10 Favourite Books to Inspire Your Practice

Books are like a little mindful journey of discovery.  I love the sensorial experience of real books.  Do you know what I mean?  The weight of the book in your hand, the texture and colours of the cover, the search for images hidden inside that light up the story, the scent of the paper, the sound of pages turning.

And I love to hunt for books in all sorts of places.  And so, since I began researching yoga, meditation and mindfulness, I’ve amassed a rather large and eclectic collection of relevant books.  There is always something new to learn about these rich and multi-faceted practices!  

Today I’d like to share 10 of my book-treasures, little gems I’ve found over the years that I think will inspire you to create a personal and meaningful home practice.  None of them are new, these are timeless books, they are all available today.

Here we go, in no particular order…

1.MEDITATION IN A NEW YORK MINUTE, Super Calm for the Super Busy, Mark Thornton
Love this little book!  It demystifies the art of meditation and makes it accessible to all with quick and effective meditation tools and 19 different techniques.  So that you can sprinkle micro-doses of meditation throughout your busy day, whenever you have a moment…or as they say, a New York Minute.

2. A MONK’S GUIDE TO HAPPINESS, Meditation in the 21st Century, Gelong Thubten
This is one of the best books about meditation and mindfulness that I’ve read, inspiring and profound and also practical and very helpful.  It explores the nature of happiness and offers methods to help you choose happiness, to develop greater compassion for yourself and others, and to make meditation a daily habit until it becomes your way of life on your journey to joy.

3. LOOKING AT MINDFULNESS, 25 Paintings to Change the Way You Live, Christophe André
I love, love, love this exquisite book, so beautifully written, so interesting.  It awakens my inner art history nerd ;)  The author guides us through the art of mindfulness using art itself, an eclectic selection of masterpieces, to explore the connection between what we see and feel as a first step to understanding mindfulness and and the benefits of living in the moment. A wonderfully accessible yet unique book for anyone to learn more about meditation and living with mindfulness.

4. COMING TO OUR SENSES, Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn
Dr. Kabat-Zinn is the creator of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) based on the Buddhist practice of mindfulness. This book is wealth of information about the transformative power of mindfulness.  He shows us how by “coming to our senses” - both literally and metaphorically - we can become more compassionate, aware human beings, and in the process to realize our full potential as human beings. He reminds us that living in this way is the adventure of a lifetime, and that it is both tremendously freeing and profoundly healing.  You could get lost…and found…in this big, beautifully written book.

5. DOWNWARD DOGS & WARRIORS, Wisdom Tales for Modern Yogis, Zo Newell, PhD
Such an interesting little gem! This is NOT a book about how to do yoga poses. This is a book about how to use them for reflection, self-examination and healing. Ancient mythology, symbolic imagery and suggested uses for each pose are offered as tools to help you deepen your yoga practice through observation of your body, mind and emotions.

6. MOVING TOWARD BALANCE, 8 Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee, Rodney Yee
If you want to start your home yoga practice, this is the book for you.  It’s not new, but still perfectly relevant and flavoured with Rodney Yee’s lovely teaching style. It’s easy to understand, easy to use with clear instructions and hundreds of photos to follow.  Each week’s program is focused on a theme and features 6 different days of yoga practice including asana, breath awareness and meditation. 

7. TENDING THE HEART FIRE, Living in Flow with the Pulse of Life, Shiva Rea
This book brings together wisdom from many powerful ancient traditions including yoga, meditation, Ayurveda and Tantra.  It is an invitation to embody your heart energy and your full potential, to reconnect with the rhythms the natural world. Open it to any page, any time, and be inspired by the spirit, the images, the ideas. Or follow along with the rhythms of the season. Any way to approach this book, it’s flowing and gorgeous.  

8. YOGA AT HOME,  Inspiration for Creating Your Own Home Practice, Linda Sparrowe
Taking inspiration from the sacred spaces and daily practices of internationally recognized yoga teachers, this book offers you everything you need to create and maintain your own home yoga practice.  Advice includes tips on how to create your space, what tools and props you’ll need, what to practice.

9. ALTAR YOUR SPACE, A Guide to the Restorative Home, Jagatjoti S. Khalsa
This beautiful, image-rich book will inspire you to turn your whole home into a relaxing, peaceful, inspiring sacred space, a sanctuary for practice and for life.  It really makes you think about the environment you live in and how it can contribute to your state of mind.

10. THE MANDALA BOOK, Patterns of the Universe, Lori Bailey Cunningham
Sometimes you just need a book to inspire you to you see things differently. This beautiful book features more than 500 stunning images of mandalas as they appear in our universe, drawing from history, science and art to create an uplifting visual experience that allows us to discover our connection to the world and to one another.  It can be a meditative tool for reflection.