If you are interested in learning the physical practice of yoga postures, or asanas, you ideally will attend a group class and learn by doing them under the watchful eye of an experienced yoga teacher. Reading books that show different yoga postures also can provide important details on how to do variations of a pose for a beginner or someone with difficulty balancing.
Light On Yoga
B.K.S. Iyengar published the iconic "Light on Yoga" in 1966 and it remains a bible for yoga practitioners worldwide. It contains more than 600 photographs of Iyengar demonstrating over 200 yoga postures. Alongside the images are his commentary informing readers what health benefits and effects each posture provides. More than the encyclopedic nature of the yoga postures is how he places the physical practice within the larger philosophical and historical context of yoga.
Ashtanga Yoga
"Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual," self-published by David Swenson, one of the first Americans to be certified to teach ashtanga yoga by Sri Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India, provides step-by-step instruction on how to practice one of the most physically demanding forms of yoga. Ashtanga is a set sequence of postures that are categorized in seven different series. After Jois died in 2009, his grandson Sharath continued his work. The book provides variations for beginners as they learn ashtanga. The book has over 650 photos.
Yoga, the Iyengar Way
"Yoga, The Iyengar Way," by Silva, Mira and Shyam Mehta, is a well-regarded book of yoga postures. Featuring large color photographs of many accessible postures, it also provides important details on physical alignment to prevent injuries and gain the most benefit from each posture. The book has photographs of 100 foundational postures. Iyengar yoga often uses props, including yoga blocks, straps, folding chairs, blankets and ropes tethered to a wall to allow you to move into and sustain different postures. This book includes many postures that include the use of props.
Relax and Renew
"Relax and Renew," by Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., is another book detailing restorative postures. Restoratives allow the central nervous system to rest. For example, in viparita karani, you would lie on your back with legs propped up on a wall. A bolster would be placed below the kidneys and folded blankets under the head, arms and hands, with another blanket possibly draped over the legs. Lasater is an Iyengar-trained yoga teacher, with a doctorate in East-West psychology and a degree in physical therapy. As the founder of the "Yoga Journal" and president of the California Teachers Association, her experience in working with yoga students is clearly seen in her books. The restorative poses she outlines are ones that provide effective stress management.
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