Every few years I find my stack of yoga magazines piling up. Eventually I convince myself to pull out the scissors and cut out my favorite yoga articles, which I then place in three-ring binders for reference. I recycle the rest of the magazine. It’s a bit painful to chop up the magazines, but it certainly proves a useful exercise in non-attachment…
Happily, I recently discovered that every single page of Yoga Journal, all the way from issue number 1, which was 10 pages and cost 75 cents back in 1975, to the glossy-covered December 2008 issue, are chronicled on Google Books for our reading pleasure. Hundreds of issues available at the click of a button. The entire issue, for free! Certainly makes the eventual separation from the physical copy less difficult. I highly recommend checking out Yoga Journal on Google Books and enjoying a veritable journey through the history of yoga in the United States over the last 35 years. It’s definitely interesting to observe the evolution of the magazine cover.
Daily Cup of Yoga 
I have been a fan of Yoga Journal since 2004. It is the only magazine I subscribe to. I’ve often wished that I could have seen previous issues. Well, thanks to you, now I can. Thank you so much for this wonderful resource. BTW, keep up the great work on the blog.
Wow, this is VERY helpful! I have a stack of old Yoga Journal magazines as well, and I used to also cut out the pages I like and keep them in a folder. Now I know I have such easy access online!
This is such great information – thank you!
BTW, I am very jealous of your organized binder system. I have a box filled with ripped-out articles from a variety of magazines, including YJ, and I assure you that mine is not the best method 🙂
Lovely info! Thank you!
yoga with gaileee
Wow, I had no idea Google books existed. Thank you for sharing!
I had no idea! I have stacks of them!
Wow – looking at those covers is great. It seems the models have lost a little of their softness but I like the playful picture on the bottom.
Thanks for the info on this resource.
It’s also interesting to see that if you flip through the covers in the 80s and 90s, Yoga Journal featured men on the cover much more regularly. Now it never happens. The last male cover came from March-April 2003, which happened to be the month before I received my first issue of Yoga Journal. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever received a copy of Yoga Journal with a male on the cover. More than seven years! Undoubtedly females on the magazine cover must be the secret ingredient to turning a profit. Girls in spandex look much better than guys in spandex…just my opinion…:)
Hi There! I’m new to the yoga blogging world and wanted to give you my link to check out and post on your site if you see fit to do so! I’m working on a links page as well and will post yours there.
About my blog:
The Falling Open blog is dedicated to questioning, celebrating and evolving the great system of yoga. It is a critical reflection meant to engage teachers and students of all levels of practice. It is my hope that you will use my explorations to dig deeply into your own understanding of yoga, embodiment and Self-realization.
About me:
I am a yoga teacher from Alberta, Canada. I find my philosophical home in the non-dual traditions of the East and spend most of my time doing yoga or contemplating it.
Pam Moskie
Falling Open
http://www.fallingopen.ca/blog.html
Hi there –
I’m so glad I came across this – I am a Yoga teacher at Harvard – and I recently started a blog – but I want to “spiffy” it up a bit before I post it on your site –
I had discovered Yoga Journal on line – however I am also interested in Yoga International back issues – does anyone know if google books has that too – I couldn’t find it
Best
Lara
To Brian’s point about YJ excluding men from the cover since 2003, that was the first thing that jumped out at me when browsing the issues on Google docs. No matter your preferences in spandex wearing, it’s clear that an editorial, advertorial and art-direction decision was made over at YJ to appeal to a specific audience that I imagine spends more money on yoga products and services than other groups. It’s not unlike going into a Lululemon store: guys, step to the rear. My goal here isn’t to stoke another battle of the sexes — we have enough of those, and the “roles” (sorry for the overused word) are reversed more often than not — but merely to point out that this is one of the reasons I stopped subscribing to and buying single issues of YJ: not enough content about guys like me.
Thank you for posting this. I had no idea and I haven’t been able to afford them for a while. Now I can still read up and print the articles that really resonate with me at work.
Ps: I have a binder with my favorite articles for reference too!
Namaste,
Diosa Dominicana