Teaching Contemporary Yoga: Physical Philosophy and Critical Issues

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Preface: Notes on the Problem of Translation
	Notes
	References
Acknowledgements
	Notes
Introduction
	Critical Acceptance
	The Content of the Book
		Chapter One: The Physical Philosophy of Yoga: Asana and Vinyasa
		Chapter Two: Teaching Yoga: Methodology, Meaning, and Ritual
		Chapter Three: Teaching Somatic Practices of Yoga: Theory, Method, Technique, and Form
		Chapter Four: The Business of Yoga: To Teach Or Not to Teach
		Chapter Five: The Effective Yoga Teacher: Finding Your Voice
		Chapter Six: Critical Social Issues for Yoga Teachers: Borders and Boundaries
		Chapter Seven: The Future of Practice
		Appendices: Reflection and Experimentation
	Critical Issues
	Embedded and Embodied
	Notes
	References
Chapter One The Physical Philosophy of Yoga: Asana and Vinyasa
	Aesthetic Philosophy
	Yoga and Religion
	Early Non-Theistic Explanations of the Foundations of Reality
	Material Reality as Illusion
	A Philosophy for Vinyasa
		Sensory Control
		Focused Concentration
		The Between Space
	Mind and Aesthetic Philosophy
		The Mind and Aesthetic Experience
		Yoga and Action
		Categorisation and the “Spotlight” of Our Attention
		The “Self”
		Maya: Illusion Or Creativity?
	Vinyasa as an Aesthetic Philosophy
	Notes
	References
Chapter Two Teaching Yoga: Methodology, Meaning, and Ritual
	Methods for Modern Yoga: The Potential in Ritual
	Yoga: Ritual of Transformation
		The Characteristics of Ritual Action
			Behaviours/Actions Change Their Function
			The Ritualized Movement Becomes Independent of Its Original Motivation and Develops Its Own Motivating Mechanisms
			Movements Are Exaggerated and Rhythmic
			Movements Frequently Freeze Into Postures
			Thresholds for Expressing the Behaviour Are Lowered
			Several Movements Are Compressed Into Stereotyped, Simpler Movements
			Behaviour as Signal Becomes Unambiguous
			The Spatial Orientation of the Behaviour Changes From Its Ordinary Occurrence
	The Ritual Progression of Practice
		The Stage of Separation
		The Stage of Transition
		The Stage of Incorporation
	The Functions of Ritual
		Ritual Enactment as Method
		Yoga as Initiation
		Yoga as Sacrifice
		Sacrifice Recycles Energetic Potential
	The Studio Is a Stage
	Notes
	References
Chapter Three Teaching Somatic Practices of Yoga: Theory, Method, Technique, and Form
	Tools for Teaching
	Embodiment and Somatic Practice
		The Phenomenology of Spirituality
		Embodied States: Kinesthesia, Rehabituation, and Flow
		Hyperfocus
		Neuroscience and Altered States
		Grace
		Surrender and Control
		Time
		The Intimacy of Breath
		Teaching Breathing in Somatic Practice
	Body Basics: Kinesiology and the Kinetic Chain
		Stability and Flexibility
		The Law of Rotation and Side Bending in the Spine
	Assisting, Adjusting, and Sequencing
		Assisting and Adjusting
		Sequencing
		Theory, Method, Technique, and Form
	Advancing Students in Practice
		Testing
	Notes
	References
Chapter Four The Business of Yoga: To Teach Or Not to Teach
	The Booming Field of Yoga Education
	Yoga as Popular Culture
		The Ideal of “Community”
	The Business Model of Yoga: Its Impact On Teaching
		The Teacher Training Industry
		Why Teach?
		“Anyone Can Do Yoga!”
		Everyone Is a Teacher
		All You Need Is Love
	Sustaining a Teaching Vocation
		Why Do People Stop Teaching?
	How Do Teachers, Practitioners, and Students Differ?
		The Experience of Teaching
		Skills and Self-Development
		The Strategies for Sequencing
	Investing in Students
	Understanding Community
	Challenges of Community and Commodification
	Notes
	References
Chapter Five The Effective Yoga Teacher: Finding Your Voice
	Your Teaching Voice
	The Personal and Public
	Self-Study and Personal Practice
		Messaging: The Teacher and the Community
	Building a Clientele
		Who Do You Want to Teach?
		Cultivating and Keeping a Clientele
	Tools in the Teaching Toolbox
	Teaching and Etiquette: The Rules of the Studio
	Using Language Creatively
		The Use of Metaphors
		Metaphor, Descriptive Language, and Naming
		Tone, Volume, and Contours of Speech
	Themes
	Notes
	References
Chapter Six Critical Social Issues for Yoga Teachers: Borders and Boundaries
	The Roles of Teacher and Student
		The Individual and the Group
	The Play of Status: Dominance and Submission
		Self-Assurance and Self-Confidence
		Masks and Trance
		Status Displays and Power
	Territory and Personal Space
		Territory: The Authority of the Mat
		Personal Space
		Leading in the Dance of Status
		The Student: Following the Lead
		Membership in the Tribe
	Vinyasa and Asana as Metaphor
	The Meaning and Importance of Touch
	Somatic Dominance
	Borders and Boundaries
	Notes
	References
Chapter Seven The Future of Practice
	Looking to the Past Or Looking Forward
		Physical Skill and the Value of Experience
	Teaching Yoga in the Future
		Courses and Classes
	The Impact of Technology
	Yoga as Art
		Confining Yoga in the Virtuous
		Yoga Photography
		Yoga Music
	Online Teaching
	Legacy: Artefacts and Monuments
		The Monumental
	Conclusions
		Philosophy Or Religion
		Preconception Versus Objectivity
		Magical/Scientific Thinking
		Ethnocentrism and Modernism
		In and Out
	Notes
	References
Index