Biography of a Yogi: Paramahansa Yogananda and the Origins of Modern Yoga

With over four million copies in print, Paramahansa Yogananda's autobiography has served as a gateway into yoga and alternative spirituality for North American practitioners since 1946. Balancing traditional yoga, metaphysical spirituality, and a flair for the stage, Yogananda inspired
countless people to practice Yogoda, his own brand of yoga. His method combined the spiritual and superhuman aspirations of Indian traditions with the health-oriented sensibilities of Western practice.

Because the Yogoda program does not rely on recognizable postures and poses, it has remained under the radar of yoga scholarship. Biography of a Yogi examines Yogananda's career and Yogoda in the wider context of the development of yoga in the twentieth century. Focusing on Yogis during this early
period of transnational popularization, Foxen highlights the continuities in the concept of the Yogi as superhuman and traces the transformation of yoga from a holistic and spiritual practice to its present-day postural practice.


Author: Anya P. Foxen
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 08/01/2017
Pages: 264
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.83lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780190668051

About the Author

Anya P. Foxen teaches in the Religious Studies Program at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and is a certified yoga instructor and long-time practitioner.