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Most of modern postural-based yoga is based on Swedish gymnastics and British calisthenics from the early part of last century.
This book is incredibly well-written and well-researched/footnoted and should be required reading for anyone who practices postural-based yoga.
If you don't want to read an entire book then this short article is written by the same author.
Haha. I hadn't even noticed the bit about the stupid gravity fearing moms! Wow, everything about her is just super special. You can read the excerpt from her book here if you're interested, just scroll down a bit. I definitely didn't buy it, lol, just stumbled on it this morning. It's got a lot of little gems in it. Would be great if someone savvier than me could post it so we can all discuss.
You could try David Swensons ashtanga book It goes into detail on each Asana with modifications, and gives you the full first and second series as well as some shorter series. Will link Amazon when I get home.
>Would you be able to recommend any?
Mark Singleton's Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice is a good place to start. A lot of contemporary moves have their origins in Swedish gymnastics and British army calisthenics. Also a lot of overlap with early bodybuilding aka "physical culture." In fact early yoga marketing materials referred to it as bodybuilding.
There is one or two textual examples of postural yoga prior to the mid 20th century, but other than that there is no evidence at all that modern postural yoga has any historical precedent. It is a wonderful new invention, and its newness does not take away from its effectiveness, but in the yoga tradition it is a tradition to pretend new innovations are ancient received wisdom.
I'm basing my comment off the text the top poster mentioned:
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Thank you for the suggestions and the link! I'll try this soon!
Only a tiny fraction are. Virtually all modern yoga poses are derived from the late 19th and early 20th century.
This book explains it all. Fully researched and footnoted.
This article by the same author is a concise version for those who don't want to read a book.
There are a lot more sources if needed. Maybe /u/Veritas_Certum can help out here?
Not the OP, but Yoga Body by Mark Singleton is an incredible read on the origins of posture-based yoga.
Good for you! Many libraries participate in Inter-Library Loans, so I hope yours can find it for you.
BTW, Amazon has it for $6-$8; plus a PDF of random pages so you could get an idea of it. https://www.amazon.com/Light-Yoga-B-K-Iyengar/dp/0805210318
Completely off-topic: It's a religious name, like Moses, Mary, Christopher, or Mohammed, which is slightly awkward, since I'm not Hindu. In many versions of Hinduism, the universe is perpetually reborn in the cosmic union of the goddess Shakti and her consort, Shiva, which is why you often see stone lingams and yonis (representing the genitals of the god and goddess) at Hindu shrines, anointed with flowers and fragrant oils.
Shiva is regarded as the matter and Shakti as the energy, so - as they say - "Shiva without Shakti is shava." (Matter without energy is lifeless, a corpse.) I rather like the idea of a religion that regards all of the motive power and energy in the universe as essentially feminine. Plus any religion where the gods have cosmic sex is a big win! :)
Modern hatha yoga as practiced in the West is an almost entirely Western reinvention on a Hindu foundation, so borrowing the word "shakti" for power or energy makes sense. It's also used in Kundalini yoga for the "Shakti energy" supposedly coiled around the base of the spine.
Yeah I've got at least ten of them, they're as close to working with a bona fide guru as books can come! A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya is the yoga book to end all yoga books in my opinion.
Much of modern postural yoga was actually imported from Europe to India in the late 19th century to the 1930s and then ‘rebranded’ as something Indian.
https://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Body-Origins-Posture-Practice/dp/0195395344
While doing this is probably harmless... I would recommend working your way up to this Kriya. I've been reading 'A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya' which I would highly recommend. The book is divided into parts. The first lessons focus on preparing your body for more advanced practices :)
and if you liked the yoga sutras Edwin Bryant has a really great book on it
For a good old school solid book
A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya by Savitri Ent. Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/8185787085/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_4NSRCAE4Z7VK3TQQ00Y8
I recommend this interpretation of the yoga sutras. A book won't get you there alone though. I do recommend a rigorous physical practice where you can focus on your breath and senses, such as yoga or running. Music is fine - but LISTEN to it!
When i started building my pranayama practice, my guru and I used this book as a primary resource. Very detailed and insightful.
If you're interested in more of this, the author of that article wrote a whole book about it. It's an outstanding read, fully sourced, footnoted, peer-reviewed and vetted by Indian scholars.
She's full of shit.
Modern postural yoga is about 100 years old. It was invented in India by Indians and mostly derived from Swedish gymnastics and British calisthenics. It was specifically marketed to affluent westerners as a superior form of physical and spiritual exercise. It's working as designed and being consumed but its target audience.
Here's a short article on it.
Here's a much longer book fully sourced, footnoted, peer-reviewed and accredited by Indians.
These are facts, not opinions.
Light on Yoga outlines beginner through advanced sequences. You can’t go wrong starting here. ❤️ Light on Yoga: The Bible of Modern Yoga https://www.amazon.com/dp/0805210318/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_CJ0NAC410D7GWBCCQ7S3
Your EGo is hurting the yoga instructor so she wants you to chill!😃
I’m only being partly facetious as most yoga instructors I’ve had the pleasure of meeting have their own ego’s quite unchecked. The yoga instructor is trying to tell you to not lose sight of who you really are, or can be, if you do your yoga right, and get it’s essence. You might not agree with it but yoga can give you new eyes to view your world very differently.
I can expound more but it is probably ‘nuff said for this forum.
A brief view of what yoga can do for you is found in my guru’s book, a reference to which is here. The introduction alone did wonders for my world vision when I first read it in 2011/12.
May you find your new vision and understand the deeper truths that the sages have, for centuries, expounded on for progeny.
I'd recommend if you're feeling "kinked up" to learn some serious yoga. No popping or snapping but after a session my back feels great and I am so much more relaxed.
Can you be more specific?
What are your social issues? Which ones are problematic but are things you can work on, and which ones are hardwired and need to be worked around?
One of mine is impulsivity and the two thing that helped me were this yoga book (especially the sections about deactivating memory and separating myself from the immediacy of certain emotions) and getting a dog.
Trying to manage interpersonal relationships that already exist and figuring out my stims, etc.? This podcast helps me.
Do you trust people enough to be friends? Are you able to share insecurities or troubles along with supporting them? Or, do you overshare to try and force a connection? (I've been friends, and been both these types before. No judgement.)
What type of friends would you like? What would you want to do with them? Nature hikes? Talk about anime? Cook together? (and please don't think friendship works the way it does on TV or movie. Those friendships are often deeply flawed and codependent.)
Eye contact? I had low eye contact, so I practiced with my dogs and tried to hold eye contact with people who talked to camera on tv shows, exercise vids, etc.
Side note: The term "better myself" isn't going to do you any favors. It'll just make you feel worse about yourself. You're fine. You're valid. Everyone can improve something. The way you talk about yourself is very important and shapes the way you interpret everything. :)
I'm a super analytical, systemizing adhd/asd. The only way I could get into yoga was by reading this dense, analytical academic book on yogic sutras. It gave me a lot of yoga things to contemplate during yoga. I would read a couple pages before yoga and let that run in my brain on a loop.
There are types of yoga where you're encouraged to fix your mind on something instead of trying to clear your mind. I found this more helpful. And I would hyperfixate on my muscles while doing yoga because I was trying to increase my mind/body connection and biofeedback systems after years of doing my best to ignore my body.
If you're the same, I recommend. At least the first 2/3 of the (admittedly giant) book. I wasn't into the mystical stuff.
Perhaps you can try an academic entry into spirituality. There are tons of studies and academic research on world religions. I also have a vague theory that there are universalisms in all religions that are based on human biology and are therefore designed into us at a DNA level (disclaimer: I am not a scientist).
I found a way into yoga by reading this weighty tome. And while I would do yoga I would think of what the text said and try out the thought experiments it provides. I would say that is the closest I have come to spirituality. I always feel more spiritual in reference to nature and art. I get the elevated feeling from going to beautiful religious buildings that are designed to invoke spiritual feelings. But when people are in the churches and distracting me from the feelings, then it gets broken. (I'm pretty sure that's not how it's supposed to work).
This^ i have those two books couple with the yoga sutras - patanjali with commentary by edward bryant. The sutras are really propelling me deep into the practice and getting a good understanding of the foundation of what yoga truly stands for, not just asanas to get your butt toned…. Fair warning you need a commentary to explain what the sutras mean as it is written in sankrist and a direct word for word translation would be meaningless as you need muchhhh context. Also the forward in the book is written by BKS.
I’d recommend Light On Yoga (also Light on Pranayama, and Light On Life) by BKS Iyengar. Light On Yoga