Yoga resources: books, DVDs, props, retreats
Books
The Art and Science of Raja Yoga 
Swami Kriyananda, 471 pages, $24.95
Raja Yoga encompasses all the different types of Yoga, including meditation, pranayama, devotional practices, dispassionate discrimination and wisdom, as well as the physical postures well-known in the West. Also included is an audio CD that contains a guided yoga postures sessions, a guided meditation, and an talk by Swami Kriyananda on how to use these tehcniques to benefit our daily lives. Purchase
A 14-week training course is offered with this book as the text, beginning each January.
Ananda Yoga for Higher Awareness
Swami Kriyananda, 156 pages, $16.95
This is the classic text for Ananda Yoga—hatha yoga poses illustrated with photographs
of Swami Kriyananda demonstrating each pose. Many of the poses include
a helpful affirmation that you may repeat silently as you practice. Purchase
Autobiography of a Yogi, First Edition 
Paramhansa Yogananda, 516 pages, $14.00
This book appears regularly on lists of the most influential spiritual books of the last 100 years. Yogananda’s extraordinary stories of saints and miracles are startling testimony to humanity’s capacity for direct, personal communion with God. Written in 1946, it has been translated into 19 languages and is used in colleges as a textbook on Yoga and Indian philosophy. Purchase
The Path
One Man’s Quest on the Only Path There Is 
Swami Kriyananda, 480 pages, $14.95
A companion to Yogananda’s Autobiography, The Path is the captivating story of a young American man’s longing for truth, his many adventures along the way, and a remarkable meeting with Paramhansa Yogananda, when he became a disciple at the age of 21. With hundreds of stories about Yogananda not found anywhere else, this book is a remarkable guide to walking the spiritual path.
Purchase
The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita 
Explained by Paramhansa Yogananda
As Remembered by His Disciple, Swami Kriyananda
688 pages, $24.95
This exploration of India's best-loved scripture approaches it from a fresh perspective, showing its deep allegorical meaning and also its down-to-earth practicality. The themes presented are universal: how to achieve victory in life in union with the divine; how to prepare for life's "final exam," death, and what happens afterward; how to triumph over all pain and suffering. Purchase
The Essence of Self-Realization 
The Wisdom of Paramhansa Yogananda
compiled by Swami Kriyananda, 212 pages, $10.95
A compilation by Swami Kriyananda of his guru’s words as he remembered and recorded them. Each chapter is devoted to an essential aspect of the spiritual life, including karma, reincarnation, grace, the need for a guru, meditation, and prayer. Purchase
More resources on Yoga are available directly from the publisher.
DVDs & videos
Yoga for Busy People 
Short Routines for Calmness, Vitality, & Harmony
DVD, 88 minutes, $14.95
Rich McCord and Lisa Powers
These yoga routines are designed especially for people short on time, but who
would nonetheless like to experience the many benefits of hatha
yoga. Purchase
Yoga to Awaken the Chakras 
Experience Energy, Rejuvenation, and Higher Awareness
DVD, 84 minutes, $14.95
Rich McCord
Yoga to Awaken the Chakras will
help you work with the subtle energies of the body. Postures, special
exercises, and mini-meditations are discussed and demonstrated to help
you develop an awareness of the chakras and their qualities. Purchase
Yoga for Emotional Healing 
Bringing Balance, Inner Peace, & Happiness Into Your Life
VHS, 65 minutes, $11.95
Lisa Powers
Yoga postures are beneficial not only for stress reduction and
well-being, they can also be powerful tools for healing harmful
emotional states. Learn how to use yoga postures and related practices
to overcome anxiety, anger, depression, hurt feelings, negativity,
doubt, and a host of emotional imbalances. Purchase
More resources on Yoga are available directly from the publisher.
Resource for yoga supplies, clothing, DVDs, and books
East West Bookstore
240 Castro Street
Mountain View, CA
(650) 988-9800
Here you'll find the largest selection of yoga supplies and props, DVDs, and yoga books in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Staffed by members and friends of Ananda, East West Bookstore is the largest metaphysical bookstore in northern California, and now
the third largest bookstore of its kind in the world today, attracting
visitors from every corner of the globe. Plan on spending at least a
few hours browsing the store’s extensive collection of books and tapes
on yoga, meditation, and spirituality, representing all faiths and
practices. It also offers an unusually beautiful collection of crystals, original art, jewelry,
quality clothing, journals, health and healing supplies, and more.
Classes on yoga and meditation are offered here, as well as nearly
nightly lectures by noted authors.
Yoga retreat opportunities
The Expanding Light Retreat 
Ananda Village
14618 Tyler Foote Road
Nevada City, CA
(800) 346-5350
For more than 30 years, guests have found spiritual and personal
renewal at Ananda’s Expanding Light Retreat,
located in the beautiful Sierra foothills. The Expanding Light provides 3 gourmet vegetarian meals each day,
lovely accommodations, and a wide range of yoga and meditation classes. It's located just north of Nevada City, 3 1/2 hours from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ananda Assisi 
Assisi, Italy
011-390-742-813-620
The largest center for Yogananda's teachings in Europe, thousands of Europeans visit Ananda Assisi each year along with
the few lucky Americans who discover it. This rural retreat is very
much like Ananda’s Expanding Light, located high on a rural ridgetop
with expansive views of the Umbrian hills near Assisi. Classes and
vegetarian meals are offered to guests daily. There are opportunities
for personal retreat and for pilgrimages to the many places made
sacred by St. Francis and his followers.
