What Are the Top 10 Books to Read Before Going for Yoga Teacher Training?

Written by Deep Kumar, Founder of Yoga New Vision, Yoga Alliance Accredited RYS 200/300, Ubud, Bali

Before you pack your bags for Bali, open a book. The 10 essential books to read before yoga teacher training are: The Bhagavad Gita (Eknath Easwaran), Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Sri Swami Satchidananda), Light on Yoga (B.K.S. Iyengar), The Heart of Yoga (T.K.V. Desikachar), Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Svatmarama), The Yoga of Breath (Richard Rosen), Yoga Anatomy (Leslie Kaminoff), Yoga Mind Body and Spirit (Donna Farhi), Autobiography of a Yogi (Paramahansa Yogananda), and Teaching Yoga (Mark Stephens).

Why I Ask Students to Read Before They Arrive in Ubud

Every month, students fly into Bali with their mats rolled up, their lululemon gear packed, and very little idea of what is about to happen to them. A 200-hour residential YTT is not a wellness holiday. It is 21 days of early mornings, philosophy discussions, anatomy labs, and emotional release that no one warned you about.

Reading before you arrive does something important. It gives your nervous system a map. When you already have a basic sense of what pranayama, the eight limbs of yoga, or viniyoga mean, you absorb the training at a completely different depth.

I was a national-level gymnast before I became a yoga teacher. I have trained physiotherapists through my Physio Yoga Therapy methodology. I say this because my recommendations below are not just spiritual. They are grounded in how the body moves, breaks down, and heals.

The 10 Books, Organized by What They Prepare You For

I split the list into four reading categories we use at Yoga New Vision: yogic philosophy and ancient texts, hatha yoga and asana practice, pranayama and energy anatomy, and teaching methodology with anatomy.

1. The Bhagavad Gita, Translated by Eknath Easwaran

We open every morning session in our Ubud shala by reading one verse from the Gita and sitting with it. Easwaran’s translation is the one I recommend because he writes introductory chapters that give you the cultural and philosophical context before you touch a single Sanskrit term.

The Bhagavad Gita is essentially a conversation about action, purpose, and the nature of the self. For a YTT student, it answers the question you will be asking yourself by Day 5: “Why am I even doing this?”

Start here if you have never studied yoga philosophy before. You can read it once in three to four days and go back to specific chapters when something during training confuses you.

2. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali written over 4,000 years ago remain the most cited philosophical text in any serious YTT program. Satchidananda’s commentary makes the sutras accessible without dumbing them down.

You will spend entire sessions at YNV unpacking concepts like Samadhi, Pratyahara, and Dharana. Arriving with a basic mental model of these terms means you engage with the discussion instead of just writing notes frantically.

Pair this with the Bhagavad Gita. Together they form the philosophical spine of everything we do in training.

3. Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar

Iyengar was not just a yoga teacher. He was an engineer of the human body. The photographs in this book are worth ten anatomy lectures on asana alignment.

Keep Light on Yoga as a visual reference guide. Before your training, focus on the first 40 pages where Iyengar writes about the emotional and spiritual effects of regular practice. The asana photographs come to life after you have spent time on the mat in Bali.

4. The Heart of Yoga by T.K.V. Desikachar

Desikachar’s concept of viniyoga teaches that your yoga practice must adapt to your body, your age, and your current condition. This is the single most important idea for any future yoga teacher to carry into their career.

I reference this book heavily when we teach asana sequencing at YNV. Understanding that viniyoga is the foundation of intelligent teaching stops students from copying sequences mindlessly and helps them build their own.

If you only read three books before arriving, make this one of them.

5. Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Svatmarama

Read this for historical context, but do not try to perform the extreme kriyas or intense breath retentions described in the text from your living room. That is a serious point. We will guide you through these practices safely in Bali with proper supervision.

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika covers asana, pranayama, mudras, bandhas, chakras, kundalini, and nadis in one text. Treat it as a map of where the practice comes from, not a DIY instruction manual.

The commentary by Swami Muktibodhananda is the version I recommend. It is more structured and easier to follow than other translations.

6. The Yoga of Breath by Richard Rosen

Pranayama is taught every single morning at Yoga New Vision. Students who arrive with even a basic understanding of Nadi Shodhana, Kapalabhati, and Ujjayi progress noticeably faster during the first week.

Richard Rosen’s book is not poetic or spiritual. It is methodical and practical, which is exactly what a beginner needs before stepping into a pranayama class in the Bali heat.

This is the underrated book on this entire list. Most students skip it and then spend the first five mornings of training just trying to understand what we are doing.

7. Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews

As someone who has trained physiotherapists and spent years studying how the body compensates under load, I consider this the most important book for students with an active physical practice.

Understanding how muscles, breath mechanics, and spinal alignment work together during yoga poses prevents injury during a physically demanding 200-hour program. We reference Chapter 2 specifically when we teach rotator cuff mechanics during Vinyasa transitions.

Here is my honest recommendation: if you are hypermobile or have experienced joint pain, read Yoga Anatomy before you read the Yoga Sutras. Arriving injury-free is more important than arriving philosophically prepared.

8. Yoga Mind Body and Spirit by Donna Farhi

Donna Farhi is one of the clearest writers in modern yoga. Her explanation of the seven basic movement patterns of the human body is something we teach in our functional movement module at YNV.

This book builds the bridge between the ancient texts and how you actually teach a modern class. It connects pranayama, asana, and yoga philosophy in a way that feels organic and intelligent.

9. Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

This is the one book on the list that does not teach you a pose or a philosophy concept. It teaches you why any of this matters.

Yogananda’s life story is one of the most widely read spiritual memoirs in modern history. Reading it before a residential immersion in Bali prepares your mind for the fact that you are about to experience something that does not fit neatly into your normal life. Students who arrive having read this tend to surrender to the process instead of resisting it.

10. Teaching Yoga by Mark Stephens

This is the practical manual of the list. Stephens covers yoga philosophy, history of yoga, teaching ethics, class sequencing, and breathwork guidance all in one book.

I recommend reading the sequencing and ethics chapters before arrival. They will completely change how you observe other teachers in the weeks leading up to your training.

One Honest Word Before You Order All Ten

You do not need to finish all ten books before you arrive. A YTT is not a university exam. If you only read three books deeply, that is more valuable than skimming all ten.

Pick your three based on where your current gaps are. Philosophy student? Start with the Gita and the Sutras. Active practitioner with knee pain? Start with Yoga Anatomy. Curious about why you even practice? Start with Autobiography of a Yogi.

The physical embodiment happens on the mat in Ubud. The books prepare the soil. The training plants the seed.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I need to read all 10 books before yoga teacher training starts?

No. Read as many as you reasonably can without burning yourself out before arriving. Prioritize two or three based on your current knowledge gaps. A student who has genuinely absorbed three books will always outperform one who has surface-skimmed ten. Think of the reading as warming up your mind, not filling it.

2. Which book should I read first before yoga teacher training?

Start with The Bhagavad Gita translated by Eknath Easwaran. It introduces the core philosophy of dharma, self-awareness, and union that runs through every other text on this list. Easwaran’s introductory essays make it accessible even for readers with zero background in Indian philosophy or Sanskrit.

3. Is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika too advanced for a beginner?

It is not too advanced to read, but it is too advanced to practice from without guidance. Read it for historical context and to understand the origins of hatha yoga, pranayama, mudras, and bandhas. Do not attempt the extreme cleansing techniques described in the text without supervision from a qualified teacher.

4. Are there modern books I should read alongside the ancient texts?

Yes. Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff and Teaching Yoga by Mark Stephens are both modern texts that bring Western biomechanics into conversation with yogic practice. For a well-rounded preparation, pair one ancient text with one modern anatomy or methodology book each week.

5. How many weeks before my YTT should I start reading?

Start at least six to eight weeks before your training begins. This gives you time to read at a natural pace, revisit passages, and let the ideas settle. Reading under pressure in the two days before you fly produces anxiety, not understanding.

6. Which yoga book is best for understanding chakras before training?

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika covers the chakra system, kundalini, and nadis in the context of traditional practice. For a more structured modern introduction to energy anatomy and how chakras relate to daily emotional life, read Donna Farhi’s Yoga Mind Body and Spirit alongside it.

7. What if I have never read yoga philosophy at all?

That is completely fine. The Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are both written for general readers, not scholars. Eknath Easwaran and Sri Swami Satchidananda are both exceptional at grounding complex ideas in practical, relatable language. Start with the Gita and take notes on the Sanskrit terms you encounter.

8. Do these books directly relate to the Yoga New Vision curriculum?

Yes. All ten books on this list directly correspond to modules we teach across the Training Programs at Yoga New Vision in Ubud, Bali. They are not academic suggestions. They are the philosophical and anatomical foundation of what we teach every day in the shala.

9. I am hypermobile. Should I still prioritize philosophy books first?

If you are hypermobile or have experienced recurring joint pain, read Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff before anything else on this list. Understanding how your connective tissue, muscular activation, and breath mechanics interact during asana practice is essential for avoiding injury during the physically demanding weeks of a 200-hour residential program.

10. Will reading these books make the training easier?

Not easier. More meaningful. The training will still be physically and emotionally demanding regardless of how much you have read. What the reading does is give you a vocabulary and a philosophical framework so that when something challenging happens on the mat or in your mind during training in Bali, you have a way to name it and work with it.

Deep Kumar is the founder of Yoga New Vision, a Yoga Alliance Accredited RYS 200/300 school in Ubud, Bali. He is a former national-level gymnast, creator of the Deep Yoga Method and Physio Yoga Therapy, and has trained students from over 40 countries since 2009.