Yoga - Philosophy for Everyone

Liz Stillwaggon Swan has a PhD in philosophy and is a certified yoga instructor. Her niche in the world is helping people exercise their brains and their bodies. Her recent publications in the emerging field of biosemiotics explore how we use our brains and bodies to make sense of the world. She is also a new mother and delights in watching her son practice happy baby pose. Series Editor: Fritz Allhoff is an associate professor in the philosophy department at Western Michigan University, as well as a senior research fellow at the Australian National University's Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. In addition to editing the Philosophy for Everyone series, he is also the volume editor or co-editor for several titles, including Wine & Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007), Whiskey & Philosophy (with Marcus P. Adams, Wiley, 2009), and Food & Philosophy (with Dave Monroe, Wiley-Blackwell, 2007).  His academic research interests engage various facets of applied ethics, ethical theory, and the history and philosophy of science.

Foreword ix
John Friend Editor’s Introduction xiv
Liz Stillwaggon Swan

Acknowledgments xxvi

PART 1 COMING INTO THE SPACE: WHAT IS YOGA? 1

1 How Yoga Won the West 3
Jennifer Munyer

2 Will I Find My Guru in India? 15
Kieran McManus

3 The Seeker: How Yoga is Meeting Changing Western Spiritual Needs 24
David Robles

4 Men, Sports, and Yoga 36
Barbara Purcell and Andrew Shaffer

5 Standing on Your Head, Seeing Things Right Side Up 47
Steve Jacobson

PART 2 THE ASANAS: YOGA AND THE BODY 59

6 Help! My Philosophy Teacher Made Me Touch My Toes! 61
Ken Burak

7 Man a Machine, Man a Yogi: Why Yoga’s Critics will Come Around 73
J. Neil Otte

8 Yoga for Women? The Problem of Beautiful Bodies 84
Luna Dolezal

9 The Feeling of Beauty: A Yoga Project 94
Nicole Dunas

10 Picturing Yoga: Yoga Journal and the Perfect Form 106
Debra Merskin

PART 3 PRANA: YOGA’S VITAL ENERGY 117

11 My Guidance Counselor Always Said I’d be a Great Yoga Student 119
Eric Swan

12 Balance in Yoga and Aristotle 129
Leigh Duffy

13 Healing the Western Mind through Yoga 139
Abby Thompson

14 The Path to Happiness Begins with a Journey Inside 149
Jim Berti

PART 4 YAMAS AND NIYAMAS: ETHICS AND YOGA 159

15 Get Out of My Way! I’m Late for Yoga! 161
Jeff Logan

16 Yoga Off the Mat 166
Julinna Oxley

17 Becoming-Frog: Yoga as Environmentalism 178
Megan M. Burke

18 Yoga and Ethics: The Importance of Practice 187
Paul Ulhas MacNeill

19 Why are You Standing on my Yoga Mat?! 200
Heather Salazar

Notes on Contributors 212 ?