Yoga - Philosophy for Everyone E-Book

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: Philosophy for Everyone
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 441

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Stimulates thoughts and expands awareness of the philosophical dimensions of yoga in its many forms and practices

Yoga — Philosophy for Everyone presents a wide array of perspectives by people whose lives have been touched by yoga. Addressing myriad aspects of yoga's divergent paths, topics include body image for men and women; the religious and spiritual aspects of yoga; and issues relating to ethics, personal growth, and the teaching of yoga. Written by philosophers and non-philosophers alike, with contributions from professional yoga instructors, lifelong practitioners, and first-timers, Yoga — Philosophy for Everyone offers a wealth of material for both enjoyment and deep reflection.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PART 1 COMING INTO THE SPACE: WHAT IS YOGA?

CHAPTER 1 HOW YOGA WON THE WEST

In the Beginning…

Stepping on the Mat

The Exploration of Yoga

It’s All a Matter of Perspective

The Birth of Yoga

What does ‘Divine’ Mean to You?

A New Era Begins…

What Goes Up Must Come Down

A Shift in Perspective

The Father of Modern Yoga

The Cycle Repeats Itself

How Yoga Won the West

CHAPTER 2 WILL I FIND MY GURU IN INDIA?

The Winding Road to India

Many Masters, Many Roads

Spiritual Boot Camp

Breaking Through

A New Day

CHAPTER 3 THE SEEKER

Sweat, Stretch, and Practical Philosophy

‘I’m Spiritual, but not Religious.’ What’s the Difference?

A ‘Spiritual Science’ is not just an Oxymoron

A Bull Market (or a Market of Bull)

Any God You Like

Into the Future

CHAPTER 4 MEN, SPORTS, AND YOGA

Do Real Men Do Yoga?

Mark’s Story: ‘It was like Line Dancing for the First Time’

Carl’s Story: ‘Everyone Avoids the Front and Center in Class’

Jake’s Story: ‘The only Judging going on is in my Own Head’

Competing against their own Bodies (but is it More than a Workout?)

Competing against other People (perhaps the Real Competition is within Yourself)

Competing against their Own Egos (Playing Nice with your Ego)

CHAPTER 5 STANDING ON YOUR HEAD, SEEING THINGS RIGHT SIDE UP

Yoga Theory

Against Yoga Theory: A Standard Objection

Some Inadequate Responses to the Standard Objection

The Standard Objection and Testimony

Higher Up the Scale

Conclusion

PART 2 THE ASANAS: YOGA AND THE BODY

CHAPTER 6 HELP! MY PHILOSOPHY TEACHER MADE ME TOUCH MY TOES!

The Three Wheels Exercise

Teaching Asana in a Philosophy Class

Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

Tree Pose (Vrikshasana)

General Remarks on Philosophy and Asana

Western Philosophy: 2500 years of Pratyahara?

Where Now?

CHAPTER 7 MAN A MACHINE, MAN A YOGI

Classical Tradition

Descartes: Minds as Captains, Bodies as Ships

Rejecting Descartes: Ships Passing in the Night

CHAPTER 8 YOGA FOR WOMEN?

Yoga for Women?

The Yoga Body as ‘Capital’

Yoga as a Beauty Practice

Conclusion: Yoga for Everybody

CHAPTER 9 THE FEELING OF BEAUTY

Experiment

Inspiration

History

Inside the Beauty Question

CHAPTER 10 PICTURING YOGA

Introduction

Yoga, Magazines, and Yoga Journal

Research Question

Method

Results

Implications and Conclusion

PART 3 PRANA: YOGA’S VITAL ENERGY

CHAPTER 11 MY GUIDANCE COUNSELOR ALWAYS SAID I’D BE A GREAT YOGA STUDENT

Looking Back

Looking Forward

Namaste

From the Individual to the Universal

Yoga in Schools

Furthering the Case for Yoga in Schools

Specific, Additional Options Worth Considering

Conclusion

CHAPTER 12 BALANCE IN YOGA AND ARISTOTLE1

Balance and the Mean

Individuality

Moving Off the Mat

Conclusion: Lesson Learned

CHAPTER 13 HEALING THE WESTERN MIND THROUGH YOGA

Yoga’s Approach to the Core Self

Clinical Psychology and Treatment

How Yoga can Help

Neuroscience and You

Getting Stronger, Getting Smarter

Instructor Responsibility

Possibilities for Therapy

CHAPTER 14 THE PATH TO HAPPINESS BEGINS WITH A JOURNEY INSIDE

The Emotional and Physical Toll of Anxiety

‘Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.’

Decluttering the Body and Mind

Slowing Down the Breath, Slowing Down the Mind

Learning to Live Free of Fear

Yoga, a Gateway Drug?

PART 4 YAMAS AND NIYAMAS: ETHICS AND YOGA

CHAPTER 15 GET OUT OF MY WAY! I’M LATE FOR YOGA!

CHAPTER 16 YOGA OFF THE MAT

How should the Yoga Practitioner Live?

Yoga Ethics: More than Yamas and Niyamas

The Elements of Virtue Ethics

The Yogic Virtues

Conclusion

CHAPTER 17 BECOMING-FROG

I’m an Mammal, I’m a Reptile, I’m a Tree!

Asanas as Earth Democracy in Practice

Yogis for the Earth

CHAPTER 18 YOGA AND ETHICS

Introduction

The Role of Practice

Yoga Scholarship

Aristotelian and Yoga Ethics

Yoga and Yoga Metaphysics

Yoga and Ethics

Why Hatha Yoga?

Discussion

Acknowledgements

CHAPTER 19 WHY ARE YOU STANDING ON MY YOGA MAT?!

Uncovering the Whole Self for Integrity in Action

Rationally and Naturally Moving beyond Selfishness

Conclusion

NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

VOLUME EDITOR

LIZ STILLWAGGON SWAN has a PhD in philosophy and is a certified yoga instructor. Her niche in the world is helping people exercise their brains and their bodies. Her recent publications in the emerging field of biosemiotics explore how we use our brains and bodies to make sense of the world. She is also a new mother and delights in watching her son practice happy baby pose.

SERIES EDITOR

FRITZ ALLHOFF is an associate professor in the philosophy department at Western Michigan University, as well as a senior research fellow at the Australian National University’s Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. In addition to editing the Philosophy for Everyone series, he is also the volume editor or co-editor for several titles, including Wine & Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007), Whiskey & Philosophy (with Marcus P. Adams, Wiley, 2009), and Food & Philosophy (with Dave Monroe, Wiley-Blackwell, 2007). His academic research interests engage various facets of applied ethics, ethical theory, and the history and philosophy of science.

PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYONE

Series editor: Fritz Allhoff

Not so much a subject matter, philosophy is a way of thinking. Thinking not just about the Big Questions, but about little ones too. This series invites everyone to ponder things they care about, big or small, significant, serious … or just curious.

Running & Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind

Edited by Michael W. Austin

Wine & Philosophy: A Symposium on Thinking and Drinking

Edited by Fritz Allhoff

Food & Philosophy: Eat, Think and Be Merry

Edited by Fritz Allhoff and Dave Monroe

Beer & Philosophy: The Unexamined Beer Isn’t Worth Drinking

Edited by Steven D. Hales

Whiskey & Philosophy: A Small Batch of Spirited Ideas

Edited by Fritz Allhoff and Marcus P. Adams

College Sex – Philosophy for Everyone: Philosophers With Benefits

Edited by Michael Bruce and Robert M. Stewart

Cycling – Philosophy for Everyone: A Philosophical Tour de Force

Edited by Jesús Ilundáin-Agurruza and Michael W. Austin

Climbing – Philosophy for Everyone: Because It’s There

Edited by Stephen E. Schmid

Hunting – Philosophy for Everyone: In Search of the Wild Life

Edited by Nathan Kowalsky

Christmas – Philosophy for Everyone: Better Than a Lump of Coal

Edited by Scott C. Lowe

Cannabis – Philosophy for Everyone: What Were We Just Talking About?

Edited by Dale Jacquette

Porn – Philosophy for Everyone: How to Think With Kink

Edited by Dave Monroe

Serial Killers – Philosophy for Everyone : Being and Killing

Edited by S. Waller

Dating – Philosophy for Everyone: Flirting With Big Ideas

Edited by Kristie Miller and Marlene Clark

Gardening – Philosophy for Everyone: Cultivating Wisdom

Edited by Dan O’Brien

Motherhood – Philosophy for Everyone: The Birth of Wisdom

Edited by Sheila Lintott

Fatherhood – Philosophy for Everyone: The Dao of Daddy

Edited by Lon S. Nease and Michael W. Austin

Coffee – Philosophy for Everyone: Grounds for Debate

Edited by Scott F. Parker and Michael W. Austin

Fashion – Philosophy for Everyone: Thinking with Style

Edited by Jessica Wolfendale and Jeanette Kennett

Yoga – Philosophy for Everyone: Bending Mind and Body

Edited by Liz Stillwaggon Swan

Forthcoming books in the series:

Blues – Philosophy for Everyone: Thinking Deep About Feeling Low

Edited by Abrol Fairweather and Jesse Steinberg

Sailing – Philosophy for Everyone: A Place of Perpetual Undulation

Edited by Patrick Goold

Tattoos – Philosophy for Everyone: I Ink, Therefore I Am

Edited by Rob Arp

This edition first published 2012© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Yoga – philosophy for everyone : bending mind and body / edited by Liz Stillwaggon Swan.p. cm. – (Philosophy for everyone)

ISBN 978-0-470-65880-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)1. Hatha yoga. 2. Yoga–Philosophy. I. Swan, Liz Stillwaggon, 1973– RA781.7.Y628 2012613.7′046–dc23

2011020594

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDFs 9781118121429; Wiley Online Library 9781118121450; ePub 9781118121436; Mobi 9781118121443

For Freeman Jack Swan

JOHN FRIEND

FOREWORD

Today, millions around the world regularly practice yoga. Yet many are unaware of the historical foundations of yoga and its underlying philosophies. Yoga: Philosophy for Everyone is an intellectually stimulating collection of nineteen thought-provoking essays that discuss yoga practice as it applies to twenty-first-century mainstream society. It presents some of the key ideas of the traditional lineages of yoga philosophy, while relating them to Western thought and culture through the writings of philosophers such as Aristotle and Descartes. Aptly titled, it covers a broad survey of topics, including life philosophy and diet, that are of great interest to both Western and Eastern cultures. This book, as its title implies and like yoga itself, is appropriate for everyone – from the beginner to the advanced practitioner and scholar.

For thousands of years in India, ‘yoga’ referred to both a state of cosmic consciousness and the disciplined practice that led the yogi into that state of ultimate spiritual union. The philosophy of yoga has endured over centuries because it has proven to be amazingly effective at explaining how to live in accordance with nature for greater health, happiness, and wisdom. Within the last 150 years the world has become increasingly exposed to the fundamental philosophical ideas of this life-enhancing practice. Today yoga philosophy is having profound influence in the areas of modern medicine, culture, interpersonal relationships, business, ethics, sports, and even cutting-edge scientific technology. So, with its increasing importance in the world today as an effective means for cultivating happiness and wisdom, everyone can benefit by understanding the basics of yoga philosophy.

The most common form of yoga practiced today worldwide is Hatha yoga, which focuses primarily on physical postures and breathing exercises. The cultural popularity of Hatha yoga has grown tremendously over the last twenty years, such that today yoga is practiced by tens of millions of people around the world. Not long ago the popular image of a yogi was a skinny man in a contorted, pretzel-like position disengaged from the mainstream of society. In stark contrast, the twenty-first-century image of a yoga practitioner is a young, fit, educated woman in her twenties or thirties. Although yoga is now so much more mainstream than at any other time in history, it is still not widely practiced by men, or non-white or overweight people.

Over the centuries, yoga practice has encompassed meditation, chanting, ritualistic Hindu worship ceremonies, the study of ancient scripture, the performance of intensely austere physical postures, and advanced breathing practices, all of which have not been easily integrated into our modern, high-speed, technological lives. Consequently, ancient yoga practices have been progressively modified for modern times. In just the last century, while underlying yoga philosophy has remained consistent, the modern yoga practice has morphed its outer form to the point that it hardly resembles its ancient, original form. It is important to note that both the philosophy and practice of yoga have always been living and breathing, never static. So, for practitioners today to continue to adapt the practice to fit into the world today is, in fact, very much in alignment with the entire history of yoga. The key to this evolution is to ensure that we are moving forward in innovative ways that are still rooted in the traditional fundamentals.

In the past, Hatha yoga poses were never performed separately from their spiritual context of yoga philosophy, including yogic ethics. However, since yoga began to be regularly broadcast on American television fifty years ago, it has become increasingly tied in the West to physical fitness and therapy, stress reduction, and personal empowerment, while becoming progressively disconnected from its Hindu roots and much of its essential philosophical foundations. It is common today for ‘yoga’ to be taught at health clubs and other venues around the world simply as a physical workout without any allusion to its ancient spiritual philosophy. Yoga has become so popular that in the last twenty years it has grown from a multi-million-dollar industry to a worldwide industry worth billions.

Today there are many styles or schools of Hatha yoga, several of which have been formed since only the 1970s in the United States. The main yoga schools include Iyengar, Bikram, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Kripalu, Baptiste, Forrest, Jivamukti, Core Power, Yin, Pure, and Anusara yoga. Some of these schools have trademarked their brands, franchised their yoga studio businesses, and copyrighted their postural sequences. Currently, the various yoga schools do not agree on a universal definition of the practice of yoga. Each school ascribes to varying viewpoints on different aspects of yoga philosophy, including metaphysics, the structure of consciousness, and cosmology.

While different yoga schools have varied definitions of the yogic state and the necessary disciplined practice to achieve that state, a basic definition of yoga has stood the test of time. From the earliest mentions in Sanskrit texts, the word ‘yoga’ represented a state of individual awareness united with a universal presence. The Sanskrit root of the word is ‘yuj,’ which means to unite, marry, yoke, or to turn two into one. In all of the practices of yoga throughout history there has always been a vision of becoming absorbed into supreme consciousness, the essence of reality and being. Yoga is an age-old spiritual practice that uses various mind–body techniques to unite individual consciousness – the soul – with its most essential source – supreme spirit. This ultimate union is characterized by a dissolving of the awareness of individual distinction and separateness until there is an experience of universality and boundlessness of consciousness.

Although all yoga schools will agree that ‘yoga’ fundamentally means ‘union with the supreme,’ there are significant differences in general yoga philosophy among the Hatha yoga schools worldwide. The key reason for this is that historically there are at least three different ancient philosophical systems that inform the modern yoga student: Classical Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra.

In a Classical Yoga viewpoint, originally delineated by Patañjali in his Yoga Sutras, written sometime between 100 BCE and 500 CE, yoga means a separation of purusha (spirit) from its entangled identity with prakriti (matter). The goal of Classical Yoga is kaivalya, which means to ‘isolate’ spiritual consciousness from the lower-grade energy field, its mind–body. In Classical Yoga, matter includes the energetic field of thoughts, emotions, and the physical body, while above this vibratory matrix of mind–body is purusha, or pure being (spirit). Thus, the intention of Classical Yoga is to free or separate purusha from prakriti in order to abide in one’s pure being, isolated and apart from any suffering.

In Vedantic yogic philosophy, yoga is a path toward recognition that a pure level of consciousness (spirit) is always present in everyone and all things in the material realm. Consciousness is cloaked by a power called maya, an illusion-causing creative force that is independent of the ground of pure consciousness. In Vedanta philosophy, yoga is defined as a path of awakening that takes place as the reality-distorting power of maya is neutralized through a yogi’s practices. Once maya’s power is neutralized, the idea is that the grand unity of being is unveiled in the consciousness of the practitioner. When one remembers their true nature as oneness, there is direct experience of yoga. In this specific philosophical viewpoint, the nature of being is synonymous with ananda, the highest bliss and joy imaginable, so, in Vedanta, yoga is ultimately a state of realization with one’s own true, blissful nature, which is not separate from the supreme.

Traditional, non-dual Tantric philosophy defines ‘yoga’ as a state of union with the very essence of Shiva-Shakti, or supreme consciousness and its creative power. This is the absolute level of reality that infinitely vibrates with pure auspiciousness, bliss, self-luminous awareness, freedom, and fullness of being. In contrast to Classical Yoga, Tantra philosophy sees both purusha and prakriti as having the same essence of Shiva-Shakti; since everything is supreme and pure consciousness at its essence, there is no need for isolation and separation. In contrast to Vedanta, Tantra sees maya not as an illusion but rather as the differentiating power of consciousness itself; a playful kind of power that allows individual souls to experience a variety of divine creative expressions of supreme consciousness.

The yogic practices within Tantra encompass a wide variety of subtle energy control, from the chanting of mantras, magickal (i.e., transforming matter by use of Shakti, as opposed to ‘magic,’ which refers to stage magic or sleight of hand) sounds and words, to breath-control and the use of yantras and mandalas (magickal diagrams). All Tantric yoga practices include the use of sophisticated techniques to affect subtle energy within the mind–body and the surrounding environment. In general, Tantric schools either seek power as the highest goal or delight as the pinnacle of sadhana (spiritual practice). Knowledge is both power and bliss in Tantra, so expansion of knowledge and awareness is a key endeavor. The goals of these energy-control techniques differ between specific Tantric schools, and range from life extension to increasing worldly power to experiencing the ultimate blissful freedom of the soul while embodied. All Hatha yoga practices derive from Tantric philosophy, in which the body and mind are considered different frequencies of the one supreme divine energy that fills everything in the universe.

Over the centuries, the yoga philosophies of Classical Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra have remained consistent. However, modern yoga has embraced different elements of each of these philosophies, so there is not one, consistent philosophical foundation for all Hatha yoga practices today. Certainly, one agreed-upon belief in all yoga schools is that yoga is a disciplined practice in which one lives the principles of one’s philosophy instead of just intellectually knowing about them. There is knowledge gained indirectly from studying the yoga philosophy texts, and there is also the knowledge directly gained from deeply experiencing a moment of living that philosophy. It is commonly agreed that the direct knowledge gained from applying the philosophy in daily living, in contrast to just thinking or talking about it, is a higher or more effective path.

The higher knowledge of all yoga philosophical schools arises from the direct experience of one’s spiritual essence through the various tried-and-true paths of yoga. The one truth central in the broad spectrum of all yoga philosophy is that the essence of being is free. Whether self, purusha, soul, or atman, whatever you want to call the individualized essence of the universal spirit is ultimately free in its true nature. Pure being is free from the suffering associated with the misidentification of itself with the changing materialistic world of embodiment. It is free from the illusionary veil that distorts our vision to see difference in a boundless field of unity. The self is pure awareness, unlimited consciousness eternally existing in a state of ultimate freedom.

Since that is the true nature at the core of our being, everyone seeks that experience when it is cloaked within our relative, embodied existence. Consequently, everyone who comes to yoga is ultimately seeking freedom. Freedom from suffering and the freedom to be happy are the root intentions behind anyone’s choice to begin a yoga practice. At this critical time in Earth’s history – environmentally, economically, politically, and culturally – may everyone gain deep insight from the basic knowledge of yoga philosophy to live in ways that bring more harmony, happiness, and love, and the joy of freedom to the world.

May Yoga: Philosophy for Everyone be a support and inspiration to all levels of yoga students. May all the ideas presented in this book help to deepen our embodiment of yogic ethical wisdom and compassion during these critical times on the Earth.

LIZ STILLWAGGON SWAN

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

A few years ago, when I told a friend I was thinking about doing yoga teacher training he said, ‘Wow. That’s really serious. You’re going to have to give up coffee and alcohol.’ I was dumbfounded. What did he mean? What did drinking coffee, or anything else for that matter, have to do with yoga? Furthermore, if becoming a yoga teacher meant that I would have to find a way to squelch my love of coffee (and red wine), then my bright future as a yogini was in serious trouble. But more to the point, I had already been practicing yoga for a few years by then, and living a healthy lifestyle, without restricting myself in any sort of regimented or prescribed way. Having been raised Catholic, I was familiar with the idea of ritualistically giving up certain things as part of a tradition (e.g., giving up chocolate during Lent, the forty-day period leading up to Easter Sunday) but such practices didn’t resonate with me as an adult. As an independent thinker and philosopher, the adoption of particular practices, such as avoiding certain substances, has to make sense to me for reasons I’ve arrived at myself. And, for me, yoga was not a religion, or even a spiritual practice. It was, and is, something that I love to do because of how it makes me feel.

In reading the nineteen essays in this book, you’ll discover that yoga is something different to each person. There is no universal definition of yoga that applies to all yoga traditions or to all people who practice yoga. And certainly, yoga feels different to each one of us who experiences it. For me, moving and breathing through a series of yoga poses makes me feel grounded, calm, and content. And, as you might imagine, the more I generate such feelings through my yoga practice, the more I find myself feeling grounded, calm, and content in other parts of my day and my life. A favorite yoga teacher of mine who has written for this book, Jeff Logan, spoke in class one day about the powerful effect that simply imagining yourself in a calming yoga pose can have. For example, one pose I enjoy practicing is triangle pose, because I feel both grounded and expansive in this pose. And, because the body has memory, when I’m in a stressful situation such as going into a job interview, the act of recalling myself in triangle pose elicits in me the same positive feelings I experience when I’m actually in the pose – enabling me to enter the interview with a smile and sense of calm confidence.

You may be thinking that, as good as all this sounds, it doesn’t seem spiritual, and that’s what you thought yoga was all about. To understand why I don’t think of yoga as a spiritual practice, I need to explain a bit about where I’m coming from philosophically. In college, when I was introduced to the philosophy of René Descartes – who, in the early seventeenth century, declared that minds (or ‘spirits’) and bodies were two different kinds of things in the world – I knew that he was wrong. I’ve spent a lot of time – probably too much time – explaining in philosophy papers exactly why I think he was wrong.

I offer here the nutshell version of my argument: There is no such thing as ‘a mind’ per se; rather, the term ‘mind’ acts as a conceptual placeholder for a whole host of abilities that we and some other animals are able to do with our brains and bodies working in concert, such as communicate, show affection, imagine, learn, play, and so on. An important source of inspiration for my early philosophical musings was the progressively minded contemporary of Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, who believed that the mental and the physical were two manifestations of a single, underlying reality. Consistent with this insight is the notion that all living organisms have a host of abilities uniquely attuned to their particular environments, which in some cases – for example, the human case – we’re inclined to conceptualize as ‘having a mind.’

When I began my yoga teacher training several months after having that curious conversation with my friend, I was surprised to find how much emphasis was placed on the idea that yoga means ‘union’ – commonly explained as the union between mind and body. I’d never believed that mind and body were separate in the first place, and these ‘insights’ seemed a curious, regressive step backward from Western philosophy’s focus, over the past 400 years, on moving past Descartes’ mind–body dualism. After a few lectures on how yoga helps one to integrate or unite mind and body, I felt like exclaiming: But I am an integrated whole! In essence, mind–body integration is a non-issue when we recognize that humans are animals with interesting abilities, as are all creatures on Earth. If nothing else, my yoga training made me question the popular assumption that Eastern philosophy is somehow one-up on Western philosophy when it comes to understanding the relationship between mind and body. I don’t believe this is the case.

Historically, both Eastern and Western philosophical traditions have made the mistake of assuming that humans are somehow special in the natural world, unique among animals – for example, because we alone have a mind, or a soul, or are bound for some sort of afterlife – and these assumptions have created some very messy systems of beliefs. But yoga doesn’t have to be messy, philosophically speaking; essentially, if one doesn’t believe that there is a spirit (or mind) that exists separately from the body, then one cannot genuinely understand yoga as a practice of unifying mind and body.

But the fact remains that ‘yoga’ means union. Of what, then, is yoga a practice of ‘uniting’? Megan Burke, who has written an essay for this book, offers an alternative interpretation of yogic union, beautiful in its simplicity, as one of uniting self with nature. She explains how yoga helps us to become more aware of the physical space around us, and in turn how this contextual awareness can be expanded off the mat and into the wider world of other living beings, and even to the natural world itself. Again, yoga is something different for each one of us, and, even without its being spiritual, yoga can be an amazingly powerful, transformative, and insightful practice.

Moreover, there may be advantages to not conceptualizing yoga as a spiritual practice. As a non-religious American born in the twentieth century, I feel comfortable introducing my yoga students to the physical benefits and relaxation techniques of yoga without making any references to the spiritual teachings of Hinduism in ancient India. When I teach a diverse group of yoga students at the local recreation center, I accept that some are there to have a spiritual experience while some are there to work on their balance, or because they’ve heard yoga can help lower their blood pressure. There are people who are drawn to yoga for the physical and psychological benefits it offers and are not seeking spiritual enlightenment because it just doesn’t fit with their worldview. A point expressed compellingly in Julinna Oxley’s essay in this book is that yoga is (or should be!) an inclusive practice, open and welcoming to all people with diverse backgrounds, some of whom consider it a spiritual pathway and some of whom do not.

There are some efforts in the yoga world today to garner some sort of recognition of yoga’s ancient roots because, the argument goes, yoga as it is practiced today in the West is so far removed from its ancient origins in India. I believe these efforts are misguided. Almost everyone accepts that yoga began in India in ancient times, and I believe it is apparent that today’s multi-billion-dollar yoga industry bears little resemblance to its ancestral past. To draw an analogy: We all know that Christmas day historically marks the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago; but, for many who don’t consider themselves Christians, Christmas is about spending time with family and friends, telling stories about Santa Claus and the elves, and drinking eggnog while decorating the Christmas tree. It would be unrealistic to insist in today’s Western culture that everyone who celebrates Christmas must revere its historical origin in Bethlehem. Cultural practices evolve, and, although the yoga of today is a very different practice from that of long ago, this does not at all diminish the powerful movement that it is in today’s world.

A sentiment that is also commonly heard from the yoga world is that yoga is ‘not just exercise.’ B. K. S. Iyengar explained this sentiment more eloquently when he said that practicing the yoga asanas (physical postures) without the study of yoga philosophy amounted to mere acrobatics. In other words, if your intention is simply to break a sweat and get a good workout, that can be satisfied by an aerobics class, or thirty minutes on the treadmill. It is true that yoga, as a physical practice, offers something more, with its focus on maintaining mindful breathing throughout the postures, no matter how challenging the pose being attempted may be. And yoga offers much more than that, with its rich history of yogic philosophy that covers everything related to being a good person and living a good life, for those who are eager for it.

However, at a time when in the United States roughly two thirds of all adults and one third of all children are obese or overweight – with the rest of the West not far behind – and with these rates rising sharply along with their attendant maladies such as diabetes and heart disease, it seems unwise to dismiss anything as ‘mere exercise.’ Not everyone will garner spiritual benefits from yoga, or even want to, but everyone can garner physical and psychological benefits from yoga. In fact, the essay in this book by my husband, Eric Swan, advocates for yoga being introduced to school-aged children as part of their personal and social development. To this I would add, their physical development too, since kids naturally take to yoga and find it fun. Bring on the acrobatics!

Yoga is well suited to help in the effort, currently being championed by First Lady Michelle Obama in the United States, to curb perilously rising rates of obesity in the West. First, there is a direct correlation between regular exercise and a healthy weight. As long as we use as much energy as we consume, we should maintain a healthy weight, and yoga is a very rewarding way of expending energy. But the same could be said for any form of exercise. What yoga has to offer nations of people facing major public health crises is a holistic, healthy, self-disciplined way of life, which includes healthy eating habits. One promise of yoga is that a well-disciplined body, which comes about over time through the practice of the yoga postures coupled with mindful breathing, can give rise to a well-disciplined mind. In other words, the more we learn to maintain our calm focus in challenging yoga practices, the more easily we find it to concentrate on demanding mental tasks and to stay focused and present in all intellectually challenging situations, including self-disciplined habits that go along with a healthy and nutritious lifestyle.

I had been studying Western analytic philosophy for many years when I first came to yoga, and thus had an easier time than some embodying the yogic principles of alignment, balance, depth, and precision in the postures since these were all principles I’d worked hard to achieve in my philosophical thinking and writing. It was for me a fairly smooth transition to apply these principles, so useful in orderly thinking, to the physical practice of asana, where these very same principles allow the body, over time, to open, unwind, unlock, purify, strengthen, and ultimately achieve some degree of grace and ease through hard work.

Because the mind and body are one, the physical practice of yoga automatically lends itself to a more disciplined way of thinking about how to use the body effectively and respectfully, which includes healthy eating, drinking, and exercise habits, as well as healthy relationships (romantic and otherwise) with others. Yoga can be incredibly revealing in all of these dimensions. It is not ‘just exercise,’ no, but neither, my husband would tell you, is rock climbing ‘just exercise.’1 And my sister, who competes in mini-triathlons, would certainly deny that those days are ‘just exercise’ for her. And my brother, who surfed on Maui for five years, would deny that surfing is ‘just exercise.’ You get the point. There are many, many ways humans have found to move their bodies, breath, and energy in order to feel invigorated, to enjoy the body’s full physical capacity, to feel alive. Yoga is one of these ways. I hope that in reading this book you’ll come to appreciate the simple insight that yoga is not any one thing. It is something unique and valuable to all of us who practice it and love it enough to write about it in the hope of sharing our own stories about how it has affected our lives. And then maybe you too will give yoga a try, if you haven’t already, and discover what it has to offer you.

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In the second part of this introduction, I would like to give you a sense of what insights and stories lie ahead for you to enjoy in this book. The book is divided into four parts: ‘Coming into the Space: What is Yoga?,’ ‘The Asanas: Yoga and the Body,’ ‘Prana: Yoga’s Vital Energy,’ and ‘Yamas and Niyamas: Ethics and Yoga.’ Each part has four or five essays that in one way or another relate to the theme of the section.

The first part, which addresses the big question, ‘what is yoga?,’ begins with an essay by yoga teacher Jen Munyer, ‘How Yoga Won the West,’ on the rich and interesting history of yoga. It is a perfect way to begin a book about yoga as it captures the sentiment that yoga has been and is everything you think it is, and more. Munyer traces the rich and deep history of yoga from its origins in around 6500 BCE through its wildly varied permutations, including a stint in the early nineteenth century when it flourished under the guise of traveling circuses in order to escape religious persecution in British-ruled India, to the billion-dollar fitness craze it is today in the West. Munyer’s insight into the continually evolving nature of yoga is enriched by her personal experience of coming to yoga in the hopes that it would make her thin and happy, and discovering that it offered not only fitness, health, and happiness, but also so much more.

Next we hear from Kieran McManus who, in ‘Will I Find My Guru in India?,’ delights us with tales of his recent trip to Nepal and India. McManus explains how, early on in his exotic travels, neither yoga nor India particularly resonated with him, despite his very high expectations. But after finding an amazingly inspiring teacher in Rishikesh – the city made famous in the West when the Beatles spent some time studying transcendental meditation there in the late 1960s – he came to understand and appreciate yoga for the first time in his life: ‘I realized that the quality of my yoga session was not about the attainment of challenging poses, but rather the mindfulness of my practice.’ McManus explains how with this insight, and several more, he indeed found what he was looking for in India.

In his essay, ‘The Seeker,’ David Robles addresses the elephant in the yoga studio: Is yoga a religion, a spiritual discipline, or neither? Drawing on his personal experience as co-owner of a yoga studio in multicultural New York state, he explains why more people are discovering the richness of the yogic tradition as they turn away from organized religions while still seeking meaning in their lives. Robles highlights the fact that yoga is very inclusive to people of all religious backgrounds, including the non-religious – a refreshing antidote to the exclusive nature of most traditional religions. Robles’ essay also makes the important point that yoga is flexible enough (no pun intended) to remain viable in a scientific world, while ancient religious traditions often have difficulty keeping up with the times.

In their thought-provoking and humorous essay, ‘Men, Sports, and Yoga,’ Barbara Shaffer and Andrew Purcell ask the provocative question, ‘Do real men do yoga?’ Nearly eighty percent of all yoga practitioners in the United States (for example) today are women – a curious fact considering that yoga began as a discipline taught and practiced exclusively by men. This essay gives an inside look at three personal stories of men who feel more comfortable pursuing yoga in the privacy of one-on-one sessions with yoga teacher Barbara Purcell than in a group-class setting, which can be intimidating for the uninitiated. Though yoga is commonly touted as being non-competitive, these authors boldly take on the issue and teach us that competition in yoga can come from unexpected places, such as one’s ego or one’s own bodily limitations.

We end this section with an essay by Steve Jacobson, ‘Standing on Your Head, Seeing Things Right Side Up,’ who asks the provocative question of whether Westerners, indoctrinated as we are in the rational, scientific tradition of education, are justified in accepting what he calls ‘yoga theory.’ He explains that yoga theory – which includes everything from karma to chakras to reincarnation (beliefs from various corners of yoga’s long history) – although not completely ‘accurate’ from a Western perspective, still has some value, in part because some of its wisdom overlaps with that of Western science and medicine. Jacobson concludes that, even if we decide to practice yoga stripped of ‘yoga theory,’ it is still a very worthwhile practice, perhaps even more so without, as he puts it, all the ‘illusion.’

In Part 2 of the book, we turn to the theme of yoga and how it relates to various issues surrounding body awareness and perception. We begin the section with Ken Burak’s light-hearted essay, ‘Help! My Philosophy Teacher Made Me Touch My Toes!,’ which advocates for bringing yoga into the philosophy classroom. As a philosophy teacher, Burak has had great success using yoga to get introductory philosophy students to engage, in a experiential and embodied way, with abstract concepts in philosophy, such as the relations between mind and body, the particular and the universal; the chaotic nature of the human mind; and so on. Burak also explains an insight he has hit upon through this approach to teaching philosophy: the notion that Western philosophy has been one long practice in pratyahara (sense withdrawal), which is also, after all, something yogis practice regularly in meditation. Burak proposes that, instead of our maligning Western philosophy for its mistakes and looking to Eastern philosophy for ‘solutions,’ we should recognize the potential benefits of this long ‘retreat’ Western philosophy has afforded us, and come to our yoga practice fresh and ready for new insights.

J. Neil Otte’s essay, ‘Man a Machine, Man a Yogi,’ explores the relationship between mind and body as seen in the ancient Eastern texts of the Yoga Sutras and the more recent writings of the seventeenth-century philosopher René Descartes and the eighteenth-century physiologist Julien Offray de La Mettrie. Otte suggests that the notion that mind and body are distinct kinds of things, with very different natures, is apparent only in Descartes’ analyses, and that both ancient Eastern wisdom and modern materialism see the human mind and body as two functions of the same entity – in other words as united. Otte also delights us with stories of confused proprioception, such as out of body experiences, which he explains can result from yoga practice but nevertheless do not suggest that mind and body are in fact distinct.

We move next to Luna Dolezal’s essay, ‘Yoga for Women?,’ which addresses the deep dissatisfaction that some people, including several essayists in this book, feel concerning how women are portrayed in the yoga world. In the enormously prolific sphere of yoga advertising – in magazines, DVDs, books, and even TV commercials – women who do yoga are portrayed as slim, flexible, and beautiful – often unattainably so. Dolezal takes issue with this particular representation of women especially because, she argues, yoga is supposed to be for everyone. Instead, yoga advertising in the West (particularly the United States) today is stringently exclusive, making potentially the majority of women who might otherwise be drawn to yoga feel inadequate, unwelcome, or not allowed. Dolezal’s essay makes an important contribution to the effort of remedying this situation by raising awareness of how bad the situation really is.

In an essay true to its name, ‘The Feeling of Beauty,’ Nicole Dunas delivers a heartfelt essay about one woman’s journey to define what the beautiful is for herself. Disenchanted by how ‘beauty’ can be so narrowly defined in today’s world of anorexic, surgically modified, and airbrushed cover models, Dunas and fellow yoginis decided to pursue a different path with Dunas’ creation of The Real Beauty Yoga Project, intended to broaden our conceptualization of what beauty is and how each of us can experience it. Dunas explores some of the historical reasons why even yoga is sometimes guilty of a faddish conceptualization of beauty, and her essay reminds us that beauty is less a way of looking than a way of being.

We conclude this section with Debra Merskin’s essay, ‘Picturing Yoga,’ which provides a systematic analysis of the cover images that have been used for Yoga Journal magazine between 2000 and 2008. Merskin explains why the vastly predominant portrayal of the often sexy, almost always white yogini on Yoga Journal’s cover is problematic and asks the provocative question of whether a magazine devoted to a historically spiritual discipline ought to be more careful about how it represents itself than the host of other popular magazines that boldly embrace the advertising law that ‘sex sells.’ Merskin concludes that the tradition in yoga to be inclusive to all types of people – in terms of gender, race, body type, and so on – ought to be reflected by its most widely read publication, Yoga Journal.

Part 3 of the book addresses the vital energy, and in some cases healing potential, of yoga. We start with Eric Swan’s essay, ‘My Guidance Counselor Always Said I’d be a Great Yoga Student,’ which addresses an important and topical issue: the role that yoga could play in educational reform in the United States. Swan draws on his ten years of professional experience as a school counselor at the middle- and high-school levels, plus his personal experience of years of regular yoga practice, to reflect on how yoga could enhance students’ personal and social development by making them more comfortable with who they are and more confident of their abilities. Swan cites some recent data supporting the idea that yoga in schools could also raise students’ academic performance, which is something that public school reformers ought to take seriously.

Next we hear from Leigh Duffy, who explains in ‘Balance in Yoga and Artistotle’ how the concept of balance relates to both the practice of yoga and the philosophy of Aristotle. She shares the story of her terrifying stress-induced collapse, which occurred during the time she was teaching her philosophy students about Aristotle’s virtue ethics, wherein a proper balance between extremes is prescribed. The personal crisis helped Duffy to recognize the severe lack of balance in her own life, and this essay describes her journey back to balance through the empowering and steadying practice of yoga. An insight that emerges from this essay is the powerful idea that the balance we try to attain on the mat is only useful when we can bring it into the various other dimensions of our lives.

In ‘Healing the Western Mind through Yoga,’ Abby Thompson weaves together her expertise in somatic psychology and yoga to make a compelling case for how yoga can be used as an alternative, or supplement, to clinical therapy. She explores the yoga adage, ‘how you are on the mat is how you are in life.’ For example, she explains how feeling grounded in a balance pose in yoga class can enable one to feel grounded off the mat too, when one is presented with challenges in life. She also enlightens the reader with an interesting connection to neuroscience, explaining that all of our mental and physical habits have a neuronal basis. The good news is that new habits can be established, such as learning to take a deep breath when confronted with stressors and negative emotions.

We conclude this part with an essay in the spirit of the tradition of heart-opening Anusara yoga, wherein, in ‘The Path to Happiness Begins with a Journey Inside,’ Jim Berti shares with the reader his very personal journey of pain and discontent that led him to the discovery of yoga. Some stories do have a happy ending. Berti tells us that, even in his one year of yoga practice to date, the changes and effects it has had on his personal and professional life have been tremendous. His heartfelt essay reminds all of us who began our practice long ago why we’re still finding ourselves on the mat, and will inspire those who have never practiced to consider what yoga could do for them.

The last part of this book opens with an essay by an Iyengar yoga teacher of mine, Jeff Logan, who in his essay ‘Get Out of My Way! I’m Late for Yoga!’ addresses the philosophical question of whether the yoga teacher has a duty to introduce his or her students to the moral virtues that are so deeply embedded within yogic history and philosophy. Logan delights the reader with both mythological stories from yoga’s ancient history and personal stories from his experience as an Iyengar teacher at the studio he co-owns in Huntington, NY. Logan impresses upon the reader just how important it is for students to live, rather than simply know, yoga philosophy. He gently urges yoga teachers to introduce yoga philosophy to their students by teaching asanas (poses) in such a way that they come to embody the very principles of yogic ethical wisdom.

Next, in ‘Yoga Off the Mat,’ Julinna Oxley explores the transition that every yogi and yogini must make to truly realize his or her yoga practice – that of applying the virtues we practice on the yoga mat, in the yoga studio, to our lives off the mat, outside the yoga studio. She draws on the wisdom of Aristotle’s virtue ethics, the essence of which is the insight that being virtuous must come from within rather than from external rules and dogma. Oxley challenges the controversial notion that yogis and yoginis should adopt particular diets or lifestyle habits, arguing that such dictates are not really in the true spirit of yogic, and virtue, ethics, which prescribes more of an internally motivated practice of what it means to be a virtuous person and live a virtuous life.

In Megan Burke’s beautifully written and inspiring essay, ‘Becoming-Frog,’ she shares with the reader her philosophically profound insight that, by practicing the poses of non-human animals as we do in yoga (e.g., frog pose, pigeon pose, and camel pose), we can become more sensitive to the non-human natural environment that contextualizes human life. Burke explains that ‘because asanas get us out of our habitual way of being in the world as soon as we take on the ‘pose’ of another creature, we are presented with the possibility of new knowledge.’ Her essay draws on the insights of Vandana Shiva’s ‘Earth democracy’ to explain how the very practice of yoga can make one more aware not only of self and others but also of environment and world.

Paul Ulhas MacNeill’s essay, ‘Yoga and Ethics,’ incorporates his twenty years of experience as an ethics professor and a yogi. He credits his yoga practice, rather than his studies and teaching of ethics, with giving him a deep understanding of ethics. MacNeill shares with us some of his deep wisdom of yoga by drawing some interesting comparisons between Eastern and Western perspectives on the origins and role of ethics in our lives. He explains that, with the exception of Aristotle, ethics scholarship in the West has focused largely on intellect and reasoning, whereas in the East the emphasis is on practice, as it is in MacNeill’s own life.

The books ends with Heather Salazar’s humorously titled essay, ‘Why are You Standing on my Yoga Mat?!,’ wherein she addresses the not-immediately-apparent connection between one’s yoga practice and one’s discovery of a ‘hidden ethics.’ Through a series of insightful and practical exercises, Salazar guides us through an introspective exploration that enables the reader to discover things about herself, such as goals and aspirations, multiple roles in life that may be in conflict, and how to extend the circle of care and concern through some creative partnered yoga exercises. Salazar’s essay explains that the actual practice of movement and breath control can help one on the path toward gaining greater self-awareness and becoming more compassionate toward others and toward the world we share with others.

It is my hope and intention as editor of this book not only that you will learn something about yoga from this wonderful collection of essays but also that the authors’ personal stories about how yoga has touched their lives will delight and inspire you. Happy reading, and namaste! (Which, by the way, means that the light within me recognizes and celebrates the light within you!)

NOTE

1 Eric Swan, ‘Zen and the art of climbing,’ in the Climbing and Philosophy book in this series (2010).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank, first of all, Eric Swan – loving husband, father of our baby Freeman, fellow yogi (and contributor to this book), and best friend – for his unwavering support in this and all projects I take on in life.

I’d like to acknowledge all of my yoga teachers – past, present, and future – for being sources of inspiration in my yoga practice and in my life. I aspire to have a bit of your yogic wisdom come through in my own teaching.

Heartfelt thanks to John Friend, founder of Anusara yoga, for offering the Foreword to the book, and to all the contributors for their beautiful and insightful essays about yoga, from which I have learned so much. I look forward to practicing yoga with you someday, somewhere. Namaste!

Thank you to Fritz Allhoff for his enthusiasm about this book from the very beginning, and a special thanks to the Wiley-Blackwell team: to Jeff Dean for suggesting the subtitle, and to Tiffany Mok and Hazel Harris for their guidance throughout the planning and execution of the book.