If you’re a newbie or in the pursuit of learning something new, we have made sure to give you a little help on your journey. In these guides, there may be some technical jargon used and some words that you might not know. Therefore, we’ve put together a little glossary to help. And it’s this essential, beautifully simple union that I’m going to concentrate on in this guide. Trying to capture the enormity of the practice in a single book would be impossible; its philosophical breadth and historical weight alone are enough for a five-volume tome. And so, this book makes no claim to be the definitive guide to yoga and its ancient lineages (and I make no claim to be the person to write that book!). Instead, it is a guide to modern yoga, specifically its poses and how they can be combined in sequences to make you calmer, happier and more creative.

Sometimes it’s exactly this that stops people from starting. Yoga just seems too big to conquer. There’s just too much to take in: breathing, moving, spirituality, philosophy. But whether you’re totally new to yoga or an experienced practitioner, the starting-off point is exactly the same: you on your mat.

But just because these moments are snatched doesn’t mean that you can’t strive for authentic focus. To help with that, I’m a firm believer in practising without music. Music is so evocative, so laden with associations and memories, that it prevents me from being completely present in the moment. And the point of yoga is about being radically here, alive and awake in the now. If you’re going to listen to music, listen to music, give it your full and rich attention, be present in it. And if you’re going to do yoga, do yoga. We’ve gathered up our favourite books on the practice of yoga. From beginner’s guides to books about history to picture books, we have it all. Hopefully, you’ll find something that helps. What is yoga?

Iyengar: Founded by B.K.S Iyengar, one of the foremost yoga gurus in the world. This type of yoga focuses on a particular attention to detail – prioritising precision and alignment when performing asanas. It’s also intended as a tool for those keen to develop a self-practice that they can do at home – a flexible form of self-care that can be fitted into the small gaps that open up in our hectic, time-poor modern lives. For this reason, the nine sequences that feature here are all adaptable; some can be done in as little as 10 or 20 minutes, or form the basis of a longer practice if you have the time. And each has a specific intention at its heart, be it to de-stress, uplift or ground, depending on your mood and your life circumstance.I’ve been teaching yoga for almost 20 years and the one thing I’ve concretely learned is that I’m still a beginner. Yoga is enormous. It’s endless. Depthless. It’s impossible to get to the end of it. It may sound like an awful self-help cliché but I’m afraid, folks, it’s true: the journey really is the destination. Naomi's book is the best that I have found for a beginner, and I am very grateful for it! The postures in it are much more accessible than I have found in some other Hatha Yoga books and also the catalogue of postures in Naomi's book is quite large. Above all, the practice aims to create a union between body, mind and spirit, as well as between the individual self and universal consciousness. It can create a sense of spiritual awakening. Yin: Known as a recovery yoga, Yin is a slow-paced style which makes use of seated asanas which are held for long periods of time. This space and stillness also makes Yin yoga a particularly meditative practice. Of course, even this is highly subjective. What follows is based on how I practise yoga, based on my life experience and what’s been good for me and, I hope, a good number of the many students I’ve taught. As I’ve always approached my classes with them, my intention with this book is to collaborate with you to help you discover how you might be your own best teacher.