Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
| Online Publication Date: 17 Jul 2008
How Did We Get Here?A History of Yoga in America, 1800-1970
How Did We Get Here?A History of Yoga in America, 1800-1970
Page Range: 35 – 42
Yoga has been gaining acceptance in America. This acceptance rests, in large part, on the increase in medical research on Yoga. Despite the benefits of this research, the biomedical approach is often held accountable for America's de-emphasis on the rich,spiritual dimensions of Yoga. This article reviews the academic literature of the 1800s-1970s to show that America's focus on Yoga's health benefits is not new, but has been a part of the ongoing debate on how Yoga should be regarded.
Tull HW. F. Max Muller and A. B. Keith: "Twaddle", the "Stupid" myth, and the disease of indology. Numen. 1991;38(1):27-58.
Lang A. Mr. Max Muller and fetishism. Mind. 1879;4(16):453-469.
Frenschkowski M. Friedrich Max Muller: a life devoted to the humanities (book). Journal of Religion. 2003;83(4):680-681.
Sarkar HC. Present-day religious tendencies in India. American Journal of Theology. 1909;13(4):589-596.
Sinha S. Will India become Christian? American Journal of Theology. 1914;18(2):281-289.
Aravamudan S. Guru English. Social Text. 2001;19(1):19-44.
Vivekananda S. Jnana Yoga. New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center; 1955.
Goodman RB. East-West philosophy in nineteenth-century America: Emerson and Hinduism. Journal of the History of Ideas. 1990;51(4):625-645.
Raghavan EM, Wood B. Thoreau's Hindu quotations in "a week." American Literature. 1979;51(1):94-98.
Hodder AD. "Ex Oriente Lux": Thoreau's ecstasies and the Hindu texts. Harvard Theological Review. 1993;86(4):403-438.
Stein WB. The Hindu matrix of Walden: the king's son. Comparative Literature. 1970;22(4):303-318.
Girardot NJ. Max Muller's "Sacred Books" and the nineteenth-century production of the comparative science of religions. History of Religions. 2002;41(3):213-250.
Strauss S. Positioning Yoga: Balancing Acts Across Cultures. New York: Berg Press; 2005.
Rambachan A. The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation of the Vedas. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press; 1994.
Sil NP. Vivekananda's Ramakrsna: an untold story of mythmaking and propaganda. Numen. 1993;40(1):38-62.
Hatcher B. Eclecticism and Modern Hindu Discourse. New York: Oxford University Press; 1999.
Flagg W. Yoga for Transformation. New York: Douglas Taylor and Co.; 1898.
Lanman CR. Hindu Ascetics and Their Powers. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. 1917;48:133-151.
Clark WE. Sakadvipa and Svetadvipa. Journal of the American Oriental Society. 1919;39:209-242.
Haydon AE. Mysticism in India. Journal of Religion. 1928;8(4):618-620.
Radhakrishnan S. Religion and life. International Journal of Ethics. 1916;27(1):91-106.
Hopkins EW. Yoga-technique in the great epic. Journal of the American Oriental Society. 1901;22:333-379.
Luyster RW. The concept of the self in the Upanisads: its origin and symbols. Philosophy East and West. 1970;20(1):51-61.
White D. Human perfection in the Bhagavadgita. Philosophy East andWest. 1971;21(1):43-53.
Jung CG. The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1932 by C.G. Jung. New Jersey: Princeton University Press; 1996.
Moacanin R. The Essence of Jung's Psychology and Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications; 1986.
Leuba JH. The yoga system of mental concentration and religious mysticism. Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods. 1919;16(8):197-206.
Edgerton F. The Bhagavad Gita. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1944.
Wood E. Practical Yoga: Ancient and Modern. New York: Dutton & Co., Inc.; 1948.
Coster G. Yoga and Western Psychology. London: Oxford University Press; 1934.
Bragdon C. Yoga for You. 5th ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf; 1959.
Riepe D. Indian philosophical literature 1955-1957. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 1958;18(3):384-387.
Nikam NA. Paul Weiss on the Gita. Philosophy East and West. 1955;4(4):361-363.
Nagarajan S. Arnold and the Bhagavad Gita: a reinterpretation of Empedocles on Etna. Comparative Literature. 1960;12(4):335-347.
Chaudhuri H. The Gita and its message for humanity. Philosophy East and West. 1955;5(3):245-253.
Alberson HS. Dilemma and resolution in Bhagavad-Gita and Job. College English. 1957;18(8):406-413.
Munz P. Relationship and solitude in Hinduism and Christianity. Philosophy East and West. 1956;6(2):137-152.
White D. Translation and Oriental philosophy: an introductory study. Philosophy East and West. 1956;6(3):247-255.
Yogananda P. Autobiography of a Yogi. 13th ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship; 1998.
Krishnamurti J. Commentaries on Living. Vol 3. Wheaton, Illinois: Quest Books; 1956.
Sivananda S. Sure Ways for Success in Life and God-Realization. 14th ed. Himalayas, India: Divine Life Society; 1998.
Tyberg JM. Books of Swami Sivananda. Philosophy East and West. 1952;2(2):173-175.
Sivananda S. Sadhana: A Text-Book of the Psychology and Practice of the Techniques to Spiritual Perfection. Himalayas, India: Divine Life Society; 1958.
Sivananda S. Concentration and Meditation. 11th ed. Himalayas, India: Divine Life Society; 2001.
Sivananda S. Ethical Teachings. Himalyas, India: Divine Life Society; 1946.
Chaudhuri H. The integralism of Sri Aurobindo. Philosophy East and West. 1953;3(2):131-136.
Varma VP. East and West in Aurobindo's political philosophy. Philosophy East and West. 1955;5(3):235-244.
Aurobindo S. Letters on Yoga. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram; 1958.
Aurobindo S. A Practical Guide to Integral Yoga. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Press; 1955.
Krishnamurti J. Commentaries on Living, Volume 1. 11th ed. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books; 2001.
Joshi KS. On the meaning of yoga. Philosophy East and West. 1965;15(1):53-64.
Bridges H. Aldous Huxley: exponent of mysticism in America. Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 1969;37(4):341-352.
Bahm AJ. The aesthetics of organicism. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 1968;26(4):449-459.
Dass R. Be Here Now. Kingsport, TN: Kingsport Press; 1971.
Bauman R, McCabe N. Proverbs in an LSD cult. Journal of American Folklore. 1970;83(329):318-324.
Clark JP, Tifft LL. Polygraph and interview validation of self-reported deviant behavior. American Sociological Review. 1966;31(4):516-523.
O'Flaherty WD. Asceticism and sexuality in the mythology of Siva. Part 1. History of Religions. 1969;8(4):300-337.
Zigmund-Cerbu A. The Sadangayoga. History of Religions. 1963;3(1):128-134.
O'Flaherty WD. Asceticism and sexuality in the mythology of Siva. Part 2. History of Religions. 1969;9(1):1-41.
Rexroth K, Pondrom CN. An interview with Kenneth Rexroth. Contemporary Literature. 1969;10(3):313-331.
Deutsch ES. Sakti in medieval Hindu sculpture. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 1965;24(1):81-89.
Lipski A. Some aspects of the life and teachings of the East Bengal Saint Anandamayi Ma. History of Religions. 1969;9(1):59-77.
Pearce RH. Theory as ideology; or, the perils of pluralism. Pacific Coast Philology. 1979;14:59-67.
Schiff M. Neo-transcendentalism in the new left counter-culture: a vision of the future looking back. Comparative Studies in Society and History. 1973;15(2):130-142.
Spates JL. Counterculture and dominant culture values: a cross-national analysis of the underground press and dominant culture magazines. American Sociological Review. 1976;41(5):868-883.
Ginsberg A. Gay sunshine interview. College English. 1974;36(3):392-400.
White CSJ. The Sai Baba movement: approaches to the study of India saints. Journal of Asian Studies. 1972;31(4):863-878.
White CSJ. Swami Muktananda and the enlightenment through sakti-pat. History of Religions. 1974;13(4):306-322.
McDermott RA. The experiential basis of Sri Aurobindo's integral yoga. Philosophy East and West. 1972;22(1):15-23.
Chaudhuri H. The philosophy and yoga of Sri Aurobindo. Philosophy East and West. 1972;22(1):5-14.
Johnson DL. The task of relevance: Aurobindo's synthesis of religion and politics. Philosophy East and West. 1973;23(4):507-515.
Coward H. Mysticism in the analytical psychology of Carl Jung and the yoga psychology of Patanjali: a comparative study. Philosophy East and West. 1979;29(3):323-336.
Upadhya O. On making drawings while practising Rajneesh's Dhyana yoga. Leonardo. 1976;9(4):308-310.
Wegner WH. The creative circle: Stanislavski and yoga. Educational Theatre Journal. 1976;28(1):85-89.
Alter JS. The "sannyasi" and the Indian wrestler: the anatomy of a relationship. American Ethnologist. 1992;19(2):317-336.
White DG. The Alchemical Body: Siddha Tradition in Medieval India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press;1996.
Rani NJ, Rao PVK. Body awareness and yoga training. Perceptual & Motor Skills. 1994;79(3):1103.
Morris K. Meditating on yogic science. Lancet. 1998; 351(9108):1038.
Wilkins C. The Bhagvat-Geeta (1785; reprint, Scholars' Facsimiles and Reprints, 1959).
Hall F, Jones W. Thirteen unedited letters from Sir William Jones to Mr. (afterwards Sir) Charles Wilkins. Journal of the American Oriental Society. 1872;10:110-117.
Powell LF. Sir William Jones and the Club. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 1946;11(4):818-822.
Bloomfield M. [Untitled]. The American Historical Review. 1899; 5(2):347-349.
Address to the Royal Geographical Society of London. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London. 1838;8:xxxvii-lxi.
Riepe D. Emerson and Indian philosophy. Journal of the History of Ideas. 1967;28(1):115-122.