A Guide to the Best Yoga Anatomy Books

As both a student and teacher of yoga, I’ve found myself interested in understanding the ins and outs of how my body works. 

 After thousands of hours of accumulated yoga practice, I’ve never experienced Warrior 2 the same way twice. I’ve never experienced a duplicate headstand or child’s pose. Each movement experience is totally unique. 

Because no two experiences are the same, it has been helpful for me to have models of understanding the human body and mind that are compatible with good-feeling, health-generating yoga postures. Throughout the years, I have found various resources helpful, from diagrams to videos to conversations to written models of how the human body works and functions best. 

After all, my goal for my yoga practice is to open my body and strengthen it. In order to do that effectively, I must respect some rules of the natural limitations of my skeleton and muscles. 

In preparation for writing this article, I have pulled approximately a dozen books off my shelf. Riddled with highlighter, dog-ears and receipt bookmarks, I have sent myself on a short journey of looking through my most prized resources on yoga anatomy. Some of these books have been in my life for more than a decade and others I have picked up over time. 

The best yoga anatomy books are not only compatible with the intelligence of each other, but each one also cracks into a unique part of the information eggshell to provide new perspectives. This variety ensures that whatever our backgrounds and interests are, there are resources to match. 

The following six books have been immensely influential in my own understanding of my body’s anatomy. For each book, I have included the purchase link on Amazon (which is not to say that the books should be purchased from Amazon, some teachers sell their own books from their website and many are carried by larger booksellers) and a brief breakdown of what information you can expect to find in each. It has been through a variety of books (and testing my understanding in my own yoga practice) that I have slowly gained confidence in opening and strengthening my body. 

Breakdown of the Best Yoga Anatomy Books

Functional Anatomy of Yoga by David Keil

In the introduction, Keil says, “If you have practiced asana consistently for 10 years or more for at least one hour each day, it is certain that you know the workings of your body quite well. You may not have the technical anatomical names or understandings, but your kinesthetic knowledge is a very real and powerful way to know the body.” 

His book, then, is a companion guide for the intelligence gleaned during our asana practice, and may help explain different sensory phenomena we experience (or see others experiencing). 

First published in 2014, this book is one of the newer acclaimed anatomy books on the market. In it, Keil breaks down the anatomy of each joint in the body, and includes information on each joint structure including its range of movement, connective tissue configuration, potential injuries and variations in skeletons amongst different people. 

The second part of the book is dedicated to understanding anatomical patterns in different types of asanas, including forward bends, external hip rotation (think warrior 2), twists, arm balances and backbends. In these sections, he provides examples of a handful of different poses, but does not spend an exhaustive amount of time covering the in-depth anatomy of every traditional yoga pose. 

In A Nutshell: Learn about all aspects of joints and anatomical patterns in different types of yoga poses 

Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff

Kaminoff opens the book with, “Because yoga practice emphasizes the relationship of the breath and the spine, I will pay particular attention to those systems.”

A world-renowned yoga anatomy and breathing expert (from the tradition of T.K.V. Desikachar), Kaminoff’s Yoga Anatomy (first published in 2007, with a more recent second edition) features the anatomical breakdown of dozens of the most practiced yoga asanas. It also includes opening chapters on the dynamics of breathing and the spine. 

Using detailed illustrations of each pose, readers can see exactly which muscles are working and lengthening in each pose. Each pose also includes obstacles, breathing techniques and the traditional Sanskrit name (if learning Sanskrit names for poses is something that floats your boat). 

In A Nutshell: Learn which muscles are active in each pose, and how to optimize breathing during practice

The Key Muscles of Yoga: Scientific Keys Volume 1 by Ray Long

Ray Long is a board certified orthopedic surgeon and the founder of Bandha yoga, which has roots in the Iyengar tradition of yoga asana. His books (yes, there’s many of them) feature digital illustrations by Chris Macivor, creating visually stunning images of the skeleton and connective tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc.). 

The first section of the book is dedicated to the skeleton, where we learn the names of major bones in the body, how joints function, and what connective tissues help hold the skeleton in place and allow movement. 

Including how muscles contract and stretch. The meat of the book is broken down into chapters on individual muscles, starting with the large muscles in the hips, butt and legs. Details of the muscles given include where the muscle is located on the skeleton (origin and insertion), what other muscles help it function, and what actions the muscle is able to make. 

Long also includes helpful self-test sections, where he provides diagrams for the reader to label. 

In A Nutshell: Learn the names of major bones and muscles in the body and how each muscle functions in different movements. 

The Key Poses of Yoga: Scientific Keys Volume 2 by Ray Long

Similar to volume 1, The Key Poses of Yoga features digital illustrations by Chris Macivor. 

Starting with theory, Long provides detailed information on the biomechanics of stretching, including what muscles are made of and how they interact with the nervous system when they are required to do work (i.e. strengthen or stretch). 

The second, and meatier, part of the book breaks down the balance between synergizing and activating muscles in each individual yoga posture. The illustrations of the postures feature red and blue coloring to suggest which muscles are used and how they are used in each position. 

In this book, Long describes muscles by name, so it is important to either already know the names of the muscles, or have a supplemental guide that can help fill in the gaps (his first volume is a great option for this).  

In A Nutshell: Learn the biomechanics of stretching, and how muscles are used in individual yoga poses. 

Yoga of the Subtle Body by Tias Little

In the introduction, Little says, “ While there are many books on yoga philosophy and also many books on anatomy, there are few that weave the two together. The intersection of mystical anatomy described in many old yoga texts with the body’s glands, connective tissues, and organs has long been an interest of mine. My intention for this book is to provide insights into metaphysical speculations as they relate to the body, and through guided exercises, meditations, and reflections to give readers an experience of the subtle body.” 

Little’s approach to anatomy is a holistic approach of interweaving knowledge of the organs, glands, and even mind into our understanding of how and why we practice yoga. 

He formats his book in seven sections that correlate to the chakras (translated: “spinning wheels”, referring to different epicenters of nerves in the body along the spine). Starting at the pelvis and moving upward to the crown of the head, Little explores optimal anatomy and health of each of these areas.

Because this book features insight into the areas of the body that we can’t physically see, it is not centered around learning the individual body postures. Rather, it is suggested that whatever is deeply understood from this book will naturally shift both our perspective of our practice and the way we use our bodies so that we are more aligned with optimal health. 

In A Nutshell: Use the chakras to explore optimal anatomy of our subtle body, including organs, glands, and mind-stuff (thoughts, sensations, perceptions). 

Yoga Sequencing: Designing Transformative Yoga Classes by Mark Stephens

In the first sentence of the introduction, Stephens says, “Doing yoga and teaching yoga are inextricably intertwined.” This points to the idea that practicing yoga and teaching yoga are not two separate disciplines or sets of knowledge, they are one and the same. Therefor, any knowledge marketed towards those who teach yoga is also relevant and applicable for anyone who practices, even if there’s no desire to teach. 

In this book, Stephens uncovers the best practices for exactly how to move our bodies by breaking down different types of poses in the asana practice. 

Broken into five sections, the first section focuses on foundations and principles of movements, the arc structure of a yoga class, sequencing within and across asana families, and understanding verbal cues and instructions. Section two looks at the design of practices aimed towards beginning, intermediate and advanced students. Part three looks at yoga for special populations and/or circumstances, including children, special conditions for women, and seniors. Part four incorporates knowledge of emotional and mental health, chakras, and ayurveda, and part five integrates the teachings of the previous four sections. 

This book is especially helpful in learning how to create a self-guided yoga experience, and how to position poses in the practice to receive the most benefits. 

In A Nutshell: Learn how to sequence poses within and across asana families (i.e. backbends, forward bends, twists, inversions, etc.) 

Additional Resources

Ultimately, as David Keil says in the introduction of Functional Anatomy of Yoga, we only need to move our bodies in order to understand them. Although we may not learn the names of muscles or bones, what we learn through yoga asana is a direct and kinesthetic knowledge of our body’s ideal movement. 

The anatomy we learn from books can help us see whether we’re on the right track with our kinesthetic knowledge, and can provide us common language when we practice and communicate with others. It can also help us interpret our movement experience to clear up confusion that accumulates when we’re at the edge of our skill set. 

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