what are the recommended books for yoga exams?

Question

I am preparing for yoga exams - UGC NET Yoga as well as QCI Yoga Level 2 (Yoga Teacher). Could you please recommend some books which are important to qualify the exams in one go?

Answer 1

I used many books for preparation of Yoga NET by UGC as well as QCI (now yoga certification board under Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga). Following books will definitely help you in preparing:

1. Hatha Yoga Pradipika
2. Gherand Samhita
3. 4 Chapters on Freedom (on Patanjali Yoga Sutra)
4. Asana Pranayama Mudra

These books belong to Bihar School of Yoga and have very detailed explanation of above Hatha Yoga Texts and can be purchased from Amazon.in. I have added the links to these books also for your ready reference.

Other books can also be had from Amazon.in. These are

1. Siddha Siddhantpaddati, belongs to Chaukamba Prakashan, Varanasi.
2. Shiva Samhita and HathaRatnavali both belong to Kaivalyadham Lonavala Publication. I recently check an other book but in Hindi Language on HathaRatnavali. It has MCQs as well. It is basically Hindi translation book on Hatha Ratnavali. I cannot review as I have not read the Hindi book.
3. Bhagwad Gita of Geeta Press, Gorakhpur. I have two books - one is small handy pocket Bhagwad Gita book and the other one is big hard bound Bhagwad Gita book. I read the pocket book which has 256 pages and can be easily completed. The hard bound book has 222 big pages, though the print font is also big. I suggest you to keep pocket book.
4. 10 Principal Upanishads- These I have downloaded from internet from various sources - Even I have studied study material of Graduates of Philosophy for through understanding of upanishads. You can try IGNOU books on Philosophy.
5. Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar and Asana, Pranayama and Mudra of Bihar School of Yoga will clear your understanding. All yoga professionals should have these books absolutely in their library.
6. I found this book also helpful for going through the complete syllabus in nutshell : Certificate of Yoga Professional : Official Guide. This is the only book which is written syllabus wise. I have read it. It is truly written for yoga professionals. It has covered entire syllabus. One should complete this book first in the beginning of the preparation and after completion of the syllabus for revision.  I had purchased it at discount after I registered for QCI. But now it is available only at full price, i.e. Rs.795/-.
7. UGC-Net: Yoga (Paper II & III) Exam Guide  (English, Paperback, RPH Editorial Board). This was also helpful as it contains good study material on all topics. I find it helpful to my study alongwith objective questions. No doubt, you will need to be careful in ascertaining the answers whether they have correctly mentioned. In some questions, I found some incorrect answers. But that was their 1st edition. May the publication has rectified in their latest editions.

I have made one comparison of some hatha yoga texts; may be it can be of some help to you. If some corrections are needed in this comparison, please do it and let me know or mention here. Comparison of Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gherand Samhita and Shiv Samhita and others But I find it very useful in having glance of differences in a single study.

Although the above is not complete list on books, but one can refer to the following reference books for comprehensive knowledge on yoga and its philosophy and physiology:

1. George Feuerstein: The Yoga Tradition (Its history, literature, philosophy and practice).
2. Sri Ananda: The Complete book of Yoga Harmony of Body and Mind (Orient Paperbacks: Vision Books Pvt Ltd.)
3. Swami Sivananda: Practice of Yoga (The Divine life Society, Shivananda Nagar, P.O., UP Himalayas)
4. Swami Sivananda Practice of Karma Yoga (The Divine Life Society, Shivananda Nagar, P.O. UP Himalayas)
5. Dr. Nagendra HR: The Art and Science of Pranayama (Vivekananda Kendra Yoga Prakashana, Bangalore).
6. Sri Swami Sachidananda: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Integral Publications, USA)
7. Paths of Meditation by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai.
8. Dr. Krishna Raman: A matter of Health (Integration of Yoga and western medicine for prevention and cure), Chennai, East West Books
9. Swami Sivananda: KundaliniYoga (The Divine Life Society, P.O. Sivananda Nagar U.P. Himalayas)
10. Dr. H.R. Nagendra:Yoga Research and Applications (SVYASA)
11. Prana, Pranayama, Prana Vidya (Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar)
12. Dr. Shirley Telles: Glimpses of Human Body (SVYASA)
13. Practical Guide to Applied Spirituality (Brahmakumaris, Mount Abu, Rajasthan)
14. Yoga Therapy by A.M.Moorthy, Teachers Publishing House, Coimbatore.
15. Yoga Therapy by Swami Kuvalayandaha, Kaivalayadham.