Top Ten Gift Ideas for an Advanced Yoga Practitioner

Hatha Yoga practice has been around (in Western countries as well as, of course, in her motherland, India) long enough to have produced not only an ever-increasing number of new students, but also quite a few more advanced practitioners. If there's someone on your gift list who has been practicing yoga asana, fairly regularly and seriously, for, say, upwards of five years, here are some things that they'd probably really benefit from, and enjoy …

1.A new translation of/commentary on Patanjali's "Yoga Sutras" or Narada's "Bhakti Sutras." The "Yoga Sutras" is one of the foundational scriptures of Hatha Yoga philosophy ~ really a must-have for any serious practitioner. So a new or hard-to-come-by translation of this classic text makes a great gift. "The Science Of Yoga" by I.K. Taimni, with its extensive and unique commentary, is one I would highly recommend. Narada's "Bhakti Sutras" outlines the path of Bhakti Yoga ~ the Yoga of Devotion, and is another Yoga philosophy text that serious students will find illuminating.

2.A singing bowl. A wonderful gift for advanced yoga students who also are teachers. Singing bowls were brought to us originally via the Tibetan tradition. They are small, medium-sized or large inverted bells, which can be made to "sing," i.e. to sound forth in a continuous modulation of sound ~ very beautiful! They can be used, of course, to deepen ones own practice, but are especially nice for teachers, who can "sing" to their students during Savasana or sitting meditation ~ the final poses of a yoga asana practice.

3.A Zafu & Zabutan for sitting meditation. A sitting meditation practice is a useful and perhaps even necessary compliment to a deep yoga asana practice, providing a context to work more exclusively with mind. An excellent gift, for your friends who don't already have these, is a Zafu (round cushion) and Zabutan (square padding that the cushion sits on).