ASIAN 235L: Yoga in History, Philosophy, & Practice

This course examines the history, philosophies, and practices of Yoga in their religious and cultural contexts. In the modern west, Yoga has become popular as a secular form of exercise. However, the diverse Yoga traditions of India have also involved sophisticated analyses of the mind and systems of mediation. Intrinsic to no single religion, Yoga has had roles in most South Asian traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sufism or Islamic mysticism. The course surveys this rich history and the history of the various forms of meditative and physical discipline Yoga has entailed.