. Iyengar, Geeta S — Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood: Safe Practice for Expectant & New Mothers  link
  4. Jordan, Sandra — Yoga for Pregnancy  link
  5. Khalsa, Gurmukh Kaur — Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful: Experience the Natural Power of Pregnancy and Birth with Kundalini Yoga and Meditation  link
  6. Lasater, Judith PhD, PT — Yoga for Pregnancy: What Every Mom-to-Be Needs to Know  link
  7. Lee, Tara — Pregnancy Health Yoga: Your Essential Guide for Bump, Birth and Beyond  link

Teaching Tools

Yoga & Kids

Books

  1. Bersma, Danielle — Yoga Games for Children: Fun and Fitness with Postures, Movements and Breath  link
  2. Buckley, Annie — The Kids’ Yoga Deck: 50 Poses and Games  link
  3. Flynn, Lisa — Yoga for Children: 200+ Yoga Poses, Breathing Exercises, and Meditations for Healthier, Happier, More Resilient Children  link
  4. Gates, Mariam — Kid Power Yoga Teacher Training Manual  link
  5. Guber, Tara and Leah Kalish — Yoga Pretzels (Yoga Cards) link
  6. Power, Teresa Anne — The ABCs of Yoga for Kids Learning Cards  link
  7. Solis, Sydney — Teaching Yoga to Children Through Story  link
  8. Teachasana — Children’s Yoga Resources  link
  9. Wenig, Marsha — YogaKids: Educating The Whole Child Through Yoga  link
  10. Whitford, Rebecca — Little Yoga: A Toddler’s First Book of Yoga  link

Trauma & Yoga

Recommended Book

Overcoming Trauma through Yoga by David Emerson & Elizabeth Hopper  link
Why We Recommend This Book

This short little volume is packed with power. It’s accessible, fascinating, and practical for all teachers, no matter your student population. What more can be said about the quality of a book that features three introductory essays by none other than Peter A Levine, PhD, Stephen Cope, MSW and Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD? These are giants in our world, researchers and authors of unassailable expertise and exceedingly noteworthy in their compassionate, practical offerings that help to heal the suffering in our world.

Whether it helps you tap into something personally or it shocks you into greater awareness of what your students may be facing, I imagine everyone will relate or deeply empathize with the research and stories shared here. No matter your background, you will gain a deeper understanding of trauma and the practical tools of trauma-sensitive yoga teaching which will surely help you to be a more compassionate, skilled, and effective teacher. – Shelly

Book Quote

Storing traumatic memories, and the associated emotional tone, is evolutionarily adaptive. We need to remember dangerous or threatening situations so that we can try to avoid these situations in the future… Avoidance symptoms provide the counterbalance to intrusive symptoms, when we use all of our energy to try to push away the traumatic memories, to avoid reminders, and to “move on.” This internal battle creates a situation of ongoing tension… The most extreme form of avoidance is dissociation… Dissociation can create an ongoing disconnection from our emotions, body, or thoughts; can lead to significant disturbances in the continuity of our memory; and can interfere with our ability to establish an integrated sense of self. When we dissociate, we might be consciously completely unaware of traumatic memories, or of the emotional pain attached to the memories. But the pain may still be held somatically. One person might experience chronic neck and backaches from holding herself rigidly controlled…

Trauma is an experience of having no choice. Whether you are a soldier being attacked in battle, a child in an abusive home, or a woman walking alone who is assaulted, your choice about what happened to you did not matter… What trauma-sensitive yoga offers… is a structured, supportive, and self-paced medium for survivors to make choices in relation to their bodies and their experience that are kind, gentle, and caring—all of the things that were missing during the trauma. Making choices to be kind, gentle, and caring toward ourselves take practice for all of us, but for trauma survivors it is of particular importance. Yoga offers a way to practice making small, manageable choices in relation to one’s body.

Books

While we have highlighted a few outstanding books, there are many wonderful books and we encourage you to peruse the entire list. Any one of these may be just what you need!

  1. Lee, Michael Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy: A Bridge from Body to Soul  link
  2. Banitt, Susan Pease — The Trauma Tool Kit: Healing PTSD from the Inside Out  link
  3. Birch, Beryl Bender — Yoga for Warriors: Basic Training in Strength, Resilience, and Peace of Mind  link
  4. Emerson, David & Elizabeth Hopper — Overcoming Trauma through Yoga  link
  5. Emerson, David Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy: Bringing the Body into Treatment  link
  6. Hubl, Thomas Healing Collective Trauma: A Process for Integrating Our Intergenerational and Cultural Wounds  link
  7. Levine, Peter A — Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body  link
  8. Van Der Kolk, Bessel MD The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma  link

Teaching Tools

 

Body Positivity & Larger Bodies

Books

  1. Guest-Jelley, Anna — Curvy Yoga: Love Yourself & Your Body a Little More Each Day  link
  2. Guest-Jelley, Anna — Permission to Curve  link
  3. Klein, Melanie C — Yoga Rising: 30 Empowering Stories form Yoga Renegades for Every Body  link
  4. Klein, Melanie & Anna Guest-Jelly — Yoga and Body Image: 25 Personal Stories About Beauty, Bravery & Loving Your Body  link
  5. Marsh, Sarahjoy — Hunger, Hope, and Healing: A Yoga Approach to Reclaiming Your Relationship to Your Body and Food  link
  6. Sagun, Valerie —  Big Gal Yoga  link
  7. Stanley, Jessmyn —  Every Body Yoga link

Teaching Tools

 

Yoga & Mental Health & Emotions

Books

  1. Bennett, Bija — Emotional Yoga: How the Body Can Heal the Mind  link
  2. Boccio, Frank Jude Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind  link
  3. Forbes, Bo PsyD Yoga for Emotional Balance: Simple Practices to Help Relieve Anxiety and Depression  link
  4. Khouri, Hala Peace from Anxiety: Get Grounded, Build Resilience, and Stay Connected Amidst the Chaos  link
  5. Rama, Swami, Rudolph Ballentine MD& Swami Ajaya PhD — Yoga & Psychotherapy: The Evolution of Consciousness  link
  6. Weintraub, Amy Yoga for Depression: A Compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering Through Yoga   link

Teaching Tools

Yoga Therapy

Books

  1. Horovitz, Ellen G & Staffan Elgelid — Yoga Therapy: Theory and Practice  link
  2. Kraftsow, Gary — Yoga for Wellness: Healing with the Timeless Teachings of Viniyoga  link
  3. McCall, Timothy MD — Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing  link
  4. McGonigal, Kelly PhD — Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind and Heal Your Chronic Pain  link
  5. Mohan, A.G. and Indra Mohan — Yoga Therapy: A Guide to the Therapeutic Use of Yoga and Ayurveda for Health and Fitness  link
  6. Payne, Larry PhD, Terra Gold & Eden Goldman — Yoga Therapy and Integrative Medicine: Where Ancient Science Meets Modern Medicine  link
  7. Payne, Larry PhD & Richard Usatine, MD — Yoga RX: A Step-by-Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments  link
  8. Stephens, MarkYoga Therapy: Foundations, Methods, and Practices for Common Ailments  link
  9. Stiles, Mukunda —Structural Yoga Therapy: Adapting to the Individual  link

Teaching Tools

 

More Topics

Books

  1. Aldous, Susi Hately & Leonor Mowry — Advancing Your Yoga Practice: The Art of Slowing Down  link
  2. Bell, Charlotte — Yoga for Meditators: Poses to Support Your Sitting Practice  link
  3. Couch, Jean — The Runner’s Yoga Book: A Balanced Approach to Fitness  link
  4. DeLeon, Roy — Praying With the Body: Bringing the Psalms to Life  link
  5. Hawk, Kyczy — Yoga and the Twelve-Step Path  link
  6. Iyengar, Geeta — Yoga: A Gem for Women  link
  7. Kraftsow, Gary — Viniyoga Therapy for the Low Back, Sacrum & Hips (DVD)  link
  8. Krucoff, Carol — Yoga Sparks: 108 Easy Practices for Stress Relief in a Minute or Less  link
  9. Lee, Michael — Turn Stress into Bliss: The Proven 8-Week Program for Health, Relaxation, Stress Relief  link
  10. Marsh, Sarahjoy — Hunger, Hope, and Healing: A Yoga Approach to Reclaiming Your Relationship to Your Body and Food  link
  11. Meadows, Kath — A Woman’s Practice: Healing from the Heart (link no longer available)
  12. Petigara, Jill Mahrlig & Lynn Jensen — Yoga and Fertility: A Journey to Health and Healing  link
  13. Powers, Sarah — Insight Yoga  link
  14. Rothenberg, Robin — The Essential Low Back Program: Relieve Pain & Restore Health  link
  15. Sabatini, Sandra & Silvia Mori — Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer: Yoga Through the Seasons  link
  16. Saudek, Chris — Laminated Series (for Restoratives, High Blood Pressure, Headache, Pregnancy, Backache & Menstruation)  link

Teaching Tools

The hub has lessons and tools organized into the following sections:

  • Yoga, Health & Injuries Intro & Preparation
  • Teaching Foundations
  • Cautions at a Glance
  • Conditions of the Spine, Back & Hips
  • Other Joint Issues & Common Conditions
  • Pregnancy
  • Addiction & Mental Health
  • Digestive Issues
  • Trauma & PTSD
  • Immune System Issues
  • Arthritis
  • More Conditions

 

No Compensation for Recommendations

Our goal in providing book lists with quick links is to make it easy for you to get a sense for the variety of possible resources and to access them easily.

We receive no compensation of any sort for any recommendations or mentions. We are simply offering information as we feel called to do so.

Most of our book links use Amazon Associates, which pays a tiny commission on purchases made through those links (80 cents on a $20 book, for example). On average, we receive less than $15 per month from Amazon.

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