From Meditation to Mat, Cave to Cartoon: Yoga as Philosophy, Practice, and Public Performance

Catalog description

Fitness. Flexibility. Relaxation. Spirituality. These are just a sampling of the many buzzwords associated with groups of allied practices like Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness that have contemplative and physical dimensions. With mythologized origins among communities of obscure holy men living in the mountains of South Asia, yoga-centered traditions are now part of a multi-billion-dollar global industry, endorsed by celebrities and everyday people alike. In fact, statistics show that at least 1 out of 6 Americans today performs some kind of regular yoga routine. Indeed, the image of the proverbial yoga practitioner has been so influential on American public life, that at least two popular cultural icons from the past century, a baseball player and a cartoon character, have borne the first name Yogi. This course examines the evolution of yogic systems across three key historical periods?the classical, colonial, and contemporary?and offers students new perspectives on how activities that originated or stemmed from religious practice have acquired new meanings and objectives. Our approach will allow us to investigate both the continuities and disruptions within yogic philosophies from ancient times to the present. It will also allow us to assess how yoga-related concepts intersect in present times with notions of spiritual liberation, health and wellness, capitalist success, and racial justice. (ASIAN-RL)