In this article: Discover the most inspiring books to read on your next yoga retreat!
Books, just like yoga retreats, can be life-changing. There’s nothing more empowering than reading an inspiring book written by successful and driven individuals.
It starts to make you think that you can, too, change your life for the better.
Whether you want to become more spiritual, deepen your yoga practice, or simply read an uplifting story, the inspirational books on our list are packed with wisdom and knowledge.
If you love books as much as you love yoga, then you’re in for a treat. Below, you’ll find 10 inspiring books to read on your next yoga retreat.
Note: Affiliate links may be used in this post. We may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase through our affiliate link. Read our full disclosure policy here.
1. Light on Yoga – B.K.S Iyengar
Light on Yoga is a complete guide to the philosophy and practice of Yoga. It provides complete descriptions with more than 600 photographs of all the postures and breathing exercises.
This masterpiece is one of the fullest and most practical yoga guides. It’s perfect for the yoga enthusiast as well as the best introduction for the novice who wants to learn yoga or meditation.
With step-by-step pictures and explanations of the postures, this book will make a difference in your yoga practice.
You’ll find a variation for your level with details on how to get to the next level of posture.
Whether you are a beginner or a more advanced Yogi, you will learn how to perform perfectly each posture one by one.
All poses have an explanation of why they’re good for you and the health benefits they provide. It’s a really good way to practice new sequences and adjust them to your current needs.
If you are keen to create your own at-home yoga retreat we highly suggest getting Light on Yoga. You can definitely find inspiration in this amazing book.
2. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
The Alchemist is definitely one of the most inspiring books to read on your next yoga retreat. The story is about a shepherd boy from Andalusia named Santiago.
The boy embarks upon a journey in search of a treasure that he had dreamt of and his adventures will lead him through a life far more different and satisfying than he ever imagined.
Paulo Coelho combines magic, mysticism, wisdom, and wonders into an inspiring tale of self-discovery.
The Alchemist has become a modern classic that teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts and following our dreams.
The Alchemist is a book that’s easy to read with deep philosophical lessons.
Paulo Coelho was able to create a character and tell a story in a simply narrated manner that each one of us can relate to.
Just like Santiago, we all have goals and dreams that we wish to achieve. The book is full of positivity and will boost your morale to search for your own treasure.
The Alchemist tells a beautiful and meaningful story that you could easily enjoy while spending time on a yoga retreat.
3. The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
Have you ever wondered how to live a fulfilled life?
The Four Agreements is a book that provides a code of conduct for the way you handle your life and reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs.
This book, based on an ancient Toltec wisdom, is the perfect book for personal growth.
This book challenges you to live up to four simple agreements: be impeccable with your word, don’t take anything personally, don’t make assumptions and always do your best.
The Four Agreements is a fascinating and informative book that’ll inspire you to live a more fulfilled life.
It’s one of the most inspiring books we’ve read lately, it’s easy to read and every yoga enthusiast out there should definitely read it!
4. The Art of Happiness – Dalai Lama
The Art of Happiness is the book that started the genre of happiness books and it remains the cornerstone of this type. It’s one of the most inspiring books to read.
Through this book, The Dalai Lama, tells you that happiness if the purpose of life.
With the help of a psychiatrist, he was able to get the message across in a context we can easily understand.
Through conversations, stories, and meditations, the Dalai Lama shows us how to defeat day-to-day anxiety, anger, insecurity, and discouragement.
Together with Dr. Cutler, they explore difficulties common to all human beings such as relationships, loss, and the pursuit of wealth.
They illustrate how to ride through life’s obstacles with deep inner peace.
The Art of Happiness is recommended to anyone who is willing to dedicate themselves to change, but you must read it with an open mind.
The Dalai Lama’s wisdom is clear, simple, and practical. This book outlines many important elements of becoming a good human being.
It’ll teach you how to improve your life by choosing positivity, compassion, love, tolerance, and acceptance.
If you are looking for a book to read while on a yoga retreat, we highly suggest taking The Art of Happiness.
Anyone from any religion can use and appreciate it. It’s a great book to learn how to face and solve problems in your daily life.
5. Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert
In Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind everything an ambitious American woman was supposed to want (marriage, a house in the country, and a career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life.
In order to find out what she really wanted, she got rid of her belongings, quit her job, and set out for a year to examine three different aspects of her nature set against the backdrop of three different cultures.
Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy, the art of devotion in India, and then in Bali, she learned the art of balance.
Eat, Pray, Love is definitely one of the most inspiring books to read on a yoga retreat. It’s a fantastic memoir of self-discovery.
This book is about falling into happiness with yourself. We really suggest reading this book that’ll remind you of the important things in life.
6. Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer
Into the Wild is a popular non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer. It was turned into a movie in 2007.
After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1990, Chris McCandless gave $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car, and took up a life of traveling across the Western United States and Mexico.
Christopher decided to invent a new life for himself and left behind his parents and sister.
He also burnt his wallet and money, gave himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and vanished into the wild.
Reading this book will make you think about what it would take mentally, emotionally, and physically to actually leave family, society, and all conveniences behind to go live in the wild and be totally self-sufficient.
This unsettling story about a brilliant eccentric young man is very well written.
This book is based on a true story and is a great read to take with you on a yoga retreat.
7. The Book of Awakening – Mark Nepo
Mark Nepo is a philosopher and poet. He is convinced that spiritual daybooks should be seen as “a sturdy container for small doses of what matters”.
Reading his poetic prose and taking each day one at a time will give you a chance to savor the beauty of life.
The Book of Awakening is filled with readings related to his appreciation for wonder, love, pain, patience, and all the connections that link us together with each other.
This spiritual daybook will speak directly to your heart about the beauty, the bounty, and the blessings of life.
The Book of Awakening is a self-help type of book that can feed your soul day after day.
In this book, you will find readings for every day of the year analyzing some emotional aspects of life.
Of course, depending on your particular mood or circumstances, someday you’ll find readings more relevant to your own personal situation than others.
This title is the perfect book to bring on a yoga retreat with you. Some of the readings are quite deep and require slow and thoughtful reading.
But since you’ll probably practice meditation, you’ll be more focused. Reading this book could have a great impact on your life.
8. Life of Pi – Yann Martel
Life of Pi is probably one of the most popular fiction books out there. Written by Yann Martel, this book tells the story of Pi, the son of a zookeeper.
This unusual boy has an encyclopedic knowledge of the animal world and his curious mind led him to practice Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam.
When he is sixteen, Pi sets sail to Canada with his family and their animals to start a new life. The ship sinks and Pi finds himself alone in a boat with a 450-pound Bengal tiger.
This book is loaded with questions about life and death, beliefs, family, and spirituality.
It’s a spiritual tale that makes you realize that when we lose everything we might find ourselves. Life of Pi s a great story about adventure, survival, and faith.
It is beautifully written and totally worth reading.
9. The Road Less Traveled – M. Scott Peck
The Road Less Traveled is a non-fiction book combining psychology and spirituality.
Through complex human concepts such as discipline and love, Peck theorizes four distinct stages of human spiritual development along the path to self-realization.
Reading this psychological book will help you grow by confronting and solving your problems through those two concepts: discipline and love.
The Road Less Traveled is a good read for all age groups. It contains two sections. The first one is discipline and the second one is love.
Everyone should benefit from the great wisdom Dr. Peck wrote in this book.
By reading The Road Less Traveled you’ll realize that you can take control of your life and become a better human being.
Discipline is important in life when you want to achieve something but love should be the natural way to live every moment of every day.
10. The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
This inspiring book has been around since 1997.
Have you ever wondered how to live in the now? The Power of Now gives you some fantastic tips on how to be fully present and how to avoid thinking of the past or future.
If you read this book you’ll discover that you can find your way out of psychological pain and become fully present and acceptant of what is.
This book is written in a question and answers format, making it easy to read.
The Power of Now has helped us feel better on several occasions and is really a life-changing book to read.
If you want to get out of your own head and stop worrying about future events, we definitely recommend reading The Power of Now on your next yoga retreat.
Reading this book could also help you be more mindful during meditation.
Bottom line
Whether you want to read the memoirs of Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love or deepen your knowledge of yoga with Light on Yoga, we’re sure you’ll find an inspiring book that’s perfect for your next yoga retreat.
We definitely recommend having a look at The Alchemist, The Four Agreements and The Art of Happiness.
These thought-provoking books are really worth reading. We hope you found this list of inspiring books to read helpful.
What are you going to read on your next yoga retreat? Let us know in the comments below!
Are you wondering what else you should take with you on your next yoga retreat? Check out my full packing list!