9 Most Inspiring, Insightful, and Seriously Worthwhile Books of 2025

"The best part about reading? No matter what type of book you choose, it inevitably helps you escape life for a little while also bringing you a more sharpened understanding of your existence. Whether you're looking to lose or find yourself, books are typically the answer. And our best books of 2025 definitely deliver. Following are the titles that we found difficult to put down throughout the last 12 months. Whether you're looking to expand your knowledge, flip your perspective, enhance your awareness of self and others, or simply bust yourself out of a rut, the following are our recommendations, in no particular order."

"It's easy to talk about diversity and inclusivity in yoga. It's much more challenging to depict it. Yoga teachers Henry and Chen accomplished exactly that with their compilation of more than 108 captivating images and compelling essays capturing the essence of what yoga means to various practitioners throughout New York City. As the authors explain, "The project became a powerful reminder that yoga is for everyone-every background, every story, every body." Think Humans of New York but the yoga edition."

"The book everyone in the yoga space is talking about, this exploration of This unflinching exploration of caste, patriarchy, gender, Hinduism, culture, and other not-often-talked-about truths that helped contribute to our contemporary yoga space. Rao's objective is not only to bring to light these lesser-known aspects of yoga's past but to incite readers to consider the practice as one of liberation and self-discernment as we reconsider its past, rethink its present, and determine its future."

Reading offers both escape and a sharpened understanding of existence, aiding readers who want to lose or find themselves. The best books of 2025 include timeless titles chosen for their ability to expand knowledge, flip perspectives, and enhance awareness of self and others. Recommendations span compelling photographed compilations that depict diversity in yoga with more than 108 images and essays, rigorous examinations of caste, patriarchy, gender, Hinduism, and culture within contemporary yoga, and memoirs that meld human stories with yogic philosophy to reveal how practice strips away what obscures the truest self.

Read at Yoga Journal