This course allows the student to deepen their knowledge according to their own interest in a chosen sub-category of yoga. With the help of the teacher, the course offers a broad spectrum of literature-based explorations into pre-modern yoga, modern yoga, yoga philosophy and the sociology of yoga, including an introduction to Sanskrit as it relates to understanding central texts on yoga.
Since its earliest recorded history, yoga has been more often than not framed as a private practice. Wandering ascetics and lonely meditators are the predominant characters in the narratives and iconographic depictions of yoga. In our day as well, yoga tends to be conceived of as something one does for oneself. Yet yoga and its practitioners is not something that can be isolated from society. In fact, the various approaches to yoga have their own perspectives of how the principles of yoga should be applied in society.
In this course, we take a look at both ancient and contemporary perspectives of the societal side of yoga. Militant yogis, female ascetics, political figures, and why not applying yoga in one’s professional career are all various ways how yoga is not only a matter of privacy, but something with a very visible public face as well.
Please see: https://studiehandboken.abo.fi/en/course/RV00CV03/32705.
At the end of the course, the learner will be able to demonstrate a nuanced and in-depth competence in a specific and contextual expression regarding a historical or contemporary yogic lineage, school, influential teacher, or a developmental phase as well as being able to critically reflect over the background and underlying societal relevance of the chosen yoga-related phenomenon, phase, or person.
The literature will be announced at the beginning of the course.
The course consists of prerecorded lectures and individual online studies.
Transcript of records