Yoga Studies in Five Minutes
Edited by
Theodora Wildcroft [+–]
The Open University
Theo Wildcroft, PhD, is a teacher, trainer, writer, and scholar, whose research considers the democratization of yoga post-lineage, and the evolving practice of teaching yoga for community health. She is the author of Post-Lineage Yoga: From Guru to #MeToo and co-editor of The Yoga Teacher’s Survival Guide, an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Chester, and former Project Coordinator for the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies.
Barbora Sojková [+–]
University of Oxford
Barbora Sojková holds a DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Sanskrit) from the University of Oxford where her research focused on human-animal relationships in Vedic Sanskrit literature. She works as an academic librarian at the All Souls College, Oxford, and as a Sanskrit cataloguer at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. She is a certified yoga teacher and trainer focusing on history and philosophy of yoga.
Yoga Studies in Five Minutes provides an accessible guide to the diverse and growing field of research into yoga as a social, historical and cultural phenomenon. Both leading scholars and innovative researchers offer 60 brief responses to questions that offer insights into the study of yoga, such as: Who was the first teacher of yoga? Is yoga Indian? What is paramparā? Are there holy texts in yoga? What are the goals of yoga? Why do yogis hold their breath?
The collection covers ancient history, modern developments, and contemporary issues, considers the diverse practices and philosophies of yoga in a range of contexts, and uses a range of approaches, from philology to anthropology to art history. The collection is useful for established scholars looking to broaden their understanding of this rapidly developing field, as well as for those new to the subject. The book is an ideal starting point for both independent study and the classroom.
Series: Religion in 5 Minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Open University
Theo Wildcroft, PhD, is a teacher, trainer, writer, and scholar, whose research considers the democratization of yoga post-lineage, and the evolving practice of teaching yoga for community health. She is the author of Post-Lineage Yoga: From Guru to #MeToo and co-editor of The Yoga Teacher’s Survival Guide, an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Chester, and former Project Coordinator for the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies.
University of Oxford
Barbora Sojková holds a DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Sanskrit) from the University of Oxford where her research focused on human-animal relationships in Vedic Sanskrit literature. She works as an academic librarian at the All Souls College, Oxford, and as a Sanskrit cataloguer at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. She is a certified yoga teacher and trainer focusing on history and philosophy of yoga.
Section 1: What is Yoga?
Philip Deslippe is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Religious Studies at the
University of California, Santa Barbara where his research focuses on Asian, metaphysical, and marginal religious traditions in the United States. He has published numerous articles for academic journals including the Journal of Yoga Studies and Japanese Religions, and popular venues such as Yoga Journal and Tricycle.
University of California, Santa Barbara where his research focuses on Asian, metaphysical, and marginal religious traditions in the United States. He has published numerous articles for academic journals including the Journal of Yoga Studies and Japanese Religions, and popular venues such as Yoga Journal and Tricycle.
The questions of whether or not yoga is religious in nature are complicated and nuanced. The question of whether the contemporary practice of yoga itself qualifies as a religion is similarly complicated. However, among the rising number of the religiously unaffiliated, yoga is a relatively common method in their search for well-being and finding meaning.
King’s College London
Karen O’Brien-Kop is Lecturer in Asian Religions at King’s College London and acquired
her PhD from SOAS University of London. She researches philosophy of mind, asceticism, and Sanskrit texts in Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Her books include: Rethinking ‘Classical Yoga’ and Buddhism: Meditation, Metaphors and Materiality (2022, Bloomsbury) and The Philosophy of the Yogasutra (2023, Bloomsbury) and the co-edited volume The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021, Routledge).
her PhD from SOAS University of London. She researches philosophy of mind, asceticism, and Sanskrit texts in Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Her books include: Rethinking ‘Classical Yoga’ and Buddhism: Meditation, Metaphors and Materiality (2022, Bloomsbury) and The Philosophy of the Yogasutra (2023, Bloomsbury) and the co-edited volume The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021, Routledge).
We do not have to choose between the categories of philosophy and religion; yoga can simply belong to both. Specifically, yoga is found in the first systematised philosophy in South Asia, which was established between circa 2nd-century BCE and 2nd-century CE through formal treatises called śāstras and their concise distillations, sūtras.
3. Is Yoga a Ritual? [+–]
Brett W Parris is a DPhil Candidate in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the
University of Oxford. He has an MPhil in Classical Indian Religion from Oxford, as well as a PhD in development economics from Monash University in Melbourne. He worked for NGOs focussed on poverty, human rights, and climate change for many years. His current research focusses on the ethical dimensions of yogic philosophy and practice, and broader inter-religious dialogue. He has taught yoga in both Australia and the UK.
University of Oxford. He has an MPhil in Classical Indian Religion from Oxford, as well as a PhD in development economics from Monash University in Melbourne. He worked for NGOs focussed on poverty, human rights, and climate change for many years. His current research focusses on the ethical dimensions of yogic philosophy and practice, and broader inter-religious dialogue. He has taught yoga in both Australia and the UK.
The practice of yoga can be a form of ritual, but does not have to be. Whatever else yoga and ritual may be, they are practices and acts that we perform with our bodies. Neither is merely an intellectual exercise. Yogic techniques and rituals can be adapted and integrated into any spiritual tradition.
Jens U. Augspurger is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Religions and Philosophies at SOAS, University of London. His research and teaching focus on modern transnational yoga and spiritual movements, as well as their respective intersections with politics. Jens is also a recovering yoga teacher and the co-founder of Project SATYA, a community movement that supports survivors of sexualised violence and advocates for accountability and truth in the yoga industry. Considering spiritual tourism as a journey for self-discovery, Jens’ ethnographic dissertation project explores yoga tourism in India and the complex
relationships the yoga tourist builds while journeying (towards) the destination.
relationships the yoga tourist builds while journeying (towards) the destination.
Many yoga practitioners may have faith in the practice for its ability to improve wellbeing or physical health, or for other personal purposes. At the same time, faith or belief can have religious dimensions. In the case of yoga, a religiously connotated faith might involve seeking for liberation, (samādhi), enlightenment (mokṣa), or union with the Divine.
Universität Hamburg
Corinna May Lhoir is a contract lecturer for Sanskrit and for the history of yoga at
Universität Hamburg. Her PhD research focuses on yoga and meditation in Jainism, and she is currently preparing a critical edition of a mediaeval Jain text on yoga called the Yogapradīpa.
Universität Hamburg. Her PhD research focuses on yoga and meditation in Jainism, and she is currently preparing a critical edition of a mediaeval Jain text on yoga called the Yogapradīpa.
Yoga is a system of complex philosophies that offers differing perspectives on the question of the existence of a God, and originates from contrasting philosophical traditions. The spiritual practices it includes can be understood in a variety of ways and are not necessarily tied to any specific deity. In this way, the development of yoga epitomises the historically diverse intellectual history of India.
Universität Hamburg
Corinna May Lhoir is a contract lecturer for Sanskrit and for the history of yoga at
Universität Hamburg. Her PhD research focuses on yoga and meditation in Jainism, and she is currently preparing a critical edition of a mediaeval Jain text on yoga called the Yogapradīpa.
Universität Hamburg. Her PhD research focuses on yoga and meditation in Jainism, and she is currently preparing a critical edition of a mediaeval Jain text on yoga called the Yogapradīpa.
Yoga, over the course of its long history, has never been limited to a specific spiritual belief or to the devotees of a particular goddess or god. Many of those involved in its development over the centuries have been followers of deities that are now part of the Hindu pantheon. But no belief in a Hindu goddess or god is – or ever has been – a prerequisite.
7. Is Yoga Indian? [+–]
Penn State University
C. Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by
historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and cross cultural
exchange. He has a PhD in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University’s Abington College, located near Philadelphia. He also has been the editor in chief of the journal Asian Medicine: Journal of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Asian Medicine since 2016.
historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and cross cultural
exchange. He has a PhD in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University’s Abington College, located near Philadelphia. He also has been the editor in chief of the journal Asian Medicine: Journal of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Asian Medicine since 2016.
The vast majority of globally widespread forms of yoga have directly come from the Indian subcontinent. However, there are multiple forms of yoga that developed and were practised historically outside of India. While it is true that these practices ultimately can trace their origins to India, they also represent unique regional variations.
Charles University
Lubomír Ondračka is a publisher, independent researcher and occasional lecturer at the
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in
Prague. Currently, he is a research fellow at Balliol College, University of Oxford. His
research is focused on the history of yoga, death, and dying in India, and on religions and
culture of Bengal.
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in
Prague. Currently, he is a research fellow at Balliol College, University of Oxford. His
research is focused on the history of yoga, death, and dying in India, and on religions and
culture of Bengal.
From the Brahmanical perspective, the Yoga Upaniṣads are sacred, but these are not very interesting sources of yoga history. For the tantric practitioner, some of the tantras represent the most sacred source of yogic teaching and practice. Several haṭhayogic texts also claim divine origin, and many other yoga texts are attributed to various legendary or semi-legendary Hindu sages, including Patañjali.
9. What is Sanskrit? [+–]
Universität Hamburg
Corinna May Lhoir is a contract lecturer for Sanskrit and for the history of yoga at
Universität Hamburg. Her PhD research focuses on yoga and meditation in Jainism, and she is currently preparing a critical edition of a mediaeval Jain text on yoga called the Yogapradīpa.
Universität Hamburg. Her PhD research focuses on yoga and meditation in Jainism, and she is currently preparing a critical edition of a mediaeval Jain text on yoga called the Yogapradīpa.
Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-Aryan language which has played an influential role in the practice and development of yoga throughout the ages. Many yoga texts considered of significant importance have been composed in Sanskrit, such as the Pātañjalayogaśāstra or the Haṭhapradīpikā. Many of the terms and concepts used in yoga are still taken from Sanskrit.
10. What is OM? [+–]
Brown University
Finnian M.M. Gerety is a historian of Indian religions focusing on sound and mantra. After
earning a PhD. in South Asian Studies from Harvard University, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Yale University Institute of Sacred Music; he currently teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Brown University. Integrating the study of premodern texts with insights from fieldwork in contemporary India, Finn’s research explores how sound has shaped religious doctrines and practices on the subcontinent from the late Bronze Age up through today. His forthcoming book project for Oxford University Press, This Whole World is OM: A History of the Sacred Syllable in Early India, is the first-ever academic monograph on OM, the preeminent mantra and ubiquitous sacred syllable of Indian religions.
earning a PhD. in South Asian Studies from Harvard University, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Yale University Institute of Sacred Music; he currently teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Brown University. Integrating the study of premodern texts with insights from fieldwork in contemporary India, Finn’s research explores how sound has shaped religious doctrines and practices on the subcontinent from the late Bronze Age up through today. His forthcoming book project for Oxford University Press, This Whole World is OM: A History of the Sacred Syllable in Early India, is the first-ever academic monograph on OM, the preeminent mantra and ubiquitous sacred syllable of Indian religions.
Originating as a Sanskrit utterance and symbol some three thousand years ago in Vedic traditions, OM has long been known as the foremost mantra in Hinduism. It is the celebrated sacred syllable of chanting, yoga, and meditation, generally regarded as the totality of knowledge, the cosmic vibration, and the sound of divinity and transcendence.
Section 2: What is the Point of Yoga?
University of Oxford
Barbora Sojková holds a DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Sanskrit) from the University of Oxford where her research focused on human-animal relationships in Vedic Sanskrit literature. She works as an academic librarian at the All Souls College, Oxford, and as a Sanskrit cataloguer at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. She is a certified yoga teacher and trainer focusing on history and philosophy of yoga.
The goals of yoga can be distinguished according to the time period. The strong association between yoga and health has only existed since the early 20th century. In the majority of premodern texts, the word yoga indicates a state that is achieved through the practices associated with the tradition. The nature of this goal varied from text to text.
SOAS, University of London
Ruth Westoby is a doctoral candidate at SOAS University of London and she teaches for
SOAS YogaStudies Online. Ruth’s thesis is a historical textual study of the yoga body in
Sanskrit sources on early haṭhayoga identifying the functional paradigms of the body that
explain how yoga works. As a practitioner Ruth has collaborated on the reconstruction of
historical textual sequences of postures, contributing to the development of a new
methodology: embodied philology. Ruth’s 2021 article, ‘Raising rajas in haṭha yoga and
beyond’, appears in Religions of South Asia, also published by Equinox. Her research interests include yoga, the body, gender, textual history and critical theory.
SOAS YogaStudies Online. Ruth’s thesis is a historical textual study of the yoga body in
Sanskrit sources on early haṭhayoga identifying the functional paradigms of the body that
explain how yoga works. As a practitioner Ruth has collaborated on the reconstruction of
historical textual sequences of postures, contributing to the development of a new
methodology: embodied philology. Ruth’s 2021 article, ‘Raising rajas in haṭha yoga and
beyond’, appears in Religions of South Asia, also published by Equinox. Her research interests include yoga, the body, gender, textual history and critical theory.
In the premodern period yoga is freedom (mokṣa) from the causal doctrine of retributive reaction (karma), the round of repeated death and birth (saṃsāra) and suffering (duḥkha). In modern contexts, yoga is presented, and experienced, as release from ill-health. Paradoxically however the opposite view is also valid: becoming liberated may entail constraining behaviours and practices.
El Colegio de Mexico
Adrián Muñoz is faculty member at the Centre for Asian and African Studies, El Colegio de
México. His main areas of research are premodern religious movements and yogic
hagiography and literature. He is currently leading a collective project on the history and
practice of yoga in Latin America. Among other titles, he has co-authored Historia mínima del yoga (2019) and co-edited Yogi Heroes and Poets. Histories and Legends of the Nāths (2011). He has also contributed to The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies and The Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions.
México. His main areas of research are premodern religious movements and yogic
hagiography and literature. He is currently leading a collective project on the history and
practice of yoga in Latin America. Among other titles, he has co-authored Historia mínima del yoga (2019) and co-edited Yogi Heroes and Poets. Histories and Legends of the Nāths (2011). He has also contributed to The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies and The Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions.
Unlike other yogic schools, which sought to transcend the body, haṭhayoga has always emphasised bodily functioning and a progressive perfectioning of its potentialities. Nonetheless, the haṭhayogin seeks an eventual state of total and eternal enlightenment, in which all physical limitations have been transcended.
Jens U. Augspurger is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Religions and Philosophies at SOAS, University of London. His research and teaching focus on modern transnational yoga and spiritual movements, as well as their respective intersections with politics. Jens is also a recovering yoga teacher and the co-founder of Project SATYA, a community movement that supports survivors of sexualised violence and advocates for accountability and truth in the yoga industry. Considering spiritual tourism as a journey for self-discovery, Jens’ ethnographic dissertation project explores yoga tourism in India and the complex
relationships the yoga tourist builds while journeying (towards) the destination.
relationships the yoga tourist builds while journeying (towards) the destination.
While the yamas and niyamas of Patañjali do provide some starting points for a modernised and relevant discussion of ethics in yoga, it also raises the question of whether a discussion based on the sūtras is sufficient to produce a code of conduct that is fit for modern life, does not reproduce religious conservatism, and is in line with social and legal standards.
Jagiellonian University, Kraków
Matylda Ciołkosz is scholar of religions and an Assistant Professor at the Institute for the Study of Religions, Jagiellonian University in Kraków. In her research, she explores how religious concepts and doctrines are formed under the influence of different biological and sociocultural factors. As a longtime yoga practitioner, rock climber, and musician, she is especially interested in the significance of movement practices as one of these factors. In her studies- so far focused mainly on modern yoga- she applies the methodologies of cognitive science and lingustics.
It is nowadays common to associate yoga practice with non-violence, but in some yogic texts, the virtue of non-violence is not always relevant and yogic warriors existed. Even today this image of yoga as peaceful sometimes belies forms of systemic violence, and even traditional asceticism can be argued to be a form of self-inflicted violence against the body.
SOAS, University of London
Dr Graham Burns is an independent yoga teacher, teacher trainer, and scholar. As well as a law degree from Durham University, he holds an MA in Religions and a PhD in ancient
Indian philosophy from SOAS University of London. He is a former Senior Teaching Fellow
at SOAS, where he lectured on the MA in Traditions of Yoga and Meditation, as well as
teaching undergraduate Hinduism and philosophy. He is a member of the SOAS Centre of
Yoga Studies.
Indian philosophy from SOAS University of London. He is a former Senior Teaching Fellow
at SOAS, where he lectured on the MA in Traditions of Yoga and Meditation, as well as
teaching undergraduate Hinduism and philosophy. He is a member of the SOAS Centre of
Yoga Studies.
The Sanskrit word yama is perhaps most accurately translated as “restraint” and, in general, indicates patterns of behaviour towards others; niyama, perhaps best translated as “observance”, signifies more personal behavioural requirements. Compliance with these principles is thought to help the yogin develop the single pointed awareness, and internal power, needed to travel the yogic path.
Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA, ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon
Daniela Bevilacqua received her PhD in 2015, in Civilizations of Africa and Asia from Sapienza University of Rome and in Anthropology from the University of Paris Nanterre. Her PhD research was published by Routledge (2018) under the title Modern Hindu Traditionalism in Contemporary India: The Śrī Maṭh and the Jagadguru Rāmānandācārya in the Evolution of the Rāmānandī Sampradāya. She is a Associate Researcher at the Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA, ISCTE-IUL) in Lisbon. Her research has aroused particular interest because of its methodology and results. Her article, “Let the Sādhus Talk. Ascetic understanding of Haṭha Yoga and yogāsanas”, published in Religions of South Asia, (Vol 11, n. 2, pp. 182-206) has been translated into German, French and Portuguese. She has been invited to give lectures in various universities (Cambridge, London, Haifa, Prague, Turin, Milan) and to present her research in various yoga teacher training courses and yoga studios. She has published several articles in peer review journals and book chapters for on Hindu asceticism, female asceticism, etc. She is currently editing two volumes, one forthcoming for Amsterdam University Press and another will be a special issue of the Journal of Yoga Studies (JoYS).
Looking at the textual sources from the past that deal with yoga and then with haṭhayoga, it seems that the practitioner par excellence is still the renouncer, the ascetic who isolates himself in order to achieve his goal. Yet practitioners of some tantric paths, who aimed at siddhis and immortality, did not necessarily have to renounce the world.
Brett W Parris is a DPhil Candidate in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the
University of Oxford. He has an MPhil in Classical Indian Religion from Oxford, as well as a PhD in development economics from Monash University in Melbourne. He worked for NGOs focussed on poverty, human rights, and climate change for many years. His current research focusses on the ethical dimensions of yogic philosophy and practice, and broader inter-religious dialogue. He has taught yoga in both Australia and the UK.
University of Oxford. He has an MPhil in Classical Indian Religion from Oxford, as well as a PhD in development economics from Monash University in Melbourne. He worked for NGOs focussed on poverty, human rights, and climate change for many years. His current research focusses on the ethical dimensions of yogic philosophy and practice, and broader inter-religious dialogue. He has taught yoga in both Australia and the UK.
As with so much else in traditional yoga(s), there is no clear consensus as to what samādhi actually refers to, though it is generally described either as an advanced stage or state of meditative practice, or a summary of the yoga path as a whole in terms of its goal.
Charles University
Lubomír Ondračka is a publisher, independent researcher and occasional lecturer at the
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in
Prague. Currently, he is a research fellow at Balliol College, University of Oxford. His
research is focused on the history of yoga, death, and dying in India, and on religions and
culture of Bengal.
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in
Prague. Currently, he is a research fellow at Balliol College, University of Oxford. His
research is focused on the history of yoga, death, and dying in India, and on religions and
culture of Bengal.
The diversity of premodern yoga is so great that it is often difficult to say what all these yoga lineages have in common. Extraordinary powers are the best candidate for such a common denominator because they are present in the vast majority of yoga traditions. On the other hand, yoga practice is not the only traditional way to acquire these powers.
Section 3: Is Yoga Healthy?
20. Is Yoga Safe? [+–]
Jens U. Augspurger is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Religions and Philosophies at SOAS, University of London. His research and teaching focus on modern transnational yoga and spiritual movements, as well as their respective intersections with politics. Jens is also a recovering yoga teacher and the co-founder of Project SATYA, a community movement that supports survivors of sexualised violence and advocates for accountability and truth in the yoga industry. Considering spiritual tourism as a journey for self-discovery, Jens’ ethnographic dissertation project explores yoga tourism in India and the complex
relationships the yoga tourist builds while journeying (towards) the destination.
relationships the yoga tourist builds while journeying (towards) the destination.
Many people are attracted to yoga in the hope of help for a range of conditions and issues. This should prompt a serious concern over their physical wellbeing, the kinds of claims yoga providers should be allowed to make, and honest conversations about yoga’s suitability and unsuitability for certain conditions and circumstances.
Brett W Parris is a DPhil Candidate in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the
University of Oxford. He has an MPhil in Classical Indian Religion from Oxford, as well as a PhD in development economics from Monash University in Melbourne. He worked for NGOs focussed on poverty, human rights, and climate change for many years. His current research focusses on the ethical dimensions of yogic philosophy and practice, and broader inter-religious dialogue. He has taught yoga in both Australia and the UK.
University of Oxford. He has an MPhil in Classical Indian Religion from Oxford, as well as a PhD in development economics from Monash University in Melbourne. He worked for NGOs focussed on poverty, human rights, and climate change for many years. His current research focusses on the ethical dimensions of yogic philosophy and practice, and broader inter-religious dialogue. He has taught yoga in both Australia and the UK.
Health benefits were far from the primary goal in traditional forms of yoga. However today, many people are attracted to modern yoga practice as a way to improve their overall health – and a regular yoga practice can indeed bring many health benefits, ranging from improvements in flexibility, strength, and balance, to lower stress levels.
Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA, ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon
Daniela Bevilacqua received her PhD in 2015, in Civilizations of Africa and Asia from Sapienza University of Rome and in Anthropology from the University of Paris Nanterre. Her PhD research was published by Routledge (2018) under the title Modern Hindu Traditionalism in Contemporary India: The Śrī Maṭh and the Jagadguru Rāmānandācārya in the Evolution of the Rāmānandī Sampradāya. She is a Associate Researcher at the Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA, ISCTE-IUL) in Lisbon. Her research has aroused particular interest because of its methodology and results. Her article, “Let the Sādhus Talk. Ascetic understanding of Haṭha Yoga and yogāsanas”, published in Religions of South Asia, (Vol 11, n. 2, pp. 182-206) has been translated into German, French and Portuguese. She has been invited to give lectures in various universities (Cambridge, London, Haifa, Prague, Turin, Milan) and to present her research in various yoga teacher training courses and yoga studios. She has published several articles in peer review journals and book chapters for on Hindu asceticism, female asceticism, etc. She is currently editing two volumes, one forthcoming for Amsterdam University Press and another will be a special issue of the Journal of Yoga Studies (JoYS).
Yogis contort their bodies as part of a sādhanā or a performance, for spiritual and pragmatic reasons. Pragmatically, contortions can attract special powers, health benefits and devotees and supporters. Contortions are also a transformative process that prepare the individual to overcome the limits of the body and purify the mind and thought for higher achievements.
Laura von Ostrowski received her PhD in Religious Studies in 2021. The book of her PhD thesis was published Open Access under the title “A Text in Motion” in 2022. Her areas of research include modern and contemporary yoga, the reception of the Yogasūtra, the history of German yoga and of the physical culture movement, contemporary religion, aesthetics, and embodiment. Since 2007, she works as a yoga teacher, runs her own yoga studio in the centre of Munich since 2018 and teaches the history of modern yoga at the German online education portal Yogastudien.
Modern postural yoga has had a strong association with both flexibility and relaxation, and relaxed muscles might facilitate a number of the breathing exercises, concentration and meditation techniques which have been associated with yoga for a very long time.
The Open University
Theo Wildcroft, PhD, is a teacher, trainer, writer, and scholar, whose research considers the democratization of yoga post-lineage, and the evolving practice of teaching yoga for community health. She is the author of Post-Lineage Yoga: From Guru to #MeToo and co-editor of The Yoga Teacher’s Survival Guide, an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Chester, and former Project Coordinator for the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies.
University of Oxford
Barbora Sojková holds a DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Sanskrit) from the University of Oxford where her research focused on human-animal relationships in Vedic Sanskrit literature. She works as an academic librarian at the All Souls College, Oxford, and as a Sanskrit cataloguer at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. She is a certified yoga teacher and trainer focusing on history and philosophy of yoga.
Premodern yoga treats diet as of ritual, ethical and practical importance, but although most practitioners would have been lacto-vegetarian in more recent times, this is not universal. In modern times, the diet recommended to and by yoga practitioners has a similar range and diversity, but interestingly, the reasoning for these dietary practices has changed.
Open University and Inform, King’s College London
Suzanne Newcombe is a senior lecturer in religious studies at the Open University and
director of the educational charity Inform based at King’s College London. She recently
published the Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021), co-edited with Karen O’Brien-Kop.
director of the educational charity Inform based at King’s College London. She recently
published the Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021), co-edited with Karen O’Brien-Kop.
During the 20th century, yoga and āyurveda became closely linked as indigenous systems of promoting health and healing, united in their contrast to colonial “western” medicine. Their association became even more intimate from the 1970s onwards as global countercultures championed both yoga and alternatives to Western medicine.
Section 4: How do you Practise Yoga?
University of Oxford
Barbora Sojková holds a DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Sanskrit) from the University of Oxford where her research focused on human-animal relationships in Vedic Sanskrit literature. She works as an academic librarian at the All Souls College, Oxford, and as a Sanskrit cataloguer at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. She is a certified yoga teacher and trainer focusing on history and philosophy of yoga.
The Open University
Theo Wildcroft, PhD, is a teacher, trainer, writer, and scholar, whose research considers the democratization of yoga post-lineage, and the evolving practice of teaching yoga for community health. She is the author of Post-Lineage Yoga: From Guru to #MeToo and co-editor of The Yoga Teacher’s Survival Guide, an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Chester, and former Project Coordinator for the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies.
All yoga practitioners strive towards achieving an ideal self: self-development could be considered to be the unifying principle that unites yoga as an extremely diverse set of practices and worldviews. But what an ideal yogic life would actually consist of is probably more contested today than ever.
Laura von Ostrowski received her PhD in Religious Studies in 2021. The book of her PhD thesis was published Open Access under the title “A Text in Motion” in 2022. Her areas of research include modern and contemporary yoga, the reception of the Yogasūtra, the history of German yoga and of the physical culture movement, contemporary religion, aesthetics, and embodiment. Since 2007, she works as a yoga teacher, runs her own yoga studio in the centre of Munich since 2018 and teaches the history of modern yoga at the German online education portal Yogastudien.
The term yoga has not always been associated with physical practices but mainly with a state that arises as a result of certain practices. Yoga as a practical method has nevertheless always been using the body in one way or another, but with different intentions, motivations, and effects.
28. What are Āsanas? [+–]
Jagiellonian University, Kraków
Matylda Ciołkosz is scholar of religions and an Assistant Professor at the Institute for the Study of Religions, Jagiellonian University in Kraków. In her research, she explores how religious concepts and doctrines are formed under the influence of different biological and sociocultural factors. As a longtime yoga practitioner, rock climber, and musician, she is especially interested in the significance of movement practices as one of these factors. In her studies- so far focused mainly on modern yoga- she applies the methodologies of cognitive science and lingustics.
In the context of yoga, āsana means yogic posture. While nowadays hundreds of yogic postures are known – standing, seated, inverted, supine, or prone – originally āsana was a way of sitting adopted for the purpose of other practices, such as breath control or meditation.
29. What is Vinyasa? [+–]
Marissa Clarke is a PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh (2021 – 2025) and Visiting
Doctoral Researcher at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (2024). Her research
explores the phenomenology of yoga, the body, and sound. She has an interdisciplinary
background in marketing studies, religious studies, and health research. Her work is funded
by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership.
Doctoral Researcher at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (2024). Her research
explores the phenomenology of yoga, the body, and sound. She has an interdisciplinary
background in marketing studies, religious studies, and health research. Her work is funded
by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership.
The contemporary idea of vinyasa can be traced back to Krishnamacharya (1888 – 1989) and his method of vinyasa krama (special sequence of steps) or viniyoga (appropriate application). Krishnamacharya reinterpreted the older meaning of vinyasa to refer to his concept of linking movement with breath through a flowing progression of poses.
SOAS, University of London
Dr Graham Burns is an independent yoga teacher, teacher trainer, and scholar. As well as a law degree from Durham University, he holds an MA in Religions and a PhD in ancient
Indian philosophy from SOAS University of London. He is a former Senior Teaching Fellow
at SOAS, where he lectured on the MA in Traditions of Yoga and Meditation, as well as
teaching undergraduate Hinduism and philosophy. He is a member of the SOAS Centre of
Yoga Studies.
Indian philosophy from SOAS University of London. He is a former Senior Teaching Fellow
at SOAS, where he lectured on the MA in Traditions of Yoga and Meditation, as well as
teaching undergraduate Hinduism and philosophy. He is a member of the SOAS Centre of
Yoga Studies.
Prāṇāyāma is the term used in yoga for a range of practices which involve the control, or manipulation, of breath. The word itself is a compound of the Sanskrit words prāṇa, as to which see further below, and āyāma (control). Prāṇāyāma has been a hallmark of yoga practice throughout its long existence.
Brown University
Finnian M.M. Gerety is a historian of Indian religions focusing on sound and mantra. After
earning a PhD. in South Asian Studies from Harvard University, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Yale University Institute of Sacred Music; he currently teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Brown University. Integrating the study of premodern texts with insights from fieldwork in contemporary India, Finn’s research explores how sound has shaped religious doctrines and practices on the subcontinent from the late Bronze Age up through today. His forthcoming book project for Oxford University Press, This Whole World is OM: A History of the Sacred Syllable in Early India, is the first-ever academic monograph on OM, the preeminent mantra and ubiquitous sacred syllable of Indian religions.
earning a PhD. in South Asian Studies from Harvard University, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Yale University Institute of Sacred Music; he currently teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Brown University. Integrating the study of premodern texts with insights from fieldwork in contemporary India, Finn’s research explores how sound has shaped religious doctrines and practices on the subcontinent from the late Bronze Age up through today. His forthcoming book project for Oxford University Press, This Whole World is OM: A History of the Sacred Syllable in Early India, is the first-ever academic monograph on OM, the preeminent mantra and ubiquitous sacred syllable of Indian religions.
Mantras are utterances, formulas, verses, and syllables used in ritual, healing, magic, meditation—and in yoga. While often spoken and sounded, mantras remain closely entwined with cognitive processes and in transnational modern yoga, mantras are further credited with inducing gratitude and acceptance, providing affirmation, and helping practitioners cultivate well-being and equanimity.
Jagiellonian University, Kraków
Matylda Ciołkosz is scholar of religions and an Assistant Professor at the Institute for the Study of Religions, Jagiellonian University in Kraków. In her research, she explores how religious concepts and doctrines are formed under the influence of different biological and sociocultural factors. As a longtime yoga practitioner, rock climber, and musician, she is especially interested in the significance of movement practices as one of these factors. In her studies- so far focused mainly on modern yoga- she applies the methodologies of cognitive science and lingustics.
Yoga practitioners commonly believe that inverting the body during āsana practice has numerous beneficial effects on the mind and body. Inverted postures are a relatively new addition to the āsana curriculum, however, the practice of turning the body upside down is ancient, and has been associated with diverse benefits for the practitioner.
Jagiellonian University, Kraków
Matylda Ciołkosz is scholar of religions and an Assistant Professor at the Institute for the Study of Religions, Jagiellonian University in Kraków. In her research, she explores how religious concepts and doctrines are formed under the influence of different biological and sociocultural factors. As a longtime yoga practitioner, rock climber, and musician, she is especially interested in the significance of movement practices as one of these factors. In her studies- so far focused mainly on modern yoga- she applies the methodologies of cognitive science and lingustics.
Premodern meditating yogis might have had ultimate aims, such as experiencing the true character of reality, and unifying with or embodying gods, although their goals could be more temporary and pragmatic. Interestingly, while modern, transnational yoga may be associated primarily with āsana practice, in fact the first modern forms of yoga practice introduced to non-Indian audiences were of a contemplative nature.
SOAS, University of London
Ruth Westoby is a doctoral candidate at SOAS University of London and she teaches for
SOAS YogaStudies Online. Ruth’s thesis is a historical textual study of the yoga body in
Sanskrit sources on early haṭhayoga identifying the functional paradigms of the body that
explain how yoga works. As a practitioner Ruth has collaborated on the reconstruction of
historical textual sequences of postures, contributing to the development of a new
methodology: embodied philology. Ruth’s 2021 article, ‘Raising rajas in haṭha yoga and
beyond’, appears in Religions of South Asia, also published by Equinox. Her research interests include yoga, the body, gender, textual history and critical theory.
SOAS YogaStudies Online. Ruth’s thesis is a historical textual study of the yoga body in
Sanskrit sources on early haṭhayoga identifying the functional paradigms of the body that
explain how yoga works. As a practitioner Ruth has collaborated on the reconstruction of
historical textual sequences of postures, contributing to the development of a new
methodology: embodied philology. Ruth’s 2021 article, ‘Raising rajas in haṭha yoga and
beyond’, appears in Religions of South Asia, also published by Equinox. Her research interests include yoga, the body, gender, textual history and critical theory.
The concept of the coiled, snakelike kuṇḍalinī, who awakens and rises upwards during yoga, is intrinsically connected with yoga in the modern and premodern periods. The awakening and forceful rising upwards of kuṇḍalinī, by which she breaks through the energetic vortices (cakras) and locks (granthis), is definitional of haṭhayoga: the yoga of force.
SOAS, University of London
Ruth Westoby is a doctoral candidate at SOAS University of London and she teaches for
SOAS YogaStudies Online. Ruth’s thesis is a historical textual study of the yoga body in
Sanskrit sources on early haṭhayoga identifying the functional paradigms of the body that
explain how yoga works. As a practitioner Ruth has collaborated on the reconstruction of
historical textual sequences of postures, contributing to the development of a new
methodology: embodied philology. Ruth’s 2021 article, ‘Raising rajas in haṭha yoga and
beyond’, appears in Religions of South Asia, also published by Equinox. Her research interests include yoga, the body, gender, textual history and critical theory.
SOAS YogaStudies Online. Ruth’s thesis is a historical textual study of the yoga body in
Sanskrit sources on early haṭhayoga identifying the functional paradigms of the body that
explain how yoga works. As a practitioner Ruth has collaborated on the reconstruction of
historical textual sequences of postures, contributing to the development of a new
methodology: embodied philology. Ruth’s 2021 article, ‘Raising rajas in haṭha yoga and
beyond’, appears in Religions of South Asia, also published by Equinox. Her research interests include yoga, the body, gender, textual history and critical theory.
The meaning of the term yoginī varies considerably according to context, and can include: a class of tantric goddesses, a designation for the Great Goddess, intermediary beings/demigoddesses, ghosts, witches, female ascetics, tantric practitioners, women consecrated to a deity, and persons with a special affinity for Indian religion.
Section 5: How do you Study Yoga?
Laura von Ostrowski received her PhD in Religious Studies in 2021. The book of her PhD thesis was published Open Access under the title “A Text in Motion” in 2022. Her areas of research include modern and contemporary yoga, the reception of the Yogasūtra, the history of German yoga and of the physical culture movement, contemporary religion, aesthetics, and embodiment. Since 2007, she works as a yoga teacher, runs her own yoga studio in the centre of Munich since 2018 and teaches the history of modern yoga at the German online education portal Yogastudien.
There are aspects of what runs under the name “yoga” that cannot be understood without intellectual endeavour and a broad range of study, and there are other aspects of yoga that cannot be approached without directly experiencing them. At its core, this question refers to a long-running and contentious discourse in the history of yoga.
King’s College London
Karen O’Brien-Kop is Lecturer in Asian Religions at King’s College London and acquired
her PhD from SOAS University of London. She researches philosophy of mind, asceticism, and Sanskrit texts in Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Her books include: Rethinking ‘Classical Yoga’ and Buddhism: Meditation, Metaphors and Materiality (2022, Bloomsbury) and The Philosophy of the Yogasutra (2023, Bloomsbury) and the co-edited volume The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021, Routledge).
her PhD from SOAS University of London. She researches philosophy of mind, asceticism, and Sanskrit texts in Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Her books include: Rethinking ‘Classical Yoga’ and Buddhism: Meditation, Metaphors and Materiality (2022, Bloomsbury) and The Philosophy of the Yogasutra (2023, Bloomsbury) and the co-edited volume The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021, Routledge).
Until the latter parts of the 20th century, much academic research on yoga was concentrated on historical methods. Arguably, as its global distribution and development proliferates, yoga today is a topic and phenomenon that can be approached through almost any academic lens, discipline or method that looks at human beliefs, practices, thought or culture in history or today.
Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA, ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon
Daniela Bevilacqua received her PhD in 2015, in Civilizations of Africa and Asia from Sapienza University of Rome and in Anthropology from the University of Paris Nanterre. Her PhD research was published by Routledge (2018) under the title Modern Hindu Traditionalism in Contemporary India: The Śrī Maṭh and the Jagadguru Rāmānandācārya in the Evolution of the Rāmānandī Sampradāya. She is a Associate Researcher at the Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA, ISCTE-IUL) in Lisbon. Her research has aroused particular interest because of its methodology and results. Her article, “Let the Sādhus Talk. Ascetic understanding of Haṭha Yoga and yogāsanas”, published in Religions of South Asia, (Vol 11, n. 2, pp. 182-206) has been translated into German, French and Portuguese. She has been invited to give lectures in various universities (Cambridge, London, Haifa, Prague, Turin, Milan) and to present her research in various yoga teacher training courses and yoga studios. She has published several articles in peer review journals and book chapters for on Hindu asceticism, female asceticism, etc. She is currently editing two volumes, one forthcoming for Amsterdam University Press and another will be a special issue of the Journal of Yoga Studies (JoYS).
Since Vedic times, isolation seems to be an indispensable condition for spiritual improvement, as reflected in textual sources on yoga. Yet the practice always begins with a shared encounter between the guru and the student. This very important pedagogical moment continues to be present in all places where yoga is taught.
The Open University
Theo Wildcroft, PhD, is a teacher, trainer, writer, and scholar, whose research considers the democratization of yoga post-lineage, and the evolving practice of teaching yoga for community health. She is the author of Post-Lineage Yoga: From Guru to #MeToo and co-editor of The Yoga Teacher’s Survival Guide, an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Chester, and former Project Coordinator for the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies.
If every student has a teacher, or every disciple has a guru, then logically every student is part of a lineage of teachers, at least in theory. In practice, the relationship between student and teacher can be much more complex. The truth of a practitioner’s claims to lineage is less interesting than the uses to which such claims are put.
Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA, ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon
Daniela Bevilacqua received her PhD in 2015, in Civilizations of Africa and Asia from Sapienza University of Rome and in Anthropology from the University of Paris Nanterre. Her PhD research was published by Routledge (2018) under the title Modern Hindu Traditionalism in Contemporary India: The Śrī Maṭh and the Jagadguru Rāmānandācārya in the Evolution of the Rāmānandī Sampradāya. She is a Associate Researcher at the Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA, ISCTE-IUL) in Lisbon. Her research has aroused particular interest because of its methodology and results. Her article, “Let the Sādhus Talk. Ascetic understanding of Haṭha Yoga and yogāsanas”, published in Religions of South Asia, (Vol 11, n. 2, pp. 182-206) has been translated into German, French and Portuguese. She has been invited to give lectures in various universities (Cambridge, London, Haifa, Prague, Turin, Milan) and to present her research in various yoga teacher training courses and yoga studios. She has published several articles in peer review journals and book chapters for on Hindu asceticism, female asceticism, etc. She is currently editing two volumes, one forthcoming for Amsterdam University Press and another will be a special issue of the Journal of Yoga Studies (JoYS).
Hinduism is characterised by different religious approaches, philosophies and theologies often organised into religious orders/communities called sampradāyas. In general, in religious contexts, it indicates received doctrines or teachings, hence a religious tradition or system. The most important feature of a sampradāya is the paramparā, the unbroken chain of knowledge transmission.
SOAS, University of London, University of Oxford and University of Marburg
Nils Jacob Liersch is a research assistant involved in the “Light on Haṭha” project at the
University of London (SOAS), the University of Oxford and the University of Marburg. This
project aims to produce a critical edition of the Haṭhapradīpikā between 2021 and 2024. In
addition to his role in the project, he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the Institute for Indology and Tibetology at the University of Marburg under the supervision of Jürgen Hanneder.Liersch’s Ph.D. research focuses on preparing a critical edition and annotated translation of Rāmacandra’s Yogatattvabindu (possibly also called Tattvayogabindu), a yoga textbook from the 16th to 18th century that systematises fifteen different yogas. This particular text was likely compiled for a non-ascetic and courtly audience.
University of London (SOAS), the University of Oxford and the University of Marburg. This
project aims to produce a critical edition of the Haṭhapradīpikā between 2021 and 2024. In
addition to his role in the project, he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the Institute for Indology and Tibetology at the University of Marburg under the supervision of Jürgen Hanneder.Liersch’s Ph.D. research focuses on preparing a critical edition and annotated translation of Rāmacandra’s Yogatattvabindu (possibly also called Tattvayogabindu), a yoga textbook from the 16th to 18th century that systematises fifteen different yogas. This particular text was likely compiled for a non-ascetic and courtly audience.
The Haṭhapradīpikā, often known as Haṭhayogapradīpikā in the secondary literature, is a practical guide to the form of yoga known as haṭhayoga (“yoga of force”), written in Sanskrit verse. Due to its immense popularity and impact on the entire genre, the Haṭhapradīpikā is considered a milestone in yoga literature.
El Colegio de Mexico
Adrián Muñoz is faculty member at the Centre for Asian and African Studies, El Colegio de
México. His main areas of research are premodern religious movements and yogic
hagiography and literature. He is currently leading a collective project on the history and
practice of yoga in Latin America. Among other titles, he has co-authored Historia mínima del yoga (2019) and co-edited Yogi Heroes and Poets. Histories and Legends of the Nāths (2011). He has also contributed to The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies and The Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions.
México. His main areas of research are premodern religious movements and yogic
hagiography and literature. He is currently leading a collective project on the history and
practice of yoga in Latin America. Among other titles, he has co-authored Historia mínima del yoga (2019) and co-edited Yogi Heroes and Poets. Histories and Legends of the Nāths (2011). He has also contributed to The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies and The Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions.
In general terms, a yogī is someone who practises yoga, and a siddha is someone who has accomplished (usually religious and ascetic) perfection: literally, siddha means a perfected or accomplished one. As the circa 14th century Yogabīja states, a real yogasiddha is one who is equipped with siddhi, or special powers.
Section 6: How do you Teach Yoga?
The Open University
Theo Wildcroft, PhD, is a teacher, trainer, writer, and scholar, whose research considers the democratization of yoga post-lineage, and the evolving practice of teaching yoga for community health. She is the author of Post-Lineage Yoga: From Guru to #MeToo and co-editor of The Yoga Teacher’s Survival Guide, an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Chester, and former Project Coordinator for the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies.
Our understanding of premodern yoga teachers is representative only of a subset of those who wrote, or who were written about by others. But research into contemporary yoga benefits from the possibility of more direct anthropological study. Multiple methodologies from diverse disciplines are now used to profile and understand contemporary yoga teaching communities of practice.
Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA, ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon
Daniela Bevilacqua received her PhD in 2015, in Civilizations of Africa and Asia from Sapienza University of Rome and in Anthropology from the University of Paris Nanterre. Her PhD research was published by Routledge (2018) under the title Modern Hindu Traditionalism in Contemporary India: The Śrī Maṭh and the Jagadguru Rāmānandācārya in the Evolution of the Rāmānandī Sampradāya. She is a Associate Researcher at the Centre for Research in Anthropology (CRIA, ISCTE-IUL) in Lisbon. Her research has aroused particular interest because of its methodology and results. Her article, “Let the Sādhus Talk. Ascetic understanding of Haṭha Yoga and yogāsanas”, published in Religions of South Asia, (Vol 11, n. 2, pp. 182-206) has been translated into German, French and Portuguese. She has been invited to give lectures in various universities (Cambridge, London, Haifa, Prague, Turin, Milan) and to present her research in various yoga teacher training courses and yoga studios. She has published several articles in peer review journals and book chapters for on Hindu asceticism, female asceticism, etc. She is currently editing two volumes, one forthcoming for Amsterdam University Press and another will be a special issue of the Journal of Yoga Studies (JoYS).
Multiple deities and legendary figures have been proclaimed as the first teacher of yoga. If, on the other hand, we consider who was the first yoga teacher in the Western world, we could attribute this title to Swami Vivekananda, after his appearance at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893.
King’s College London
Karen O’Brien-Kop is Lecturer in Asian Religions at King’s College London and acquired
her PhD from SOAS University of London. She researches philosophy of mind, asceticism, and Sanskrit texts in Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Her books include: Rethinking ‘Classical Yoga’ and Buddhism: Meditation, Metaphors and Materiality (2022, Bloomsbury) and The Philosophy of the Yogasutra (2023, Bloomsbury) and the co-edited volume The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021, Routledge).
her PhD from SOAS University of London. She researches philosophy of mind, asceticism, and Sanskrit texts in Buddhist and Hindu traditions. Her books include: Rethinking ‘Classical Yoga’ and Buddhism: Meditation, Metaphors and Materiality (2022, Bloomsbury) and The Philosophy of the Yogasutra (2023, Bloomsbury) and the co-edited volume The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021, Routledge).
The Yogasūtra, also known as Pātañjalayogaśāstra or Yogaśāstra, was composed around the 2nd century CE. What is unclear, however, is whether the Yogasūtra was the work of one ‘author’ or, more likely, several composers and editors over some centuries, all grouped under the credible name of ‘Patañjali’.
Charles University
Lubomír Ondračka is a publisher, independent researcher and occasional lecturer at the
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in
Prague. Currently, he is a research fellow at Balliol College, University of Oxford. His
research is focused on the history of yoga, death, and dying in India, and on religions and
culture of Bengal.
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in
Prague. Currently, he is a research fellow at Balliol College, University of Oxford. His
research is focused on the history of yoga, death, and dying in India, and on religions and
culture of Bengal.
Gorakṣanātha and Matsyendranātha have multiple identities in various South Asian sources. Their names have referred to Śaiva tantric yogis, Buddhist tantric masters, alchemical experts, Hindu and Buddhist gods, authors of learned Sanskrit treatises and vernacular poetry, and Muslim saints, in stories known throughout India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Tibet.
47. What is a Guru? [+–]
Jens U. Augspurger is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Religions and Philosophies at SOAS, University of London. His research and teaching focus on modern transnational yoga and spiritual movements, as well as their respective intersections with politics. Jens is also a recovering yoga teacher and the co-founder of Project SATYA, a community movement that supports survivors of sexualised violence and advocates for accountability and truth in the yoga industry. Considering spiritual tourism as a journey for self-discovery, Jens’ ethnographic dissertation project explores yoga tourism in India and the complex
relationships the yoga tourist builds while journeying (towards) the destination.
relationships the yoga tourist builds while journeying (towards) the destination.
Historically, the guru concept derives from spiritual, religious, or artistic disciplines of pan-India, and was used to refer to a teacher of an elevated standing. Today, the word guru retains this honorific meaning in religious and traditional settings but beyond, it is also used more colloquially to refer to a personal guide or leader.
Amelia Wood is a PhD candidate at SOAS, University of London researching spiritual abuse
in modern yoga. She received an MA from SOAS in the Traditions of Meditation and Yoga
during which she researched the roles and representations of women in pre-modern yoga.
in modern yoga. She received an MA from SOAS in the Traditions of Meditation and Yoga
during which she researched the roles and representations of women in pre-modern yoga.
What it means to be enlightened – in the context of yoga – and the path to achieving such an accolade has varied over time, across philosophical and religious traditions and cultural contexts. Whether or not the teachers of yoga, in any context, are enlightened beings is questionable.
The Open University
Theo Wildcroft, PhD, is a teacher, trainer, writer, and scholar, whose research considers the democratization of yoga post-lineage, and the evolving practice of teaching yoga for community health. She is the author of Post-Lineage Yoga: From Guru to #MeToo and co-editor of The Yoga Teacher’s Survival Guide, an Associate Lecturer at the Open University, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Chester, and former Project Coordinator for the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies.
University of Oxford
Barbora Sojková holds a DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Sanskrit) from the University of Oxford where her research focused on human-animal relationships in Vedic Sanskrit literature. She works as an academic librarian at the All Souls College, Oxford, and as a Sanskrit cataloguer at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. She is a certified yoga teacher and trainer focusing on history and philosophy of yoga.
The eventual aim of contemporary practice is much more likely to be longevity within rather than liberation from the body. But the more implicit assumption that is also continuous between premodern, modern and contemporary forms of yoga is less recognised. This is that mastery of the practice signifies the authority to teach others.
Section 7: How did Modern Yoga Develop?
University of Oxford
James Mallinson is Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford and author of a range of books and articles on yoga, including The Khecarīvidyā of Ādinātha (Routledge, 2007), Roots of Yoga (with Mark Singleton, Penguin Classics 2017) and The Amṛtasiddhi and Amṛtasiddhimūla (with Péter-Dániel Szántō, IFP 2022). From 2015 to 2021 he was the Principal Investigator of the SOAS-based ERC-funded Hatha Yoga Project.
The majority of modern practitioners engage in a generic relaxation-oriented yoga which is not associated with any specific lineage or school and which, if it needs to be differentiated from yoga’s branded forms, has, by default, come to be denoted by Hatha Yoga, an anglicised form of haṭhayoga, the Sanskrit technical term for physical yoga.
Firdose Moonda is a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and is
working on a doctoral project provisionally titled: Yoga, Politics and Possibilities for Social
Justice. She completed her MA Traditions of Yoga and Meditation at the School of Oriental
and African Studies in 2019 and works as a journalist and yoga teacher trainer. Firdose is
interested in research areas including the politics of the body, decolonisation and the
intersection of yoga and Islam.
working on a doctoral project provisionally titled: Yoga, Politics and Possibilities for Social
Justice. She completed her MA Traditions of Yoga and Meditation at the School of Oriental
and African Studies in 2019 and works as a journalist and yoga teacher trainer. Firdose is
interested in research areas including the politics of the body, decolonisation and the
intersection of yoga and Islam.
Between 1849, when the first Western practitioner of yoga was recorded, and the present day, yoga has developed across the world, into forms that are both localised, and transnational. From the Americas to Europe, South to East Asia, and Africa to Australasia, research is underway to map at least some of this diverse development.
Philip Deslippe is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Religious Studies at the
University of California, Santa Barbara where his research focuses on Asian, metaphysical, and marginal religious traditions in the United States. He has published numerous articles for academic journals including the Journal of Yoga Studies and Japanese Religions, and popular venues such as Yoga Journal and Tricycle.
University of California, Santa Barbara where his research focuses on Asian, metaphysical, and marginal religious traditions in the United States. He has published numerous articles for academic journals including the Journal of Yoga Studies and Japanese Religions, and popular venues such as Yoga Journal and Tricycle.
The spread of yoga to the Western word and its dramatic transformation into a global phenomenon over the last century and a half was the cumulative result of several key reformers and teachers, transnational metaphysical movements, cultural changes, and the use of media and technology.
Open University and Inform, King’s College London
Suzanne Newcombe is a senior lecturer in religious studies at the Open University and
director of the educational charity Inform based at King’s College London. She recently
published the Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021), co-edited with Karen O’Brien-Kop.
director of the educational charity Inform based at King’s College London. She recently
published the Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021), co-edited with Karen O’Brien-Kop.
Gendered forms of physical culture in European cultures meant that the physical aspects of yoga teaching looked similar to the kinds of exercise which were socially acceptable for middle-class women. By the mid-20th century, many women were attracted to yoga as a source of greater connections outside of their home, psychological freedom and greater economic autonomy.
The Open University
Gwilym Beckerlegge is Professor Emeritus, Department of Religious Studies at The Open University.
Vivekananda has been credited with contributing to the resurgence of Hindu confidence during the closing years of the 19th century, which fed into the movement for independence. His ideas have been selectively assimilated into counter-cultural and New Age movements in North America and Western Europe, and into yoga during its transformation into a global phenomenon.
Amelia Wood is a PhD candidate at SOAS, University of London researching spiritual abuse
in modern yoga. She received an MA from SOAS in the Traditions of Meditation and Yoga
during which she researched the roles and representations of women in pre-modern yoga.
in modern yoga. She received an MA from SOAS in the Traditions of Meditation and Yoga
during which she researched the roles and representations of women in pre-modern yoga.
Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888-1989) is often referred to as the father, or grandfather, of modern yoga. His innovations in yoga āsana, the international success of his students and importance placed on the idea of lineage within modern yoga has resulted in many yoga teachers citing him as their teacher’s teacher or, at least, a significant source of inspiration.
Section 8: What does Yoga Look Like Today?
University of Oxford
Barbora Sojková holds a DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Sanskrit) from the University of Oxford where her research focused on human-animal relationships in Vedic Sanskrit literature. She works as an academic librarian at the All Souls College, Oxford, and as a Sanskrit cataloguer at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. She is a certified yoga teacher and trainer focusing on history and philosophy of yoga.
For many, personal study of Sanskrit or other premodern languages and yoga texts is a way of engaging with yoga’s complex history. This can influence one’s understanding of the past, present, and future of yoga, and make one appreciate the variety and complexity of yoga, its evolution and dynamic nature.
Jens U. Augspurger is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Religions and Philosophies at SOAS, University of London. His research and teaching focus on modern transnational yoga and spiritual movements, as well as their respective intersections with politics. Jens is also a recovering yoga teacher and the co-founder of Project SATYA, a community movement that supports survivors of sexualised violence and advocates for accountability and truth in the yoga industry. Considering spiritual tourism as a journey for self-discovery, Jens’ ethnographic dissertation project explores yoga tourism in India and the complex
relationships the yoga tourist builds while journeying (towards) the destination.
relationships the yoga tourist builds while journeying (towards) the destination.
In transnational yoga, both the invocation of meaning through historical context and the full de-contextualisation of the practice from its South Asian roots are both effective business strategies rather than positions that reflect historical veracity or post-colonialism. Yoga’s embedded injustices not only concern who practises and where they practise but also how and in what form.
Marissa Clarke is a PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh (2021 – 2025) and Visiting
Doctoral Researcher at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (2024). Her research
explores the phenomenology of yoga, the body, and sound. She has an interdisciplinary
background in marketing studies, religious studies, and health research. Her work is funded
by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership.
Doctoral Researcher at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (2024). Her research
explores the phenomenology of yoga, the body, and sound. She has an interdisciplinary
background in marketing studies, religious studies, and health research. Her work is funded
by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership.
There are diverse reasons why yoga may be considered Indian, why the Indian state seeks a cultural monopoly on the name of yoga, and why Western practitioners might be critiqued for acts of cultural appropriation. On the other hand, one can also acknowledge the multiplicity of people, practices and places that shape traditions, including yoga in India today.
Delaware Valley University
Sheena Sood, PhD is a Philadelphia-based sociologist, writer, educator, and yoga
teacher. Her research, “Omwashing Yoga: Weaponized Spirituality in India, Israel, and the
US,” investigates the growing incorporation of yoga and mindfulness by far-right law
enforcement, military, and vigilante groups. Sheena is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. She has written for Jadaliyya, Race & Yoga Journal, and Colorlines. As an activist scholar, Sheena brings her research into praxis by curating “Decolonizing Yoga” workshops that challenge attendees to reckon with both yoga’s oppressive layers and liberatory potential. She is also the founder of Yoga Warrior Tales, an interactive adventure-based educational program that teaches children yoga and mindfulness through a social justice lens.
teacher. Her research, “Omwashing Yoga: Weaponized Spirituality in India, Israel, and the
US,” investigates the growing incorporation of yoga and mindfulness by far-right law
enforcement, military, and vigilante groups. Sheena is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. She has written for Jadaliyya, Race & Yoga Journal, and Colorlines. As an activist scholar, Sheena brings her research into praxis by curating “Decolonizing Yoga” workshops that challenge attendees to reckon with both yoga’s oppressive layers and liberatory potential. She is also the founder of Yoga Warrior Tales, an interactive adventure-based educational program that teaches children yoga and mindfulness through a social justice lens.
While yoga is popularly regarded as a practice that promotes physical and spiritual well-being, access to its healing properties is often stratified by interlocking categories of race, class, gender, and sexuality. A range of social and systemic theories of race and colonialism can help conceptualise the relationship between race and yoga.
Marissa Clarke is a PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh (2021 – 2025) and Visiting
Doctoral Researcher at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (2024). Her research
explores the phenomenology of yoga, the body, and sound. She has an interdisciplinary
background in marketing studies, religious studies, and health research. Her work is funded
by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership.
Doctoral Researcher at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (2024). Her research
explores the phenomenology of yoga, the body, and sound. She has an interdisciplinary
background in marketing studies, religious studies, and health research. Her work is funded
by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership.
The relation between yoga and capitalism is not an assimilation of one static system (yoga) to another (capitalism); rather the relation is a response to ever changing socio-economic developments. Perhaps the power of yoga’s symbiotic socio-economic relationship to capitalism lies in its potential to revolt against capitalist exploitation.
ISBN-13 (Hardback)
9781800505995
Price (Hardback)
£70.00 / $90.00
ISBN-13 (Paperback)
9781800506008
Price (Paperback)
£16.99 / $21.95
ISBN (eBook)
9781800506015
Price (eBook)
Individual
£16.99 / $21.95
Institutional
£550.00 / $700.00
£16.99 / $21.95
Institutional
£550.00 / $700.00
Publication
15/03/2025
Pages
200
Size
216 x 140mm
Readership
students and general readers
