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Yoga is so prevalent in the modern world--practiced by pop stars, taught in schools, and offered in yoga centers, health clubs, and even shopping malls--that we take its presence, and its meaning, for granted. But how did the current yoga boom happen? And is it really rooted in ancient Indian practices, as many of its adherents claim? In this groundbreaking book, Mark Singleton calls into question many commonly held beliefs about the nature and origins of postural yoga (asana) and suggests a radically new way of understanding the meaning of yoga as it is practiced by millions of people across the world today. Singleton shows that, contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence in the India...
Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The first occurrence of the word yoga itself is in the Kaha Upaniad, which was written in the third century BCE. It describes a six-fold yoga method of yoga, namely breath control, withdrawal of the senses, meditation, placing the concentrated mind, philosophical inquiry, and absorption. #2 The text known as the Bhagavad Gt lays out three paths of yoga, which lead to the knowledge of the supreme person, known as Ka. The first is the path of action, in which one gives up the fruits of one’s actions but continues to be an agent in the world. The second is the path of devotion, in which one’s devotion...
Today yoga is a thoroughly globalised phenomenon. Yoga has taken the world by storm and is even seeing renewed popularity in India. Both in India and abroad, adults, children and teenagers are practicing yoga in diverse settings; gyms, schools, home, work, yoga studios and temples. The yoga diaspora began well over a hundred years ago and we continue to see new manifestations and uses of Yoga in the modern world. As the first of its kind this collection draws together cutting edge scholarship in the field, focusing on the theory and practice of yoga in contemporary times. Offering a range of perspectives on yoga's contemporary manifestations, it maps the movement, development and consolidati...
Improve your child's health, agility, concentration, confidence and awareness through simple and fun yoga practice. Whether you already practise yoga or are trying it for the first time, this easy-to-follow guide allows you to share yoga's many benefits with your child whatever your level of flexibility and fitness. Includes more than 40 yoga postures for children of all ages devised by children's yoga expert Mark Singleton Shows how to make yoga sessions exciting, interactive and child-friendly by playing yoga games, going on "yoga adventures" and imitating animal shapes, walks and noises Explores how regular yoga practice can help children learn more effectively, cope better with stress, reduce symptoms of illness such as asthma, and prevent posture problems in later life Adapts traditional yogic breathing techniques and meditation into fun exercises that calm and soothe the mind, and help children to sleep at night
'An indispensable companion for all interested in yoga, both scholars and practitioners' Professor Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson Despite yoga's huge global popularity, relatively little of its roots is known among practitioners. This compendium includes a wide range of texts from different schools of yoga, languages and eras: among others, key passages from the early Upanisads and the Mahabharata, and from the Tantric, Buddhist and Jaina traditions, with many pieces in scholarly translation for the first time. Covering yoga's varying definitions, its most important practices, such as posture, breath control, sensory withdrawal and meditation, as well as models of the esoteric and physical bodies, Roots of Yoga is a unique and essential source of knowledge. Translated and Edited with an Introduction by James Mallinson and Mark Singleton
The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary resource, which frames and contextualises the rapidly expanding fields that explore yoga and meditative techniques. The book analyses yoga and meditation studies in a variety of religious, historical and geographical settings. The chapters, authored by an international set of experts, are laid out across five sections: Introduction to yoga and meditation studies History of yoga and meditation in South Asia Doctrinal perspectives: technique and praxis Global and regional transmissions Disciplinary framings In addition to up-to-date explorations of the history of yoga and meditation in the Indian sub...
With over four million copies in print, Paramahansa Yogananda's autobiography has served as a gateway into yoga and alternative spirituality for North American practitioners since 1946. Balancing traditional yoga, metaphysical spirituality, and a flair for the stage, Yogananda inspired countless people to practice Yogoda, his own brand of yoga. His method combined the spiritual and superhuman aspirations of Indian traditions with the health-oriented sensibilities of Western practice. Because the Yogoda program does not rely on recognizable postures and poses, it has remained under the radar of yoga scholarship. Biography of a Yogi examines Yogananda's career and Yogoda in the wider context of the development of yoga in the twentieth century. Focusing on Yogis during this early period of transnational popularization, Foxen highlights the continuities in the concept of the Yogi as superhuman and traces the transformation of yoga from a holistic and spiritual practice to its present-day postural practice.
The Science of Yoga draws on a hidden wealth of science, history, and surprising facts to cut through the fog that surrounds contemporary yoga and to show - for the first time - what is uplifting and beneficial and what is delusional, flaky, and dangerous. At heart, it illuminates the risks and rewards. The book takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of undiscovered yoga that goes from old libraries in Calcutta to the world capitals of medical research, from little-known archives to spotless laboratories, from sweaty yoga classes with master teachers to the cosy offices of yoga healers. In the process, it shatters myths, lays out unexpected benefits, and offers a compelling vision of how to improve the discipline.
Applying the teachings of this book will enliven your yoga practice and deepen your understanding of your Self.”- Gary Kraftsow, author of Yoga for Wellness and Yoga for Transformation Patanjali's Yoga Sutras is the key text of yoga. Yet for many yoga practitioners, its deeper treasures remain either unknown or mired in obscurity. Ranju Roy and David Charlton focus on 18 of the most important sutras and show how each one illuminates the relationship between the body, the breath, and the mind in a practical, clear, and contemporary manner. The sutras are carefully deconstructed, put into context and then developed into ideas for practice. The authors examine the interplay of three key terms...
"Published by the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on the occasion of the exhibition Yoga: The Art of Transformation, October 19, 2013 - January 26, 2014. Organized by the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the exhibition travels to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, February 22-May 18, 2014, and the Cleveland Museum of Art, June 22-September 7, 2014."