Liz Stillwaggon Swan - Yoga: Philosophy for Everyone: Bending Mind and Body

VOLUME EDITOR

LIZ STILLWAGGON SWAN has a PhD in philosophy and is a certified yoga instructor. Her niche in the world is helping people exercise their brains and their bodies. Her recent publications in the emerging field of biosemiotics explore how we use our brains and bodies to make sense of the world. She is also a new mother and delights in watching her son practice happy baby pose.

SERIES EDITOR

FRITZ ALLHOFF is an associate professor in the philosophy department at Western Michigan University, as well as a senior research fellow at the Australian National Universitys Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. In addition to editing the Philosophy for Everyone series, he is also the volume editor or co-editor for several titles, including Wine & Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007), Whiskey & Philosophy (with Marcus P. Adams, Wiley, 2009), and Food & Philosophy (with Dave Monroe, Wiley-Blackwell, 2007). His academic research interests engage various facets of applied ethics, ethical theory, and the history and philosophy of science.

PHILOSOPHY FOR EVERYONE

Series editor: Fritz Allhoff

Not so much a subject matter, philosophy is a way of thinking. Thinking not just about the Big Questions, but about little ones too. This series invites everyone to ponder things they care about, big or small, significant, serious or just curious.

Running & Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind

Edited by Michael W. Austin

Wine & Philosophy: A Symposium on Thinking and Drinking

Edited by Fritz Allhoff

Food & Philosophy: Eat, Think and Be Merry

Edited by Fritz Allhoff and Dave Monroe

Beer & Philosophy: The Unexamined Beer Isnt Worth Drinking

Edited by Steven D. Hales

Whiskey & Philosophy: A Small Batch of Spirited Ideas

Edited by Fritz Allhoff and Marcus P. Adams

College Sex Philosophy for Everyone: Philosophers With Benefits

Edited by Michael Bruce and Robert M. Stewart

Cycling Philosophy for Everyone: A Philosophical Tour de Force

Edited by Jess Ilundin-Agurruza and Michael W. Austin

Climbing Philosophy for Everyone: Because Its There

Edited by Stephen E. Schmid

Hunting Philosophy for Everyone: In Search of the Wild Life

Edited by Nathan Kowalsky

Christmas Philosophy for Everyone: Better Than a Lump of Coal

Edited by Scott C. Lowe

Cannabis Philosophy for Everyone: What Were We Just Talking About?

Edited by Dale Jacquette

Porn Philosophy for Everyone: How to Think With Kink

Edited by Dave Monroe

Serial Killers Philosophy for Everyone : Being and Killing

Edited by S. Waller

Dating Philosophy for Everyone: Flirting With Big Ideas

Edited by Kristie Miller and Marlene Clark

Gardening Philosophy for Everyone: Cultivating Wisdom

Edited by Dan OBrien

Motherhood Philosophy for Everyone: The Birth of Wisdom

Edited by Sheila Lintott

Fatherhood Philosophy for Everyone: The Dao of Daddy

Edited by Lon S. Nease and Michael W. Austin

Coffee Philosophy for Everyone: Grounds for Debate

Edited by Scott F. Parker and Michael W. Austin

Fashion Philosophy for Everyone: Thinking with Style

Edited by Jessica Wolfendale and Jeanette Kennett

Yoga Philosophy for Everyone: Bending Mind and Body

Edited by Liz Stillwaggon Swan

Forthcoming books in the series:

Blues Philosophy for Everyone: Thinking Deep About Feeling Low

Edited by Abrol Fairweather and Jesse Steinberg

Sailing Philosophy for Everyone: A Place of Perpetual Undulation

Edited by Patrick Goold

Tattoos Philosophy for Everyone: I Ink, Therefore I Am

Edited by Rob Arp

This edition first published 2012
2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Yoga philosophy for everyone : bending mind and body / edited by
Liz Stillwaggon Swan.
p. cm. (Philosophy for everyone)

ISBN 978-0-470-65880-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Hatha yoga. 2. YogaPhilosophy. I. Swan, Liz Stillwaggon, 1973
RA781.7.Y628 2012
613.7046dc23

2011020594

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDFs 9781118121429; Wiley Online Library 9781118121450; ePub 9781118121436; Mobi 9781118121443

For Freeman Jack Swan

JOHN FRIEND

FOREWORD

Today, millions around the world regularly practice yoga. Yet many are unaware of the historical foundations of yoga and its underlying philosophies. Yoga: Philosophy for Everyone is an intellectually stimulating collection of nineteen thought-provoking essays that discuss yoga practice as it applies to twenty-first-century mainstream society. It presents some of the key ideas of the traditional lineages of yoga philosophy, while relating them to Western thought and culture through the writings of philosophers such as Aristotle and Descartes. Aptly titled, it covers a broad survey of topics, including life philosophy and diet, that are of great interest to both Western and Eastern cultures. This book, as its title implies and like yoga itself, is appropriate for everyone from the beginner to the advanced practitioner and scholar.