16. The democratization of yoga, with Doug Keller The Weeks Well

If you had to label Doug Keller's yoga, you might be safe putting him in the Tantra category. He approaches yoga through both a physiological practice-based lens as well as a philosophical, academic one. Here he connects academic, historical yoga and what we can think of as modern "practitioner" yoga. Most important, Doug addresses how lineage and the assertion of authority run problematically in parallel. This talk is a Cliff’s Notes version of Doug's Yoga History and Philosophy course on Yoga International. Enjoy!

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Sanskrit:

1. Prakriti: un-manifested cosmic energy

2. Purusha: the true self

3. Pada: part

4. Tantra: yoga that seeks to experience the union of siva and sakti within the individual 

5. Siva: God as auspiciousness 

6. Sakti: energy 

7. Kundalini: the energy stored at the base of a person's spine

8. Chakras: energy vortices

9. Jnana yoga: yoga of knowledge

10. Karma yoga: yoga of action

11. Mantra: a word or sound repeated to help with concentration in meditation 

12. Laya yoga: yoga of dissolution 

13. Hatha yoga: practice of physical postures

14. Raja yoga: yoga of mind and body control

15. Sanyasi: a religious ascetic who has renounced the world 

16. Bandha: locks used to direct the flow of energy

17. Pranayama: breath control

18. Dharma: path to fulfillment 

19. Vedanta: Hindu philosophy based on the Vedas

20. Vedas: ancient Hindu scriptures

21. Bhakti: attachment or devotion

22. Shramanas: one who labors for a higher or religious purpose

23. Samkhya: dualistic school of Indian philosophy

24. Srtha: appropriate wealth

25. Karma: pleasure

26. Moksha: liberation

27. Shruti: heard knowledge

28. Smrti: what is remembered 

29. Puranas: a genre of Sanksrit sacred writings

30. Yamas: moral disciplines

31. Niyamas: individual disciplines 

32. Kleshas: mental states—ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and fear

33. Ashtanga: eight limbed path

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References:

1. Doug Keller

2. Doug's Yoga History and Philosophy course 

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Episode credits:

Original music by Kim's band Governess.

Produced by Alyssa Yeroshefsky and Kim Weeks.

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