Thinking in Āsana - Movement and Philosophy in Viniyoga, Iyengar Yoga, and Ashtanga Yoga - Matylda Ciołkosz
8. Iyengar Yoga
Thinking in Āsana - Movement and Philosophy in Viniyoga, Iyengar Yoga, and Ashtanga Yoga - Matylda Ciołkosz
Matylda Ciołkosz [+]
Jagiellonian University, Kraków
Matylda Ciołkosz is an assistant professor at the Institute of Religious Studies, Jagiellonian University in Kraków. She earned her PhD in culture and religion studies in 2019 for her research on the meaning- making role of kinesthetic experience in the practice of modern postural yoga. In her research, she draws from cognitive approaches to the study of religions to explore the influence of sensory, motor, and social contexts on the formation and application of religious concepts.
Description
Presents the specifics of movement characteristic of Iyengar yoga, the interpretation of the religiophilosophical model that corresponds to this practice, and, ultimately, the relation between the two. When discussing āsana and prāṇāyāma performance, I describe not only its objective characteristics, but also its subjective experience. By explaining how different postural and breathing techniques feel to the practitioner, I point to the kinds of recurrent kinaesthetic patterns they allow the practitioner to experience.