Over the past thirty years, academic dialogue on the relationships between science and religion within historical, theological and philosophical contexts has flourished, with the importance of this dialogue being positively expressed. In particular, at the intersection of psychology and religion there is a triple relationship between these domains and in this thesis, we bring the Hindu tradition of Classical Yoga into this discourse, aiming for a psychological understanding of the Yogasutra of Patañjali as the primary text of this tradition. With a 'psychology in religion' perspective we identify key psychological concepts in the first six sutra of the text, explicate and explore its psychological dimension, through referencing with other key sutra or aphorisms in the Yogasutra. With a robust methodology consisting of a hermeneutic and phenomenological based close reading of the text and rigorous conceptual analysis, we construct a detailed model of the mind contextualised within the principles and practice of Yoga. We discuss the modifications and states of the mind, the underlying subliminal factors; the nature of embodiment, identity and subjective experience, and the affective and volitional aspects of the individual, as explicated from the text. In Section Three of this thesis we take a dialogical and comparative approach at the intersection of psychology and religion. Csikszentmihalyi has asserted that there is a close resemblance between Yoga and Flow, the latter being developed within the domain of Western Positive Psychology. We carry out a detailed comparative analysis of the phenomenology of Flow and Samadhi presented within a proposed methodology and framework of dimensions of subjectivity and consciousness, to investigate this claim. Clarifying the conceptual differences, establishing parallels and demonstrating common topographical and functional areas in the two phenomena, opens the possibility for an empirical investigation, which we propose. Finally, we point out the contributions of this study and suggest future directions for research in this field.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-09-28T12:24:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Jennifer Giusti.pdf: 1181778 bytes, checksum: 45606094b9cef9e0cb8016013ce72e3e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-28T12:24:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jennifer Giusti.pdf: 1181778 bytes, checksum: 45606094b9cef9e0cb8016013ce72e3e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The proposal of this research is to understand the state of presence provoked by the practice of Yoga, with the objective of developing this understanding by adopting a method that is based on the phenomenological-existential thought proposed by the philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). This piece of work originated from questions that emerged from the experience of the researcher, who has been a Yoga practitioner and teacher for approximately ten years. The main questions related to a possible phenomenological-existential reading of the phenomenon of presence in Yoga, questions such as: Is it possible to speak of a state of presence? Can anyone feel more present because of the practice of Yoga? What is the importance of the body in this perception? Therefore, we sought to unveil the phenomenon of presence in Yoga through the researcher's own experience as a practitioner and as a teacher. The construction of this study was developed based on records of the practice, which were transformed into personal reports and then used as a way of unveiling the phenomenon and method of investigation. To transform the experiences lived in the classes into narratives for the research, a class diary was produced. The diary consisted of 17 classes from which the analysis of the possible meanings and the meaning of the experience for reflection on the phenomenon of presence in yoga was carried out. The phenomenon was revealed as a connection with bodily sensations, perception of one’s own thoughts and relationship with time, which configured openness to oneself, to the world and to the meaning of life of Dasein, that, from this experience of contact with itself, understands how it reacts to life. (Research Support - Capes) / Esta pesquisa se propõe a compreender o estado de presença suscitado pela prática do Yoga, com o objetivo de desenvolver essa compreensão a partir de um método baseado no pensamento fenomenológico-existencial, proposto pelo filósofo Martin Heidegger (1889–1976). Este trabalho teve origem em questões que emergiram da vivência da pesquisadora com o Yoga, como praticante e professora por aproximadamente dez anos. As questões principais relacionavam-se a uma possível leitura fenomenológico-existencial do fenômeno presença no Yoga, tais como: é possível falar de um estado de presença? Ou sentir-se mais presente a partir da prática de Yoga? Qual é a importância do corpo nesta percepção? Dessa forma, buscou-se desvelar o fenômeno da presença no Yoga por meio da experiência da própria pesquisadora como praticante e como professora. A construção deste estudo se desenvolveu a partir de registros fáticos da prática, transformados em relatos pessoais, utilizados como forma de desvelamento do fenômeno e método de investigação. A fim de transformar as experiências de aulas praticadas em narrativas para a pesquisa, produziu-se um diário de aulas. O diário constituiu-se por 17 aulas a partir das quais se passou à análise dos possíveis significados e o sentido da experiência para reflexão sobre o fenômeno presença no Yoga. O fenômeno se desvelou como conexão com as sensações corpóreas, percepção dos próprios pensamentos e da relação com o transcorrer do tempo, o que se configurou em abertura para si, para o mundo e para o sentido de vida do Dasein, que a partir desta experiência de contato consigo compreende como reage adiante da vida. (Apoio Capes)

Ten selected yoga movements were successful applied in Gestalt Therapy to promote adolescent girls' awareness. The girls were between seventeen and eighteen years old. A review of the existing literature exercises indicated the value of meditation, breathing exercises, and relaxation exercises in the Gestalt therapeutic process. Hatha yoga however, offers a variety of movements that can be extracted and used as a resource for the promotion of awareness in the Gestalt therapeutic process. A case study method where research was only used as a tool to gain better insights concerning the use of yoga movements was followed. The study results indicated that awareness of the body, posture; muscles tension, the self, and the environment were promoted. After yoga movements were used as introduction to the session, the social experience of the group discussion afterwards seemed to have been positive. This form of awareness creation can contribute to adolescent girls' process of become aware in Gestalt Therapy. / Social Work / (M. Ed.)Play Therapy)

Ten selected yoga movements were successful applied in Gestalt Therapy to promote adolescent girls' awareness. The girls were between seventeen and eighteen years old. A review of the existing literature exercises indicated the value of meditation, breathing exercises, and relaxation exercises in the Gestalt therapeutic process. Hatha yoga however, offers a variety of movements that can be extracted and used as a resource for the promotion of awareness in the Gestalt therapeutic process. A case study method where research was only used as a tool to gain better insights concerning the use of yoga movements was followed. The study results indicated that awareness of the body, posture; muscles tension, the self, and the environment were promoted. After yoga movements were used as introduction to the session, the social experience of the group discussion afterwards seemed to have been positive. This form of awareness creation can contribute to adolescent girls' process of become aware in Gestalt Therapy. / Social Work / (M. Ed.)Play Therapy)

The purpose of this study was to document the effects that a regular yoga therapy practice has on the quality of life for a paraplegic individual. Due to the unique nature of spinal cord injury (SCI), this was a case study with one participant. For 5 weeks the subject practiced a standardized yoga routine three times a week with a yoga teacher, receiving private instruction. Interview questions were asked before and after the intervention to document the participant's quality of life. Each week, the subject completed a modified SF-36 questionnaire as well as Cohen's Perceived Stress Survey. Perceived pain and perceived stress were the two primary variables monitored in the study. The results of this study demonstrated a slight reduction in perceived stress, a reduction in perceived pain, and an improvement in overall quality of life. Additionally, the subject increased her strength significantly from the beginning to the end of the study. Based on the findings in this study, it appears that a regular adapted yoga routine is beneficial for paraplegic individuals.