Looking back on what we’ve learned…
Whether we’re covered in ashes and sitting by the Ganges, or dressed in a leotard and sitting in the back room at a fitness center, the ultimate challenge is the same; to come into direct, unflinching contact with our own unruly and ever-changing minds, our fragile and impermanent bodies.
— Anne Cushman, “The New Yoga”
In this class we will look back and reflect on what we have learned.
Required Assignments:
Read “The New Yoga” by Anne Cushman: A writer and teacher of yoga and meditation reflects on the relationship between contemporary western yoga and the Indian philosophical and spiritual traditions.
Read “The War Over Yoga”: a collection of viewpoints on whether the contemporary practice of yoga has been divorced from its origins and essential teachings.
Contemplate the following questions. Please jot down a few notes and come to class ready to share your contemplation: How have the definitions of yoga that we have explored in this class changed your understanding of what yoga is? Do yoga teachers have a responsibility to learn about the historical roots of their tradition? If so, how should they incorporate this into their teaching? Most important of all, what would you like to explore further?
Thou Art That 