Reviews

“Often we pride ourselves on the achievements and icons of our culture and history. Cultural forms like art, music, theatre, literature, philosophy, religion, science – and yoga - are seen to represent something great, universal and timeless. Those specialists and followers who maintain, spread and prize such cultural forms claim that they are elevated above day-to-day practical and commercial concerns. They claim that these noble cultural forms and that those participating in them are disinterested in egocentric and worldly affairs (expressed in rhetoric like art for art’s sake). 
This book steps into a critical style of historiography where such dignified culture is not accepted as an “innocent and neutral pursuit of ultimate values”. Sociologists like P. Bourdieu have shown how cultural forms like art and academic science despite claims of only pursuing universal values are actually deeply formed by and interact with society. In a similar way this book pulls yoga discourse – its practices and signs - back into the politics and economy of society. An imperative step for the yoga discourse.” 
Ole Wøide, lector, Cand. Mag. philosophy

“Any discourse benefits from debate and questioning of underlying assumptions. This is what philosophy and reflexivity is about. Until this book the yoga discourse shows a remarkable lack of such critical investigations of core premises and beliefs. In particular there seems to be too little examination of yoga’s involvement with society, power and social conflict. A Cultural History of Yoga rectifies this omission. Some readers deeply committed to yoga might feel hurt by the philosophical attitude and ideological criticism expressed in this book. However on second thoughts they will probably welcome this contribution to a debate of yoga’s role in society. It is through such philosophical debate that we sharpen our knowledge and understanding – this includes yoga. This pioneering book has invited the yoga discourse into the forum of critical philosophical scrutiny. I warmly welcome this.”
  Walter Weissensteiner, Dr. Phil.
 

"This is a really interesting manuscript and in my view definitely deserves to be published. It occupies an unusual – even unique - space in that it situates itself between popularising accounts of Yoga and strictly scholarly works insofar as it seeks to bring academic insights and methods to bear on its subject matter but to maintain a level of accessibility that is open to the general interested reader. I see this as a very positive aspect of this book."   ..... "I read A Cultural History of Yoga as an important bridge. As such rather than view the book as a strictly academic work I see it as a critical perspective on the popular and academic literature as a whole. In that regard I think there is nothing like this out there." 
Professor Richard King, Professor of Buddhist and Asian Studies, University of Kent.