Thinking in Āsana - Movement and Philosophy in Viniyoga, Iyengar Yoga, and Ashtanga Yoga - Matylda Ciołkosz
7. Viniyoga, or the Yoga of T.K.V. Desikachar
Thinking in Āsana - Movement and Philosophy in Viniyoga, Iyengar Yoga, and Ashtanga Yoga - Matylda Ciołkosz
Matylda Ciołkosz [+]
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.
Description
Presents the specifics of movement characteristic of Viniyoga, the interpretation of the religiophilosophical model that corresponds to this practice, and, ultimately, the relation between the two. When discussing āsana and prāṇāyāma performance, I describe not only its objective characteristics, but also its subjective experience. By explaining how different postural and breathing techniques feel to the practitioner, I point to the kinds of recurrent kinaesthetic patterns they allow the practitioner to experience.