Theodora Wildcroft – författare

In 2004 there were estimated to be 2.5 million yoga practitioners in Britain alone, and numbers are still rising today. Previous published research has considered the history and science of yoga, but rarely the ways in which it has been shared. This book aims to change that. From the very advent of group classes, yoga teachers have dictated the movement, and experience, of their students. But threaded through yoga's history is a more democratic, more individualised way of sharing practice with others. With the recent #MeTooinYoga movement, and the growing popularity of accessible yoga, yoga teachers are increasingly turning to this hidden history for answers. In a diverse profession strongly resistant to official regulation, it is vital for scholars and policy makers alike to understand the risks and rewards of this development. This book presents a ground-breaking model for scholars to understand the contemporary teaching and practice of yoga. As more and more people enjoy the practice, this book asks: in communities based more on peer-networks than hierarchal leadership structures, how are the highest ethical standards negotiated? How does practice relate to life off the mat? What does best practice look like, in 'postlineage' yoga?

In 2004 there were estimated to be 2.5 million yoga practitioners in Britain alone, and numbers are still rising today. Previous published research has considered the history and science of yoga, but rarely the ways in which it has been shared. This book aims to change that. From the very advent of group classes, yoga teachers have dictated the movement, and experience, of their students. But threaded through yoga's history is a more democratic, more individualised way of sharing practice with others. With the recent #MeTooinYoga movement, and the growing popularity of accessible yoga, yoga teachers are increasingly turning to this hidden history for answers. In a diverse profession strongly resistant to official regulation, it is vital for scholars and policy makers alike to understand the risks and rewards of this development. This book presents a ground-breaking model for scholars to understand the contemporary teaching and practice of yoga. As more and more people enjoy the practice, this book asks: in communities based more on peer-networks than hierarchal leadership structures, how are the highest ethical standards negotiated? How does practice relate to life off the mat? What does best practice look like, in 'postlineage' yoga?

Yoga Studies in Five Minutes provides an accessible guide to the diverse and growing field of research into yoga as a social, historical and cultural phenomenon. Both leading scholars and innovative researchers offer 60 brief responses to questions that offer insights into the study of yoga, such as: Who was the first teacher of yoga? Is yoga Indian? What is paramparā? Are there holy texts in yoga? What are the goals of yoga? Why do yogis hold their breath?  The collection covers ancient history, modern developments, and contemporary issues, considers the diverse practices and philosophies of yoga in a range of contexts, and uses a range of approaches, from philology to anthropology to art history. The collection is useful for established scholars looking to broaden their understanding of this rapidly developing field, as well as for those new to the subject. The book is an ideal starting point for both independent study and the classroom.

Yoga Studies in Five Minutes provides an accessible guide to the diverse and growing field of research into yoga as a social, historical and cultural phenomenon. Both leading scholars and innovative researchers offer 60 brief responses to questions that offer insights into the study of yoga, such as: Who was the first teacher of yoga? Is yoga Indian? What is paramparā? Are there holy texts in yoga? What are the goals of yoga? Why do yogis hold their breath?  The collection covers ancient history, modern developments, and contemporary issues, considers the diverse practices and philosophies of yoga in a range of contexts, and uses a range of approaches, from philology to anthropology to art history. The collection is useful for established scholars looking to broaden their understanding of this rapidly developing field, as well as for those new to the subject. The book is an ideal starting point for both independent study and the classroom.

Human conceptions of identity are of central concern to both religious philosophies and the academic disciplines associated with them. Yet much of this debate is strangely abstract and disincarnate. We label ourselves with our attributes, metrics and qualifications; with our age, gender, profession, likes and dislikes. We do not describe ourselves by the way it feels to be a body – to be this body in particular, in this moment.This volume will revisit some of the historical assumptions of both theological and academic discourse, and compare personhood as it is constituted in more than Western religious cultures, and more than modern discourses. It will concern itself with other-than human selves, fragmented and collective selves, evolving and emerging selves, illusory, mendacious and ideal selves, and of course, profane and divine selves. Throughout, this volume will focus on the self in, and as a function of, its relationship with others. Such intimate concerns will naturally trouble the boundaries between emic and etic perspectives, approaching the old question of positionality in the study of religion in new ways.The Introduction provides an entry point to the field. Key texts are identified from a diverse range of prior scholarship, to help the reader understand the established lines of enquiry from anthropology and religious studies, but also movement and dance studies, South and East Asian studies, biosemiotics, theology, philosophy and history. It emphasises the complexity not only of religiously-generated and generating senses of the self, but also of the concepts of “religion” and “culture,” “self” and “other”. It also highlight the diversity of approaches and methods that might be applied in studying the sense of self in religious contexts. The chapters cover the experiences of being (the somatic experiences at the heart of everyday and extraordinary living), processes of gaining and refining a sense of self as an identity, the practices of personhood (religious practices and their effects on the sense of self), and radical theologies (stories of identity, marginalisation and reclamation in religious communities). An afterword highlights the contribution of the volume to current debates in the study of religion and the sense of self, and to the disciplines from which these two lines of study emerge.