I dagens samhälle är det troligen ingen som har undgått termen yoga. Yoga finns på nästintill vartenda gym och termen dyker även upp i olika hälsotidningar från stund till stund. Benämningar så som Ashtanga Yoga, Hatha Yoga, meditation, asana, andningskontroll och cakra förekommer i alla olika kombinationer. Ibland i sådan mångfald att man som läsare inte uppfattar någon skillnad på vad innebörden av dessa termer är, och det hela framstås som ett enda stort virrvarr. Uppsatsens kommer att lyfta fram två yogaformer, av den mångfald som existerar, nämligen Klassisk Yoga och Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. Ett argument varför detta är ett intressant fält att beskåda, är av den anledning som nämndes ovan, nämligen mångfalden som ter sig att bli rörig. Ett andra argument är att olika yogaformer oftast får tendensen i populärvetenskap och tidningar att blandas ihop med varandra, vilket resulterar i att de olika egenskaperna som kännetecknar yogatraditionerna blir otydliga. Det är alltså, i min mening, viktigt att särskilja de olika typer av yoga som finns och belysa vad de olika yogatraditionerna har som utmärkande karaktär utifrån ett historisktperspektiv.

Flow state refers to an optimal psychological experience and is associated with a number of experiential qualities one of which is complete absorption in the task at hand. Self-determination theory provides a framework for examining the relation between different types of motivation and flow because it distinguishes among different forms of motivation based on the degree that they can be considered self-determined. Although flow has been studied among athletes and, to a lesser degree, exercisers, no studies have focused on the flow experiences of yoga practitioners. Yoga, which originated in India, has been gaining popularity in the United States. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the flow experiences and motivational perspectives of ashtanga yoga practitioners. Five specific aims were addressed. A sample of 127 ashtanga yoga practitioners were recruited from six yoga studios in various locations across the United States. Participants completed a series of questionnaires related to flow experiences, motivational orientation, yoga practice characteristics, and sociodemographic information. The majority of the participants of the study were women, highly educated, and approximately 40 years old. The participants demonstrated a strong commitment to yoga practicing on average 4 times per week for over 1.5 hours. The majority had more than 2.5 years of ashtanga yoga experience. They reported strong intrinsic and selfdetermined extrinsic motivation to practice ashtanga yoga. They reported experiencing flow during ashtanga yoga practice and at least moderately endorsed all nine dimensions of flow state. Higher scores on the EMS subscales of intrinsic motivation (IM) to accomplish things and IM to experience sensation were predictive of higher flow state for the practitioners. The respondents yoga flow scores were significantly higher than the flow scores associated with a comparison other physical activity participated in currently or in the past. Finally, age (inversely) and years of ashtanga yoga experience were predictive of flow experiences for this group of yoga practitioners. For those interested in the study of motivation, these findings contribute to the understanding of the relation between flow and motivation and how enjoyment may be manifested within the context of physical activity.

The Kinetic quest of Ashtanga yoga through the lens of pilgrimage : making sense of postmodern questing.

Dans le contexte de l’expression moderne de la religiosité, l’étude explore comment les méthodes de l’Ashtanga yoga produisent l’expérience de la transformation chez les individus qui les pratiquent et qui atteint, dans une certaine mesure, leur entourage. Ethnographiquement, le mémoire se concentre sur le rituel principal de l’Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (AVY), les séances de style Mysore, telle qu’exercé par la communauté de pratiquants de la Sattva Yoga Shala à Montréal. En tant que performance, le rituel met en branle le potentiel de transformation. La pratique de ce yoga implique une discipline et un apprentissage draconien sur une longue échelle temporelle qui amènent, au fur et à mesure, des changements se répercutant dans/et influençant le vécu quotidien des adeptes. Le mémoire résume d’abord les bases littéraires du yoga, et le contexte historique de l’avènement de l’AVY ainsi que celui de sa venue à Montréal. Pour solidifier l’analyse, le travail poursuit par l’idéologie et la praxis du groupe d’étude. Le coeur de l’analyse suit. Nous examinons premièrement les modalités potentielles à la transformation du soi, c’est-à-dire les éléments rituels généraux et ceux spécifiques à l’AVY; puis, nous nous penchons sur ce que ces modalités développent, permettent, et changent chez les répondants, donc leurs impacts. Dans cette recherche, l’Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga est à la fois une réalité empirique et une catégorie analytique servant à approfondir les connaissances anthropologiques sur le phénomène de la transformation personnelle selon le cadre expérientiel de la religiosité moderne. / Within the context of the modern expression of religiosity, this study explores how the methods of Ashtanga yoga is produce the experience of transformation for the individual who practices them, and to a certain extent, his or her surroundings. Ethnographically, the thesis concentrates on the main ritual of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (AVY), Mysore style sessions, as practiced by the community of practitioners at Sattva Yoga Shala in Montreal. Through its execution, the ritual sets into motion the potential for transformation. The practice of this yoga involves long-term discipline and a draconian learning process whose gradual changes influence and/or carry over into the daily experience of devotees. The thesis first summarizes the textual foundations of yoga, and the historical context of both the rise of AVY, as well as its arrival in Montreal. To solidify the analysis, the work continues with the ideology and praxis of the study group. The heart of the analysis follows. In the analysis, I first examine potential modalities of self-transformation; that is to say, general elements of ritual and those specific to AVY. I go on to examine their impact, that is, what these modalities develop, allow and change for practitioners. In this research, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is simultaneously an empirical reality and an analytical category serving to deepen the anthropological knowledge of the phenomenon of personal transformation according to the experiential framework of modern religiosity.

Dans le contexte de l’expression moderne de la religiosité, l’étude explore comment les méthodes de l’Ashtanga yoga produisent l’expérience de la transformation chez les individus qui les pratiquent et qui atteint, dans une certaine mesure, leur entourage. Ethnographiquement, le mémoire se concentre sur le rituel principal de l’Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (AVY), les séances de style Mysore, telle qu’exercé par la communauté de pratiquants de la Sattva Yoga Shala à Montréal. En tant que performance, le rituel met en branle le potentiel de transformation. La pratique de ce yoga implique une discipline et un apprentissage draconien sur une longue échelle temporelle qui amènent, au fur et à mesure, des changements se répercutant dans/et influençant le vécu quotidien des adeptes. Le mémoire résume d’abord les bases littéraires du yoga, et le contexte historique de l’avènement de l’AVY ainsi que celui de sa venue à Montréal. Pour solidifier l’analyse, le travail poursuit par l’idéologie et la praxis du groupe d’étude. Le coeur de l’analyse suit. Nous examinons premièrement les modalités potentielles à la transformation du soi, c’est-à-dire les éléments rituels généraux et ceux spécifiques à l’AVY; puis, nous nous penchons sur ce que ces modalités développent, permettent, et changent chez les répondants, donc leurs impacts. Dans cette recherche, l’Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga est à la fois une réalité empirique et une catégorie analytique servant à approfondir les connaissances anthropologiques sur le phénomène de la transformation personnelle selon le cadre expérientiel de la religiosité moderne. / Within the context of the modern expression of religiosity, this study explores how the methods of Ashtanga yoga is produce the experience of transformation for the individual who practices them, and to a certain extent, his or her surroundings. Ethnographically, the thesis concentrates on the main ritual of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (AVY), Mysore style sessions, as practiced by the community of practitioners at Sattva Yoga Shala in Montreal. Through its execution, the ritual sets into motion the potential for transformation. The practice of this yoga involves long-term discipline and a draconian learning process whose gradual changes influence and/or carry over into the daily experience of devotees. The thesis first summarizes the textual foundations of yoga, and the historical context of both the rise of AVY, as well as its arrival in Montreal. To solidify the analysis, the work continues with the ideology and praxis of the study group. The heart of the analysis follows. In the analysis, I first examine potential modalities of self-transformation; that is to say, general elements of ritual and those specific to AVY. I go on to examine their impact, that is, what these modalities develop, allow and change for practitioners. In this research, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is simultaneously an empirical reality and an analytical category serving to deepen the anthropological knowledge of the phenomenon of personal transformation according to the experiential framework of modern religiosity.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-04-29T19:34:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Meduri.pdf: 2056993 bytes, checksum: ee2a7b2a90824c3903aec090feb924f9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-29T19:34:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Meduri.pdf: 2056993 bytes, checksum: ee2a7b2a90824c3903aec090feb924f9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-04-07 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / The main objective of the masters thesis A Construção de si a partir do Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is to discuss the idea of self care, first conceived in ancient Greece in the 5th century B.C. as epiméleia heautoû, within Indian philosophical constructs, which had their foundation built upon sacred texts that date from 1500 B.C, to the 4th Century A.D. This theoretical crossing is used within this thesis to trace a parallel between the concept of self care proposed by Michel Foucault and the hindu ascetic ethic. This ethos is only achieved within a free body: free from passion, psychological disturbance, self-imposed physical binds, and external factors that disturb perception. The research within investigates which techniques and mechanisms were used by Ashtanga Yoga Gurus, specifically, resulting in their being sought out by so many people, from so many different places, sharing the cartesian paradigm of “body” and “self”, and being brought together through this practice that allows one to establish another perception of onself and one’s relation to one’s body. The different stages that build up the comprehension of the main points of this theses include field research with twelve current practitioners of yoga; reading and analysis of ancient yoga texts; insertion of the previously mentioned research within the context of ethical views expressed by contemporary authors such as Michel Foucault, Francisco Varela and Edgar Morin; followed finally by iconographic analysis related to yoga’s genealogy, involving transformations on a technical, symbolical and political level / O objetivo do trabalho de mestrado A construção de si a partir do Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga é discutir a ideia de cuidado de si, trazida com clareza pelos gregos como epiméleia heautoû desde o século V a.C., em diálogo com as bases filosóficas indianas, que tiveram seu fundamento a partir de textos antigos hindus que datam de 1.500 a.C. até o século 4 d.C. Tal cruzamento teórico tem o sentido de traçar um paralelo entre o cuidado de si trazido por Michel Foucault e os princípios éticos que atravessam a ética ascética hindu. O êthos só é possível em um corpo livre: de suas paixões, da escravidão da mente, do governo da mente sobre si, de fatores externos em geral, que geram distúrbios à percepção. A pesquisa investigou de que técnicas e mecanismos, os Gurus do Ashtanga Yoga, em específico, lançaram mão, para que tantas pessoas, de tantos lugares, compartilhando o paradigma cartesiano de corpo e “si”, fossem à sua procura e se aproximassem de modo contundente a uma prática que estabelece outra percepção de si e outra relação com o corpo. As etapas para a compreensão destas questões consistiram em pesquisa de campo com doze praticantes atuais de yoga, na leitura e análise dos textos antigos do yoga e a articulação da pesquisa de campo e da análise dos textos antigos à visão de ética apresentada por autores contemporâneos como Michel Foucault, Francisco Varela e Edgar Morin, seguidos pela análise iconográfica relacionada à genealogia do yoga, que envolve diversas transformações no nível técnico, simbólico e político