Antonopoulos, Spiros. "Ashtanga Yogi, R. Sharath and His Views on Western Yoga."
Find the Eastern Roots of Yoga in the West. Gaiam Life, 2014. Web. 20 Mar.
2015.
Antonopoulos interviews R. Sharath, the Assistant Director of the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India about his take on western practices and how yoga is straying from its spiritual fundamentals. I chose this source because, similar to what Brian Tobin said, yoga means something different for every yogi and the only way to get even the most basic understanding of what it means is to talk to yogis firsthand. Sharath talks about how, in order to understand the real meaning of yoga, one must understand themself first, and the only way to do that is to find an authentic
…show more content…
Birch analyzes and interprets ancient texts and discusses practices within Eastern religions. I focused primarily on the interpretation of Haṭhayoga in Western culture and how it differs from the practices of the East.
Connolly, Peter. A Student's Guide to the History and Philosophy of Yoga. London:
Equinox, 2007. Print.
Peter Connolly’s book is an overview of the history and traditions involved with yoga. It discusses how the practice has evolved throughout time into what it has become today and well as the basis on which it was intended for. It goes beyond discussing the physical practices and explores the spiritual dimensions as well. The book also briefly touches upon the different types of yoga (Hatha included) and where/what they derived from. From this source, I hope to develop and expand upon my previous knowledge of the practice, where it came from, what it has evolved into, and what its practices entail.
DeMarco, Laura, and Dealer R. Plain. "The Yoga Evolution Old Practice Leads to Big
Business with New Twists." The Plain Dealer: D1. Aug 02 2004.
…show more content…
He talks about the significant increase in the number of yoga “practitioners” in the United States over the past few years and how; as DeMarco put perfectly, yoga followers, “try to fit the spiritually inclined practice into a capitalist society.” Western society is transforming yoga into a solely physical practice, disregarding its fundamental origins and intentions. Commercialized yoga has become a major trend and will continue to spread across the United States.
Diamond, Debra. Yoga | The Art of Transformation. San Francisco: Freer Gallery of
Art, 2013. Print.
This book covers the visual history of yoga throughout time. It discusses yoga within different religions and its goals of transforming the mind, body and spirit. This book breaks down the forms of yoga and how they have transformed over time into what they are today. It looks back thousands of years into the intentions and practices of yogis throughout history.
Jørun Langøien, Lars. "Yoga, Change and Embodied Enlightenment." Approaching
Religion 2.2 (2012): 27-37. EBSCOhost. Web. 20 Mar.