A01=Joseph S. Alter
Alternative medicine
Ambiguity
Anatomy
Antithesis
Asceticism
Asthma
Atreya
Author_Joseph S. Alter
Banaras Hindu University
Biology
Biomedicine
Category=QDHC
Celibacy
Chakra
Colonialism
Consciousness
Cultural relativism
Deepak Chopra
Dhauti
Digestion
Disease
Epistemology
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
Georg Feuerstein
Hindu philosophy
Hinduism
Homeopathy
Ideology
Indian philosophy
Indication (medicine)
Iyengar
Literature
Mahatma Gandhi
Massage
Metabolism
Modernity
Nathaniel (TV series)
Naturopathy
Nonviolence
Occult
Pamphlet
Philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy of science
Physical fitness
Physician
Physiology
Regimen
Relationship between religion and science
Relativism
Religion
Rishikesh
Sanskrit
Sattva
Science
Siddhi
Singh
Sitz bath
Skepticism
Spirituality
Sri Aurobindo
Swami Kuvalayananda
Swami Vivekananda
Tantra
The Yoga Institute
Transliteration
Urine
Value (ethics)
Vamana
Writing
Yoga
Yoga (philosophy)
Yoga physiology
Product details
- ISBN 9780691118741
- Weight: 510g
- Dimensions: 152 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 19 Sep 2004
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
Yoga has come to be an icon of Indian culture and civilization, and it is widely regarded as being timeless and unchanging. Based on extensive ethnographic research and an analysis of both ancient and modern texts, Yoga in Modern India challenges this popular view by examining the history of yoga, focusing on its emergence in modern India and its dramatically changing form and significance in the twentieth century. Joseph Alter argues that yoga's transformation into a popular activity idolized for its health value is based on modern ideas about science and medicine. Alter centers his analysis on an interpretation of the seminal work of Swami Kuvalayananda, one of the chief architects of the Yoga Renaissance in the early twentieth century. From this point of orientation he explores current interpretations of yoga and considers how practitioners of yogic medicine and fitness combine the ideas of biology, physiology, and anatomy with those of metaphysics, transcendence, and magical power.
The first serious ethnographic history of modern yoga in India, this fluently written book is must reading not only for students and scholars but also practitioners who seek a deeper understanding of how yoga developed over time into the exceedingly popular phenomenon it is today.
Joseph S. Alter is Professor of Anthropology and Research Professor at the University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of "The Wrestler's Body, Knowing Dil Das", and "Gandhi's Body".
