What is Yoga? An ancient, healing practice? A good stretch and stress reliever? Something cool celebrities do? The reason we live in yoga pants? Maybe all that and more?
How can we make sense of thousands of years of yoga in a contemporary world of uber-commercialization? So many questions! Political science professor-turned-yoga teacher (and prominent member of the yoga blog community) Carol Horton, is the brave soul tackling and examining the paradox of modern yoga with some sharp and critical thinking through historical, personal and sociological reflections in her new aptly titled book, Yoga Ph.D.: Integrating the Life of the Mind and the Wisdom of the Body.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to be a social scientist. This book is for everyone curious about the history, popularity and evolution of modern yoga and spirituality. Want a sneak peek? Carol was kind enough to share with us an excerpt from her book. If you haven’t already, check it out here!
WIN: We’re delighted to be giving away 3 copies of Yoga Ph.D.: Integrating the Life of the Mind and the Wisdom of the Body by Carol Horton. Yay!
TO ENTER: We’re getting a little tricky with this one. What is yoga, anyway? Tell us what yoga is to you in three-ish words using the letters ‘P’ ‘H’ and ‘D’ in your answer. This way we can all consider ourselves nerds worthy of the yogadork status. (Your certificate is in the mail.)
Here’s ours to get the ball rolling:
Yoga: Pranic Happy Dance!
Your turn! Please leave your entries in the comments.
Entries counted until 11:59pm Tuesday May 21. Three winners will be chosen at random and announced soon after. Good luck!
We’re in the midst of a pre-summer reading YD book giveaway series running through May and into June. Stay tuned for another great book each week!
——
Earlier…
- Book Excerpt: ‘From Meditation to Commodification: Promise & Perils of American Yoga’ from ‘Yoga PhD’ by Carol Horton
- Fat Yoga Studio Opens in Portland
- Help BKS Iyengar Feature Documentary Film Get Finished
- Finally, More Yoga Pants for Curvy Yogis?
- Should All Yoga Studios Offer Free Meditation Classes/Sessions?
Playful, Heavenly, Dreamy
Yoga is my Personal Healing Drug!
A lesson of
[P]atience with self and others,
[H]ealing on the deepest of levels, and
[D]elving into our untapped potential.
Pacified Human Desires!
Path to Highest Discovery
Perfectly Harmonious Development of Physical, Heedful, and Devine selves
Pretty much Hurts like the Devil…
(Because I have fibromylagia and when I started I couldn’t even raise my hands up past my shoulders and with Practice it Helped Damn much. But then, I recently stopped because I am a Life Path 6 and probably have ADHD, so I don’t stick with things for too long. Maybe a copy of the book will help inspire me. 🙂
pranayama, health, devotion
Pure Heaven, Duh!
Peaceful Healing Daily
Yoga: Pure Heavenly Devotion
Pratibha
Hridayam
Dhyanajam
Spontaneous intuition
Centered in the heart
Born of meditation
Powerful Heartwarming Divinity 🙂
Perfectly happy Destination xxx
playful, haven, daily….
personal holistic devotion
prayerful, healthy, deliciousness!
Practice harbors destiny
Hmmm…..
[P]racticing
[H]eightened
[D]harma
Practice
Honoring
my
Divinity
Yoga helped me find my :Purpose, Hara, Dreams:)
Lol…isn’t that interesting…the :p is supposed to be : And P
Awesome!!
My: Prana Healing Discipline <3
Yoga: purpose, health, drive
Patient & Determined Heart!
Yoga: Perseverance, Harmony, Dedication
Yoga: psyche healing discipline
Pranayama Healing Dhyana
poses
health
divine
Personal healing device 🙂
‘P’ ‘H’ and ‘D’
Yoga is Pantanjalic, Healing, Dependable
Peace, Harmony, Devotion
Phenomenological Holometabolism for De-diathesising
Physical, Holistic, Dynamic
Peaceful, Harmonizing, and Delightful
Perpetual Heartfelt Discovery
Yoga is…
Positivity
Harmony
Devotion
and so much more…
Yoga: posture (I’m working on back issues so this is on my mind!)
Health
inDespensable
Deep, humbling path
Practice hedonic discovery with patience, heart, and devotion.
If you’re strict about three words, consider mine two separate submissions. Both clauses work. 😉 I like them best in tandem.
Positive
Harmonious
Discipline
Powerful Happiness Determiner
Peace happens deeply.
To me, yoga is:
The PROCESS of giving my inner HEROINE the courage to control her DESTINY.
priceless, humbling, depth
Personal Daily Hug
Its like, you know… Physically Heady Dhyana… and shit. bless
patience/happyness/determination
Yoga = Mind Body Awakening
Plank Happens Daily 🙂
Yoga is patience, healing, and a devotion!
Yoga is…
Practice
Humility
Dedication
Patience, Hopefulness, Devine
Clear your mind, open your heart,..and come home…to yoga. xoxo
Patience. holistic. Discipline.
Everything?
Pranic, Healing, Dharana
To me, yoga is a way to advance on my personal Path, to live and accept my Humanity, mostly my Doubts…
Oh with PHD.
peaceful holy deliverance.
Playful Holy Deepening
Peaceful Happy Devotion
Positively Healthy Dhyana
Yoga: Plentiful, Healthy, Doable!
Yoga: Perfectly, hopelessly, delicate.
positively heavenly and also down-to-earth
Yoga is: a Physical, Healthy, Delight!
Yoga is: Patience Heals Dis-ease
Personal Healing Divined
Potential Hope Dreams
Positivity Happiness Devotee
Purusa Heals Duhkha
Possibilites Happen Daily
Yoga is PHD: Part (of a) Happy Day
Yoga: Powerful Healing Drug
Pearls of wisdom
Hailing down gently with
Disciplined daily heartfelt practice
Peaceful heartfelt devotion
Presence. Heart. Devotion
Pretty Hand Dancing!
peace, health, divinity
patience, happiness, dharana
Practical, Healthy, delightful!
Pussy Honoring Dedication (to heal patriarchal domination).
Positive Honest Development
Practical Healing Dedication
Presence, honed and distilled.
Devotional, Healing Peace
Practicing Presence & Holistic Health: Divine Dance of Developmental Dharma
pRACTICE
hERE
dELIGHTFUL
(namaste, shari)
Peaceful Honest Discipline
Pure Happy Dance
Peaceful~Happy~Dharma
Pure Happiness Dedication
Personal happy development 🙂
Patience, Healing, Dedication
I’m working on my PhD in yoga by Pursuing Horizons Dauntlessly
Passionate Heartfelt Desire
Yoga: Painful Hamstring Distress. =P
Preparing (to) Humbly Die…..
Pretty Heavy Darshana.
Peace
Health
Devotion
Positively Harmonious Destination
Yoga Is : Physical Healing Direction
Pilgrimage into the Hidden Devine
PHabulous Dharma!
Practical
Holy
Destructive (for bad habits, that is) 🙂
Yoga: Patience heals deeply.
Patient, Healthy, Determination
Prana heart Dhyana
Personal Happiness Defined
Private Healthy Doing
Peaceful Healing Devotion
Purposeful Healthy Destiny
I read through them all. Yogadork, so many are so good- I hope you have at least 20 winners! And that I am among them of course1
Process (of) Holistic Development
Purusa’s Human Discovering…
The [P]ursuit of inter peace, quest for [H]igher knowledge , and journey of self [D]iscovery.
Pretty Happy Day
Practice human discovery
Yoga is Power (strenght both mind and body),
High (conection with the sun and the moon and nature)
Destiny (like the path in the destiny kind of)….:D
Potent Healing, Dammit!
Practicing High Devotion
Pathetic Handout Drama from people who claim to be non materialistic.
Pathological Huckster Drag
Perpetual Happy Dance
Playful Delightful Healthful
My Yoga…
Powerful
Healthy
Dynamic
Pathway to
Highest
Dharma 🙂
Personal Healthy Desire
Physical ~ Healing ~ Divine <3
The Promise of Happy Delights
Practicing
Happiness
Daily
Prana, Healing, Divine
[P]ranayama [h]eart. [D]onuts.
What? I can’t help where my mind goes during Shavasana…
(P)leasure (H)appiness (D)iscovery
Peace
Honesty
Delight
To me yoga is Powerful, Healing, and De-stressing. As a nurse, I find these qualities important for myself as a student, but also for my patients who have so many restrictions in their abilities and chrinuic pain issues. I alsways tell them anyone can do yoga.
For me it’s Peace, Health & Devotion
P.oetically H.onest D.iscussion… with oneself.
Pretty Heavily Dependent on the experiences available to you. In a town with only “yoga is physical exercise, and that takes care of everything” studios, is it any wonder how people get confused?
Probing Holistic Development