Yoga

Where do Cats Go?: Reflections on Death Post Patriarchal Christianity by Sara Frykenberg

by Feminism and Religion

Originally posted on the Feminism and Religion project.

The reason I am speaking about death today is two-fold.  First, I have been somewhat preoccupied with the concept... more The reason I am speaking about death today is two-fold.  First, I have been somewhat preoccupied with the concept of death since entering a new decade of my life.  I no longer believe in the evangelical vision of heaven I learned about in my youth; but as an uncomfortable “un”-Christian, I also have no satisfactory vision to replace it.  Or rather, there are many visions I find appealing, but none that I “believe in,” as I had believed in heaven.  My family is getting older, my parents have been sick in the last few years, and I often feel that I have more to lose now than I used to.

My second reason for considering death today is that last Wednesday, Mimi, our family cat of 24 years—yes, 24—passed away.  After spending all nine of her lives living, Mimi could no longer eat and was suffering.  My mother had her put down after we all said goodbye; we held a funeral for her and buried her among the lilies in our yard, her home.

Gifts of Grace: A Christian Encounters Bhakti Yoga in American Kirtan and Guru Communities

by Kieran Conroy

unpublished draft, Spring 2008. Hoping to upload soon, message me with interest sooner for a copy to review.

The final project of a spring 2008 Comparative Theology class on Hindu-Christian dialog with Fr. Francis Clooney at... more The final project of a spring 2008 Comparative Theology class on Hindu-Christian dialog with Fr. Francis Clooney at Harvard Divinity School. I performed some ethnographic interviews and visits to Kirtan chanting communities and events in New England and explored the relationship between ecstatic worship, discipleship and devotion in the Hindu and my own Christian tradition.

Īśvaragītābhāṣya of Vijñānabhikṣu, Sanskrit edition of chapter one

by Andrew Nicholson

This is a Sanskrit edition of chapter one of Vijñānabhikṣu's commentary on the Īśvara Gītā ("Song of Lord Śiva").

I give my permission for this edition to be shared, copied, or redistributed, as long as the source is properly cited. (Nicholson, Andrew James. Doctrine and Boundary Formation: The Philosophy of Vijñānabhikṣu in Indian Intellectual History. Chicago: Ph.D. Diss., University of Chicago, 2005).

Meditation-State Functional Connectivity (msFC): Strengthening of the Dorsal Attention Network and Beyond

by Jeffrey Greeson

published in 'Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine'

Presentacion_Medida_Actividad_Neuronal_en_la_meditacion_Sahaja_Madrid_Marzo_2012

by Sergio Elías Hernández

Resultados preliminares de la medida de actividad neuronal en la meditación de sahaja yoga

El fichero es la copia de una presentación hecha en el encuentro Nacional de Sahaja Yoga de Marzo de 2012 en Madrid.... more El fichero es la copia de una presentación hecha en el encuentro Nacional de Sahaja Yoga de Marzo de 2012 en Madrid.
En dicha presentación se exponen los resultados preliminares de la investigación "Actividad Neuronal en la meditación de Sahaja Yoga medida por FMRI (Imágenes de Resonancia Magnética Funcional) llevada a cabo en la Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife  España y el estado actual a fecha Marzo de 2012 de dicha investigación.

Presentacion_Medida_Actividad_Neuronal_en_la_meditacion_Sahaja_Madrid_Marzo_2012

by Sergio Elías Hernández

Fifteen minutes of chair-based yoga postures or guided meditation performed in the office can elicit a relaxation response

by Ben Colagiuri

Melville, G. W., Chang, D., Colagiuri, B., Marshall, P. W., & Cheema, B. S. (2012). FifteenMinutes of Chair-Based Yoga Postures or GuidedMeditation Performed in the Office Can Elicit a Relaxation Response. Evidenced-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2012: Article ID 501986, 9 pages doi:10.1155/2012/501986

This study compared acute (15 min) yoga posture and guided meditation practice, performed seated in a typical office... more This study compared acute (15 min) yoga posture and guided meditation practice, performed seated in a typical office workspace, on physiological and psychological markers of stress. Twenty participants (39.6 ± 9.5 yr) completed three conditions: yoga, meditation, and control (i.e., usual work) separated by ≥24 hrs. Yoga and meditation significantly reduced perceived stress versus control, and this effect was maintained post intervention. Yoga increased heart rate while meditation reduced heart rate versus control (P < 0.05). Respiration rate was reduced during yoga and meditation versus control (P < 0.05). Domains of heart rate variability (e.g., SDNN and Total Power) were significantly reduced during control versus yoga and meditation. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were reduced secondary to meditation versus control only (P < 0.05). Physiological adaptations generally regressed toward baseline post intervention. In conclusion, yoga postures or meditation performed in the office can acutely improve several physiological and psychological markers of stress. These effects may be at least partially mediated by reduced respiration rate.

Effect of an office worksite-based yoga program on heart rate variability: a randomized controlled trial

by Ben Colagiuri

Cheema, B. S., Marshall, P. W., Chang, D., Colagiuri, B., & Machliss, B. (2011). Effect of an office worksite-based yoga program on heart rate variability: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 11: 578.

[NB - This is a study protocol]

Background: Chronic work-related stress is a significant and independent risk factor for cardiovascular andmore Background: Chronic work-related stress is a significant and independent risk factor for cardiovascular and
metabolic diseases and associated mortality, particularly when compounded by a sedentary work environment.
Heart rate variability (HRV) provides an estimate of parasympathetic and sympathetic autonomic control, and can
serve as a marker of physiological stress. Hatha yoga is a physically demanding practice that can help to reduce
stress; however, time constraints incurred by work and family life may limit participation. The purpose of the
present study is to determine if a 10-week, worksite-based yoga program delivered during lunch hour can improve
resting HRV and related physical and psychological parameters in sedentary office workers.
Methods and design: This is a parallel-arm RCT that will compare the outcomes of participants assigned to the
experimental treatment group (yoga) to those assigned to a no-treatment control group. Participants randomized
to the experimental condition will engage in a 10-week yoga program delivered at their place of work. The yoga
sessions will be group-based, prescribed three times per week during lunch hour, and will be led by an
experienced yoga instructor. The program will involve teaching beginner students safely and progressively over 10
weeks a yoga sequence that incorporates asanas (poses and postures), vinyasa (exercises), pranayama (breathing
control) and meditation. The primary outcome of this study is the high frequency (HF) spectral power component
of HRV (measured in absolute units; i.e. ms2), a measure of parasympathetic autonomic control. Secondary
outcomes include additional frequency and time domains of HRV, and measures of physical functioning and
psychological health status. Measures will be collected prior to and following the intervention period, and at 6
months follow-up to determine the effect of intervention withdrawal.
Discussion: This study will determine the effect of worksite-based yoga practice on HRV and physical and
psychological health status. The findings may assist in implementing practical interventions, such as yoga, into the
workplace to mitigate stress, enhance health status and reduce the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

LISY, Preliminary Remarks for the Comparative Study of Mysticism - Mysticism is, what unio mystica is, in Communio viatorum 54, 2012, (in print)

by Keren Mice

The article will be published in: Communio viatorum 54, 2012, pp. (in print). When I receive the article from the author it will be available here for free.

I found his article very interesting and useful in its new perspective. It is obvious that the author follows Huss' and Balagangadhara's approach and his final argument is based on Wittgenstein. Also, we can understand his article as a polemic with a book: The Origins of Jewish Mysticism by Peter Schäfer.

Interestingly, the author mentioned in the article that a part of the material was already discussed at the international conference Rethinking Religion in India III. I followed for some time links of its participants and it seems to me there is a research group using Balagangadhara's approach from different countries and from various fields in Humanities. If you follow their links it is possible to find more books and articles on the study of comparative religion and most of them you can download for free (see more links in my About section and Profile). And all of them share a common ground. It is Balagangadhara's framework very well argued in his book: Heathen in His Blindness. Note, there are scholars who sharply disagree with him. The whole scientific discussion is very interesting and inspiring and leads to new directions in the study of mysticism and religion. Some of them you can find through Web of Science.

There is an abstract in the article.

Americanasana (review essay on history of yoga in America)

by Jared Farmer

Special attention given to Mark Singleton's YOGA BODY, Stefanie Syman's THE SUBTLE BODY, and Robert Love's THE GREAT OOM.

Jo Mensinga _The Feeling of Being a Social Worker

by Jo Mensinga

Varieties of Magical Experience: Aleister Crowley's Views on Occult Practice

by Marco Pasi

Published in: Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft, 6:2 (December 2011), pp. 123-162. To be reprinted in: Henrik Bogdan and Martin Starr (eds.), Aleister Crowley and Western Esotericism. An Anthology of Critical Studies, Oxford, Oxford University Press, forthcoming in 2012

Gli elementi simbolici e iniziatici hindu nel "Liber Novus" di Carl Gustav Jung

by Alessandro Grossato

In La Visione, a cura di Francesco Zambon, Viridarium VIII, Edizioni Medusa, Milano 2012, pp. 199-208.

Iogues Indianos nas Fronteiras do Conhecível: performance e dissidência entre siddhas hindus

by Lena Tosta

Uma lei debatida no congresso indiano por ocasião da emergência do Estado-nação, cuja intenção era expurgar elementos... more Uma lei debatida no congresso indiano por ocasião da emergência do Estado-nação, cuja intenção era expurgar elementos ambíguos entre renunciantes, inspira um debate inicial a respeito de discursos e procedimentos de registro e controle da instituição da renúncia na Índia. Este artigo argumenta que o ascetismo “não-domesticado” sofreu encapsulamento político-conceitual ao longo de situações históricas diversas, mas continua a oferecer uma retórica vivida de empoderamento e emancipação considerada legítima. A partir da análise de modelos míticos como Shiva e Dattatreya e de sujeitos etnográficos como os praticantes de austeridades entre naga sadhus, propõe-se uma avaliação do conceito de siddha, iogue que adquiriu poderes criativos. O artigo sugere que a trajetória do asceta heterodoxo seja vista como empoderadora, de acordo com sua matriz cognitiva siddha e tântrica, e que a performance “no mundo” do virtuose seja compreendida como linguagem dissidente.

The Ideas of God, Good and Evil in the Refigured Yoga Practices in Metropolitan area of Buenos Aires city (Argentina

by Maria Mercedes Saizar

Published in Antrocom Journal

Yoga is a widespread therapeutic option; it is the most popular among the oriental rooted medicines, what is more, is... more Yoga is a widespread therapeutic option; it is the most popular among the oriental rooted medicines, what is more, is accepted and recommended by biomedical doctors like a complementary medicine. Currently, in a context of alternatives therapies offer, yoga appears like one of the disciplines which certain individual uses at least once in their ways of health search. The variety of options, cost and modality of the practice, the appropriation and acceptance on part of dissimilar groups, the proposal of a delicate physical exercise of the body, the compatibility that users find between their system of beliefs and the proposals of this discipline with the possibility of enjoying their benefits without adopting a new life-style, has positioned the practice of yoga as a popular choice and possible way of initiation in other searches associated to the context of the New Age. In this sense, from the point of view of the social actors, yoga is understood as a medicine that include very diverse practices, from a diet to the handling of the altered states of consciousness, from the mobilization of energies through the accomplishment of asanas to a very disclosed and well-known technique as gymnastics yoga. The process of appropriation of the Eastern practices, including yoga, has implied a phenomenon of remeaning of the main concepts and Eastern structures of thought - aura, chakra, atman, purusha, karma, Brahma, dharma- in terms of values, categories and western experiences of the religions and philosophical currents, those that add essential dichotomies to these conceptions like good and evil, sin and punishment, spiritual and material, radically transforming the Eastern knowledge. In this opportunity, our interests focuses on investigate the slight knowledge of God, Good and Evil, that
emerge from such appropriation processes  that cross the  yoga  practices, conceiving it like a totality, in the context of the alternative practices and the phenomena of New Age. The present paper is based on field work’s material from extensive and open interviews to users and specialists of yoga in Buenos
Aires, as well as from observation and participant observation in different yoga’s centers in period 2003-2009.

Reflexiones en torno a la complementariedad terapéutica entre usuarios del Yoga en Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mitológicas XXI, pp 23-45

by Maria Mercedes Saizar

LA EFICACIA TERAPÉUTICA DEL YOGA NOCIONES DE USUARIOS Y ESPECIALISTAS EN EL AREA METROPOLITANA (Buenos Aires-Argentina)

by Maria Mercedes Saizar

Haṭha Yoga

by James Mallinson

An entry on haṭhayoga for the Brill Encylopedia of Hinduism Vol.3 (2011).

Frank, J.L. (2009). Yoga and meditation: Implications for schools and other educational settings. Whitepaper Prepared for Yoga and Mindfulness Youth Service Council.

by Jennifer Frank

Where do Cats Go?: Reflections on Death Post Patriarchal Christianity by Sara Frykenberg

by Feminism and Religion

originally posted in the Feminism and Religion Project

The reason I am speaking about death today is two-fold.  First, I have been somewhat preoccupied with the concept... more The reason I am speaking about death today is two-fold.  First, I have been somewhat preoccupied with the concept of death since entering a new decade of my life.  I no longer believe in the evangelical vision of heaven I learned about in my youth; but as an uncomfortable “un”-Christian, I also have no satisfactory vision to replace it.  Or rather, there are many visions I find appealing, but none that I “believe in,” as I had believed in heaven.  My family is getting older, my parents have been sick in the last few years, and I often feel that I have more to lose now than I used to.

My second reason for considering death today is that last Wednesday, Mimi, our family cat of 24 years—yes, 24—passed away.  After spending all nine of her lives living, Mimi could no longer eat and was suffering.  My mother had her put down after we all said goodbye; we held a funeral for her and buried her among the lilies in our yard, her home.

My sisters and myself were very, very saddened by Mimi’s passing; but my mother took it hardest of all.  Mimi had been her companion, her friend, her lap warmer, her snuggle buddy, her alarm clock and, we often joked, her favorite child for over two decades.  I wanted to comfort my mother; but my protest that it didn’t matter what the (her) Church said, Mimi was with the God/dess, was maybe, not very helpful.  It perhaps, only reminded her that in her view, I too am not going to heaven.