Reclaiming the Spirit through the Body: The Nascent Spirituality of Modern Postural Yoga
Stuart Ray Sarbacker
Entangled Religions October 31, 2014 DOI: 10.46586/er.v1.2014.95-114 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation Mysticism |
| Keywords | Spirituality Contemplation Hinduism Aesthetics Dimension graph theory Epistemology Religious studies Alternative medicine Theology Martial arts Doping in sports |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key points | Argues that modern postural yoga traditions contain an implicit spirituality derived from medieval haṭhayoga, distinguished from purely physical disciplines by an inner dimension that contemporary practitioners make explicit through traditional philosophy and contemplative practices. |
Abstract
In viewing physical practice as instrumental, traditions of modern postural yoga contain an implicit spirituality that echoes its historical precursors in the medieval traditions of haṭhayoga. The physicality of modern postural yoga tradition links the practices of premodern haṭhayoga traditions with disciplines of body that are characteristic of modern cosmopolitanism, such as gymnastics and calisthenics. The principal modern yoga gurus of the twentieth century—such as B. K. S. Iyengar and K. Pattabhi Jois—viewed postural yoga as distinct from purely physical disciplines on the basis that yoga has an inner dimension that other systems do not possess. Contemporary yoga practitioners have sought to make this inner dimension more transparent through appeals to traditional Hindu and Buddhist philosophy and by adopting practices that are explicitly contemplative or spiritual in nature.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |