Book description
A fully revised and updated edition of the classic yoga book, with a new foreword by B.K.S. Iyengar.
For more than twenty-five years, until her death at ninety-one, Vanda Scaravelli helped transform bodies and lives with her innovative approach to yoga through the proper alignment of the spine. She listened…
- Coming soon!
Why read it?
2 authors picked Awakening the Spine as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This is my all-time favorite yoga book—and I have lots and lots of books on yoga that I really love! The main reason I relate to this one is that it is written in a way that embodies what yoga is and means by someone with a depth of knowledge in the practice—the author studied for years with one of the world's leading yoga instructors, B. K. S. Iyengar. With brief and insightful entries on topics as wide-ranging as transformation, gravity, time, the eagle, and organizations, Scaravelli gradually and generously invites readers into understanding the relationship between ourselves and the…
From Annie's list on The best yoga books to inspire creativity and joy.
Visually enticing, this book provides an innovative approach to yoga based on gravity and the spine. Care for your spine and you care for yourself. Scaravelli, a student of Desikachar, Iyengar, and the philosopher Krishnamurti connects the body to nature. The spine of a leaf resembles the human spine, an ocean wave, or the undulation of a back bend. We are nature, not separate from it. This book is full of stories, ancient myths, and her own blunt advice: “Do not kill the instinct of the body for the glory of the pose.” The yoga photos of Scaravelli in her…
From Julie's list on The best books to inspire your yoga practice.
If you love Awakening the Spine...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Want books like Awakening the Spine?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Awakening the Spine.
Share your top 3 reads of 2026!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
181
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like Awakening the Spine, you might also like...
Sexy Selfie Nation
The problem is not with the actions young women take but with the toxic, sexist conditions they are responding to.
Tanenbaum found, based on six years of interviews with young people ages 14-30, that young women are navigating a culture littered with gendered dress codes, revenge porn, and sexually explicit…
In This Together
In This Together explores how we can harness our social networks to make a real impact fighting the climate crisis. Against notions of the lone environmental crusader, Marianne E. Krasny shows us the power of "network climate action"—the idea that our own ordinary acts can influence and inspire those close…
