Overview

A clear and authoritative guide to yoga's journey from ancient roots to modern global practice. Yoga has a long and complex history that spans thousands of years, yet its story is often misunderstood or oversimplified. This book offers a clear, accessible, and nuanced introduction to yoga's development from its earliest roots in ancient South Asia to its modern global presence. Written in an engaging question-and-answer format by a leading scholar of yoga, it is ideal for beginners and anyone seeking deeper insight into this influential tradition. Across nine evidence-based chapters, readers will explore yoga's foundational role in the Hindu Epics and Upanishads, the ""classical yoga"" of Patañjali, its integration into tantra, the transformative rise of hatha yoga, and the radical shifts that shaped yoga into a worldwide phenomenon. Additional chapters address yoga's relationship to religion and contemporary debates, including cultural appropriation, commodification, and ethical challenges within the yoga community. Yoga: What Everyone Needs to Know ® provides the essential context for understanding yoga's past and present, equipping readers with the knowledge to appreciate its complexity and relevance in today's world.

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9780197795996

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Author Information

Mark Singleton is a historian of yoga and the author of the acclaimed Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice (OUP 2010). He is also a research associate at SOAS University of London.

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