LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS; INTRODUCTION; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX
Mark Singleton is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of the Languages and Cultures of South Asia, SOAS, University of London. He is the editor, with Jean Byrne, of Yoga in the Modern World: Contemporary Perspectives. He lives in London.
"Singleton's radical, meticulously documented, sensitive analysis
makes perfectly clear that what has come to be regarded as a
veritable icon of Indic Civilization -- postural yoga -- is, in
fact, unambiguously the hybrid product of colonial and
post-colonial globalization." --Prof. Joseph S. Alter, University
of Pittsburgh. Author of Yoga in Modern India: The Body Between
Science and Philosophy
"Mark Singleton's Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice
is an outstanding scholarly work which brings so much insight and
clarity to the historic and cultural background of modern hatha
yoga. I highly recommend this book, especially for all sincere
students of yoga." --John Friend, Founder of Anusara Yoga
"I have been reading yoga texts and practicing yoga for 40 years,
and I have taught a university-level academic course on yoga for
the last 15 years, so it takes quite a good deal to teach me things
about yoga I did not already know. This book has done so. It has
been extremely informative and is rich with historical details. The
quantity of field research is quite extraordinary, the prose
articulate, the diction intelligent, and the narrative sound. It is
a
must-read among yoga teachers and serious students, and has the
potential to transform much of the yoga world. This book will echo
loudly through the global yoga community." --Prof. Kenneth
Liberman,
University of Oregon. Author of Dialectical Practice in Tibetan
Philosophical Culture
"From the moment I started reading Mark Singleton's Yoga Body I
couldn't put it down. It is beautifully written, extensively
researched, and full of fascinating information. It stands alone in
its depth of insight into a subject which has intrigued me for
forty years." --David Williams, Maui, Hawaii. The first non-Indian
to learn the complete Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga syllabus.
"Mark Singleton has written a sweeping and nuanced account of the
origins and development of modern postural yoga in early
twentieth-century India and the West, arguing convincingly that
yoga as we know it today does not flow directly from the Yoga
Sutras or India's medieval ha?ha yoga traditions, but rather
emerged out of a confluence of practices, movements and ideologies,
ranging from contortionist acts in carnival sideshows, British Army
calisthenics and
women's stretching exercises to social Darwinism, eugenics, and the
Indian nationalist movement. The richly illustrated story he tells
is an especially welcome contribution to the history of yoga,
demonstrating the ways in which an ancient tradition was reinvented
against the backdrop of India's colonial experience." --Prof. David
Gordon White, University of California, Santa Barbara. Author of
The Alchemical Body, Siddha Traditions in Medieval India
"Mark Singleton gives us here a groundbreaking, pioneering work. By
carefully tracing the key 'missing links' in the development of
contemporary notions of hatha yoga, he presents a far richer and
nuanced picture than previously known. Quite simply, this is a book
that cannot be ignored, destined to be reckoned with in any further
study of the topic. Thoroughly researched, extraordinarily well
informed, and lucidly argued, I recommended it very highly to
all
serious practitioners and students of modern yoga who want a deeper
understanding of its evolution." --Carlos Pomeda, founder of Yoga
Wisdom for Modern Life.
"Mark Singleton's book Yoga Body traces the evolution of the ever
expanding practice of asana world-wide. His work offers a much
needed historical perspective that will help correct much of the
mythology and group-think that is emerging in the modern asana
based 'yoga world'. Any serious asana practitioner who wishes to
understand the place of asana in the greater tradition of yoga will
do well to read it carefully." --Gary Krafstow, the founder of the
American
Viniyoga Institute, author of Yoga for Wellness and Yoga for
Transformation
"Yoga Body by Mark Singleton is a scholarly exploration of how
modern yoga, as currently practiced in countless studios, gyms, and
schools across the country, evolved [...] In essence, this very
popular form of yoga was greatly influenced by modern physical
practices, not just traditional spiritual or mystical ones.
Singleton makes a cogent argument backed up by references from many
studies and sources [...] a work of merit that sheds a great deal
of
light on the development of modern yoga [...] an important
contribution to our understanding of yoga." --San Francisco Book
Review
"Mark Singleton [...] asks a big question: Where did modern yoga
come from? His reply will no doubt disturb a lot of folks [...] as
Singleton clearly and convincingly demonstrates, the physical
practice of today is less than 100 years old, and it has very
little to do with either Patanjali's or Krishna's teaching.
Instead, it's the product of such disparate elements as British
colonialist policies in India, 19th century physical health
movements in Europe and
India, the invention of the camera, and the reformist programs of
Indian yoga teachers like Shri Yogendra and T. Krishnamacharya.
This book, an invaluable source on modern yoga, should be on the
reading
list of every serious student and teacher training program."
--Richard Rosen in Yoga Journal."
". . .For those with a serious interest in yogi philosophy. Mark
Singleton argues that yoga as practiced in the Indian tradition had
to do more with purification and meditation than with the health
and fitness aspects that have made it all the rage today."
--The Washington Post
"In this fascinating, important volume on the history of Asana
practice, Singleton (St. John's College, Santa Fe) proposes a new
understanding of yoga's meaning, arguing that, contrary to current
views, the modern focus of developing the practice of postures for
health and fitness is not a significant factor in the ancient
Indian practice of yoga. . .Singleton draws on many remarkable and
illuminating photos, diagrams, and archival documents, and he
highlights
the 19th- and 20th-century fascination with the exotic qualities of
asceticism and treatment of the body in India coming out of the
European colonial presence there. he includes biographical
sketches
of important yogis and discussions of the physical culture movement
burgeoning in European and American settings. . .Highly
recommended.
--CHOICE
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