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YOGA?
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi leads the International Day of
Yoga on the capital mall New Delhi June 21, 2015 Straits Times Singapore
REL
300.3 F15
MW 3:45PM - 5:05PM
TOLLEY102
Joanne Punzo Waghorne, Professor of Religion (B.A. Religion, Wilson College,
MA/Ph.D. History of Religions, South Asian Studies, Divinity School University of
Chicago)
Current interests: Rise of spiritual movements in contemporary Asia; globalization
and urbanization, contemporary theory in the study of religion, contemporary
Hinduism.
Office hours: HL 521 (In the central staircase) Mondays 11:00 to 12:30 or by
appointment
Email: jpwaghor@syr.edu (I check my email frequently. This is the best and
quickest way to contact me. Please do not leave message on my office phone.
Teaching Associate:
Mallory Hennigar, Teaching Associate, (B.A. McGill University, Religious Studies and
English Literature, 2012; M.A., Syracuse University, 2014)
Interests: religion in North India; caste in modern India; spatial theory.
Email: mahennig@syr.edu
Office hours: TBD in HL 514 or by appointment through email
Description:
What is yoga? Often those in yogic practices declare that yoga is not associated with
“religion” but rather either “spiritual” or totally “secular.” This course will consider
contemporary yoga now, in the context of its origins in India paying close attention to the
ways the human body and the larger cosmos are intertwined. The practice of yoga always
concerned the re-formation of both mind and body—and included a broad understanding of
health-- but in what sense? Here the newer work in cognitive studies, contemplative studies (sometimes called
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Mindfulness or Wisdom research) will be important.
Issues:
1. Who “owns” Yoga? / What are the origins of modern yoga?
Although yoga appears everywhere now in almost every form, questions linger over its origins. Is the yoga practiced
and understood today a direct descendent of ancient Indian yoga? Recently the American Hindu Foundation
launched a Take Back Yoga movement, which attracted the attention of the New York Times. On June 21, 2015,
Prime Minister Modi firmly claimed yoga as Indian by leading a carefully organized worldwide demonstrations
including leading a yoga session on the lawn of the capital buildings in Delhi.
The question of “ownership” moves yoga into economics, religious identity, and politics but also historical
research.
2. Does modern yoga have antecedents in other parts of Asia or even with Europe?
Recently the Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian mounted an amazing art
collection depicting or related to yoga, YOGA: THE ART OF
TRANSFORMATION, October 19, 2013–January 26, 2014. The website
affirms the early complexity and diversity of yoga.
And several new books argue that yoga, as we know it, also has roots in 19 th
century Europe and America health and fitness movements. And today I have
seen Yin Yoga, which combines Chinese and
Indian Practices
3. How do we “study” yoga? — A Difficult
Balance
Recently a movement with many facets has
emerged Contemplative Pedagogy or
Mindfulness. Interestingly most of the
excitement seems to be located in psychology, especially clinical and counseling,
in education, and medical schools, with much less input and enthusiasm from
religious studies departments.
Today many yoga instructors and popular gurus, argue that yoga is
rooted in experience not in rational learning, yet yoga has a long history within
religious texts including the famous Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali, which outlines
practices but also interprets meaning of yoga.
The painting here depicts the great Mughal
Emperor Jahangir, a Muslim, conferring
with a famous yogi (ca1620) which is the
same time that Boston was settled
Required Books
Patañjali. (ca100 BCE to 100 CE). The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali: A New Edition,
Translation, and Commentary by Edwin F. Bryant. New York: North
Point Press, 2009
Singleton, Mark. 2010. Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture. New York:
Oxford University Press
Both books have a Kindle Edition, which is less expensive but purchase
the paper—so you will have this in class or alternately bring good notes.
Mircea Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. Trans. Willard R. Trask. Princeton University Press; With a New
introduction by David Gordon White edition (July 26, 2009) ISBN-13: 978-0691142036 paper. Origin
version in French Le yoga: immortalité et liberté. Paris, Payot, 1954. (From his dissertation in the
1930s)
Paramahansa Yogananda Autobiography of a Yogi. Self-Realization Fellowship; 13th edition (2000)
Plus readings on Blackboard
Course Policies
Please Read Carefully now!
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Attendance is required at all class sessions. I can allow only 2 unexcused
absences total. Please plan your schedule to allow for religious holidays within this
allowance. Because this is a MW class, those on sports teams should not be affected.
However if you take any class days for sports events (with proper documentation),
then I can allow NO unexcused absences in addition to your sports commitments.
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An excused absence means that you have emailed both the TA and myself
and received approval for absences in advance due to special circumstances. Please
if you speak to me in class--confirm any conversation with an email. In case of
illness, you must talk to afterwards. The policy of the Health services is to provide a
note only when the student has been advised to miss classes.
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Common Courtesy: (I should not have to mention these points but sad
experience makes this necessary.) The class begins at 3:45 . Please be on time;
walking in late shows little respect for your fellow student or for me. If you have a
tight connection between classes let us know and we can seat you accordingly. All
cell phones, tablets are to be turned entirely off including text messaging and all
I-pods shut down. I have also decided to exclude computers from the class-- new
research has shown that taking notes in class by using paper and pen or pencil
is the most effective way of learning! AND contemplative studies seem at odd
with a constant barrage of digital chatter.
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Academic Integrity: I expect the work you present to be totally your own
with all sources, which you have used, fully acknowledged. I will provide full
instructions as to citation and form. Both the TA and I are willing to help you if you
have any doubts. If we find any evidence of academic dishonesty of any kind, I will
report the incident to the Academic Integrity Office. The sanctions will include
lowered your grade, or result in failure for the entire course depended on the severity. Please check
http://academicintegrity.syr.edu for more information.
Disability Policy: Any students that need accommodation because of disability should discuss it with the
professor during office hours or by appointment and be prepared to provide documentation to the Office of
Disability Services (ext. 4498 or 1371)
Paper Deadlines: There are no extensions on papers.
Requirements:
1. Not simply attendance, but also active reading, listening, and participation in class. This is important as the class
is evolving and we are building a syllabus and a new course together.
2. Because of the materials, requirements will be papers/projects rather than exams. I will occasionally give a short
quiz on the reading. The major requirements are 4 short papers during the term,and a field research project at the end
with an oral presentation in groups and individual final papers.
3. On the fieldwork projects: The final project will ask you to work in groups on a contemporary yoga movements in
Syracuse or if you have accesses—in any city.
4 papers @10 points each
Classroom participation and work
Including quizzes
Oral presentation of research project
Final paper
40 points
30 points
10 points
20 points
Topics
 Who “owns” yoga?
 What is the history of yoga within the
ancient Hindu tradition?
o What is the difference between mediation and postural yoga?
 What happened to Yogis at the time Europeans encountered India in the 17th century?
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 What elements of European and American heath/fitness movements refined and reconstructed yoga?
 What are Contemplative studies, Wisdom
research, and Mindfulness studies and how do
these relate to how we “study” yoga?
 How has experimental science changed the
public perceptions of yoga?
 What is the current state of such research?
 History of the introduction of yoga into
America
 Contemporary yoga movements, global and
local
International Day of Yoga ION Station Shopping
Center Singapore
SCHEDULE :
Week 01. Aug 31 -Sept 2: Considering the
International Day of Yoga—what was this and
what did such an event mean for yoga?
Week 02. Sept 7(holiday), Sept 9:
Controversies over the origins of yoga
Reading:
Wendy Doniger, “Assume the Position: The Fight over Yoga” in On Hinduism (pp116-125). New York:
Oxford University Press, 2014 (ON BLACKBOARD)
Mark Singleton, Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Yoga. New York: Oxford, 2010. Introduction
and Brief Overview, pp. 1-33. Course book.
Edwin Bryant, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. New York: North Point Press, 2009.
“The History of Yoga” pp. xvii-xliii Course book
PART ONE: THE HISTORY OF YOGA IN INDIA-THREE VERSIONS
Week 03. Sept. 14-16 Taking Eliade’s Yoga: Immortality and Freedom as a history of yoga within ancient Hindu
practices
Reading: Mircea Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom Origin version in French Le yoga; immortalité et
liberté. Paris, Payot, 1954. (From his dissertation in the 1930s) Read: SLOWLY Forward, Chapter 1,
“Doctrines of Yoga”; then skim Chapter 3 “Yoga and Brāhmanism”
Week 04. Sept. 21-23: Eliade introduces and interprets the TECHNIQUES
Reading: SLOWLY Chapter 2, Techniques for Autonomy”
Paper 1 due FRIDAY OCTOBER 2 AT MIDNIGHT on Blackboard -- REQUIRED OF EVERYONE.
Week 05. Sept. 28-30: READING PATAÑJALI
From The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali
Bryant ,“The Subject Matter of the Yoga Sūtra” pp. xlv-lviii
*Warning this is short but not sweet I recommend taking it with an aspirin.
Note that Edwin Bryant does not simply translate the text but provide a sometimes long commentary on
each verse—here he is following the traditional way a scripture is read in India—slowly verse-by-verse
with the master-here our scholar-explaining the importance and meaning of the text. Bryant summarizes
older commentaries and provides his own.
THEN READ VERY SLOWLY PAGES 3-21 TO GET THE FEEL OF THE WORK. WE WILL DO MORE
IN CLASS.
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PART TWO: GETTING TO THE CASES—LOOKING AN EXAMPLE OF CONTEMPORARY “YOGA”
MOVEMENTS
Week 06. Oct 5, Oct. 7: Origins of modern yoga in the 19th century
Reading is from Mark Singleton, who has encounter sharp criticism for his
presentation of yoga and yogis in the 18th and early 19th centuries as a kind of
circus act.—His argument is more complicated.
Reading: Singleton, Yoga Body, chapter 2, “Fakirs, Yogins,
Europeans, ”Chapter 3 “Popular Portrayals of the Yogin , and Chapter 6,
“Yoga as Physical Culture I: Strength and Vigor.
Week 07. Oct 12-14: Introduction of Yoga into America—some history and
context
Readings:
Stefanie Syman, The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America, New York:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010 (Syman is a professional writer, not an
academic—very readable) 3-79
Lola Williamson, Transcendent in America: Hindu-Inspired Meditation
Movements as New Religion, New York: New York University Press, 2010 325
The questions for this week:
How did yoga come to America?
What cultural and religious sensibilities were already here?
Generally what forces worked on yoga as it transformed from its Indian roots to new
American context?
So our questions are historical but also conceptual—what are the best ways to describe the process
of what Williamson names “Acculturation”. Notice that we already have touched on these issues
with Yogananda and Iyengar—but now is the time to generalize---see if there is a pattern.
Monday: Syman 3-36
Wednesday: Syman 36-79, Williamson 3-25.
Week 08. Oct 19-21: Paramahansa Yogananda, The Autobiography of a Yogi, and the Self-Realization Fellowship
Reading: First read Lola Williamson, Transcendent in America: Hindu –Inspired Mediation Movements as
New Religion. New York: New York University Press, 2010 “Self-Realization Fellowship” pp. 55-79 on
BLACKBOARD
Then Paramahansa Yogananda Autobiography of a Yogi
LOOK at the entire book and concentrate on the checked chapters:
1 My Parents and Early
2 Life Mother’s Death and the Amulet Paramhansa Yogananda
12 Years in my Master’s Hermitage
23 My University Degree
26 The Science of Kriya Yoga
27 Founding of a Yoga School at Ranchi Paramhansa Yogananda
33 Babaji, the Yogi-Christ of Modern India
36 Babaji’s Interest in the West
37 I Go to America
38 Luther Burbank — An American Saint
40 I Return to India
44 With Mahatma Gandhi at Wardha
47 I Return to the West Yogananda (2013-05-20). Autobiography of a Yogi . . Kindle Edition.
49 At Encinitas in California
.
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Plus videos in class
Marc Benioff on the Invisible Hand of Steve Jobs | Disrupt SF 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rO_Vs4M29k
(1a) My 1947 encounter with Paramahansa Yogananda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCDQFgPuDlc
Week 09. Oct 26-28
Oct 26—more of the Autobiography of a Yogi
Oct 28 Yogananda and Education
Paper 2 due Friday October 28 on Blackboard at Midnight
PART THREE: ENTER SCIENCE AND MINDFULNESS, CONTEMPLATIVE STUDIES AND WISDOM
RESEARCH
Week 10 Nov 2-4: Considering Mindfulness pedagogy (teaching techniques) as a part of “Yoga”
This course will be listed in the new Minor in Mindfulness and Contemplative Sciences in the David B.
Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. As part of the emerging Contemplative Practices and Studies
Center at SU, an evaluation of teaching practices has become important. I think this is all part of a general
trend toward a “yoga culture” in the US—i.e. a willingness to take this all seriously in some way, now as
part of the university system.
Reading: David P. Barbezat and Mirabai Bush, Contemplative Practices in Higher Education (2014)
Monday: Chapter 1 and 2—1-38
Weds: 89-109 which are actually suggested practicesIn all of this reading consider in what ways yoga figures in this Mindfulness movement and HOW?
Paper 3 due Friday Nov 13 at 11:59 on mindfulness
Week 11. Nov.9, 11: Yoga and Science—very contemporary studies
The readings for this week are both simple and dense. The first is a New York Times best seller:
William J. Broad, The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards (2012)
Prologue 1-11
Chapter III, Modes
THEN : much denser – read with aspirin: Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spiritualty edited by
Lisa J. Miller (2014)
Introduction (1-4), Chapter 1- and 2 (7-35)
Reading are on Blackboard
Paper 4 due FRIDAY Nov 20th at 11:59 on Yoga and science —note this is just before Thanksgiving break—I
recommend doing this earlier
Week 12. Nov 16, 18: Field Research week: YOGA IN CENTRAL NEW YORK
THANKSGIVING WEEK Nov 23-25
Week 14: Nov 30, Dec 2
Week 15: Dec 7- Dec 9
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FINAL PAPER: due Wednesday Dec 16 at midnight