Yoga and Meditation
Freedom Inside? May 31, 2022 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190070083.003.0003 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that yoga and meditation in prisons carry both risks of co-optation and emancipatory possibilities, with activist versions producing critically thoughtful and politically challenging self-cultivation. |
Abstract
This chapter speaks to the theoretical concerns that animate this project. It addresses a number of debates—both historical and contemporary—that set the stage for what follows in the rest of this book. It shows us why we should care about yoga and meditation in prisons, walking the reader through the broad sweep of commentaries that reveal the darker, more insidious possibilities that lurk within yogic and meditative practices, particularly when they are taught to those routinely targeted by unequal or oppressive forms of power. Here, we find that the dangers of co-optation are very real; but so are the emancipatory possibilities. The chapter points to the emergence of newer, more activist versions of yoga and meditation, which produce a kind of individual self-cultivation that is thoughtfully critical and politically challenging.