Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6446-343X
Date of Award
12-14-2022
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Communication
First Advisor
Timothy Barouch
Second Advisor
Carrie Freeman
Third Advisor
Carol Winkler
Abstract
Modern yoga is a multibillion-dollar economy that penetrated many fields, from fitness to healthcare. Yoga’s popularity shows its relevance and adaptability. However, scholars found that modern yoga is synonymous with postural yoga. In this thesis, I establish that yoga’s identity is rooted in the Eight Limbs of the iconic Yoga Sutras of Patanjali ––postures being one of the limbs constituting yoga’s identifiers. Then, I link the yogic postural shift to the truncation of yoga’s identifiers in teacher training curricula. I argue that modern yoga schools focus more on postures and downplay the other limbs, especially the first two – ethical restraints and moral observances – cornerstones of all limbs per the Indian luminaries who brought yoga to the US. My cluster analysis of Yoga Alliance’s curriculum shows significant obliteration of the limbs in comparison to traditional teachings leading me to offer a prescriptive counter curriculum and practical recommendations to preserve yoga’s identity.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/32621768
Recommended Citation
Nasr, Octavia, "The Identity of Yoga: Contemporary Vs. Traditional Yogic Discourse." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2022.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/32621768
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