IS THE BODY THE TEMPLE OF THE SOUL? MODERN YOGA PRACTICE AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENON KONECKI K.T. Księgarnia

Is the Body the Temple of the Soul?

Modern Yoga Practice as a Psychological Phenomenon

Hatha-yoga in Western culture is often perceived as the practice of physical exercises (practice of the asana position), usually done to improve one’s health and emotional state. Even if that is the case, it is still based on the rule of “the silencing of the modifications of the mind.” It is about a containment of mind dispersion in terms of non-important, minute, everyday issues, which are not important for the basis of our existence, balance and inner harmony, the unity of body and mind. Even if we train only for our health and for improvement of our physical fitness, then the end result, in the case of many physical and sports activities, is stopping mind movement. The full concentration on one action, on one point in space, might not have any metaphysical meaning for us, but it still remains full concentration. This can be achieved by patiently practicing hatha-yoga.

Foreword (Michał Szczepanik)
Introduction

Chapter 1. Philosophy and hatha-yoga practice. Para-religious aspects of hatha-yoga
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Yoga – the perspectives of religious studies scholar and the perspective of yoga practitioner
1.3. Yoga and society – “religion of everyday life”
1.4. Conclusions

Chapter 2. The social world of yoga practice
2.1. What is the social world?
2.2. Hatha-yoga practitioners and their social world – arenas and legitimization
2.3. The intersection of the worlds
2.3.1. Intersection of the world of yoga practice and the world of climbing
2.3.2. Intersection of the world of conventional medicine and alternative medicine
2.3.3. Intersection of the world of business corporations and the world of yoga practice
2.3.4. Intersection of the world of yoga and pop-culture
2.4. A disagreement about hatha-yoga origin. The vision of Marc Singleton
2.5. Conclusions

Chapter 3. Commonsense definitions of yoga and its meaning for practitioners
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Individual interpretations of hatha-yoga
3.3. Conclusions

Chapter 4. The process of becoming a hatha-yoga practitioner
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Introductory phase – construction of motives and first steps
4.2.1. Constructing motives
4.2.2. First steps – beginning of the practice
4.2.3. Noticing the effects
4.3. The phase of fuller recognition of psychophysical effects, and ascribing appropriate meanings to them
4.4. Phase of fuller recognition of the spiritual (para-religious) aspects of hatha-yoga
4.5. Conclusions

Chapter 5. Visual transmission of knowledge and the meaning of corporality and gestures in the social world of yoga practice
5.1. Introduction
5.2. The method of studying corporality with the usage of visual techniques
5.3. What do I see and feel when I practice? Analysis of the interviews data
5.3.1. What do I see when somebody else practices? The analysis of films from the Internet used for interviews
5.3.2. What do I feel when I practice? Analysis of the movie-elicited interviews
5.3.3. Non-passable knowledge. Difficulties with verbal interpretations and description of asanas
5.3.4. Body empathy based on visualization
5.4. The role of the teacher and the correctness of asana performance
5.5. Conclusions

Chapter 6. Emotions and yoga practicing. Working on emotions and achieving “emotional culture” without emotions
6.1. Introduction
6.2. Working on emotions – explanations based on practitioners’ statements
6.3. Conclusions

Chapter 7. Teacher and guru in hatha-yoga practice
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Teacher-student interactions
7.3. Conclusions

Conclusions
Bibliography

226 pages, Paperback

Po otrzymaniu zamówienia poinformujemy,
czy wybrany tytuł polskojęzyczny lub anglojęzyczny jest aktualnie na półce księgarni.