Yoga: Origin, Evolution, and the Self, directed by Janel Schullo
Evolving your Integration of Self
25 Hours – Institute of Inner Source
INSPIRE SELF INQUIRY AND CONNECTION
2016/17 Dates: TBC
Cost: $450 + tax
Yoga originated in Asia, but today has become a world-wide phenomenon. In the US alone, the number of Americans who self-identify as yoga practitioners has risen to 20.4 million, a 30% rise in the last four years. With interest in the health benefits of yoga booming, questions arise: Is yoga a merely physical practice for increased flexibility, stress relief, and fitness? Where did it come from? Is yoga a religion? An esoteric path of spiritual self-realization? Accurate information about modern yoga and about yoga’s philosophical origins can be difficult to access.
This program aims to introduce current research into the often blurry intersection of modern postural and classical yoga, introducing some of the leading scholars in these fields. During our week together we will unearth some surprising historical, religious and cultural influences that have shaped yoga in its present day forms. Together, we will gain a better understanding of yoga’s origins and evolution with particular attention to the catalysts that have provoked change over the years. We will study the early practices of the renunciate yogis, the impact of British colonialism, the spread of yoga outside the east, and finally the modern adaptations that continue to re-define yoga today. Having identified some of the threads of classical yoga philosophy, modern posture practice, and how others have defined yoga through the centuries, we will examine our own philosophical and spiritual beliefs, answering the questions:
How do I make meaning of yoga within the bigger context of my life?
How is my yoga experience influenced by my beliefs and culture?
How do I assist others in integrating or reconciling yoga with their personal beliefs and cultural landscapes?
In this training for yoga teachers and practitioners Horace and Janel will cultivate a climate of inquiry with self, with one another, and with the origin and evolution of yoga today. Join us in this ever-evolving landscape and find your place in the evolution of yoga.
Bibliography:
Alter, Joseph S. Yoga in Modern India: The Body Between Science and Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004.
De Michelis, Elizabeth. A History of Modern Yoga: Patanjali and Western Esotericism. London and New York: Continuum, 2004.
Morley, J. “Inspiration and expiration: Yoga practice through Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of the Body” Religion East & West, Vol. 51, 1. 2001.
Singleton, Mark. Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Strauss, Sarah. Positioning Yoga: Balancing Acts Across Cultures. New York: Berg Publishing, 2005.
Smith, Benjamin Richard. “Body, Mind and Spirit? Towards an Analysis of the Practice of Yoga.” Body & Society, Vol. 13, 2. 2007.
Taylor, Charles. Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989.
White, David Gordon. Reading the Yoga Sutra in the Twenty-First Century: Modern Challenges, Ancient Strategies. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014.
What people are saying:
“This program was life changing. Horace and Janel are wonderful teachers and inspiring people.” – Elizabeth
“My life and sense of self and the world around me will never be the same.” – Angie
INSTITUTE OF INNER SOURCE 