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- Publisher
- Brill
- Copyright
- Copyright © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
- ISSN
- 1567-9896
- eISSN
- 1570-0593
- DOI
- 10.1163/157005907794762399
- Publisher site
- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
Book Reviews / Aries 8 (2008) 91-112 107 Elizabeth de Michelis, A History of Modern Yoga: Patañjali and Western Esotericism , London/ New York: Continuum 2005 (pbk). xvii + 282 pp. ISBN 0-8264-8772-6 Most Religious Studies specialists must have been aware that yogic practices and ideas have been transformed when they crossed cultural boundaries, but until very recently academic information on this global process of transformation existed merely fragmentarily. Eliza- beth de Michelis’ work A History of Modern Yoga promises to provide us with a historical overview of this phenomenon. But as appears to be often the case with narratives of this kind, the story cannot be told in full, and an author has to make choices. De Michelis has obviously found herself in this situation, and one might regret that she has not felt it neces- sary to justify those choices more clearly in her Introduction. One of the main focuses of her book is hinted at in the subtitle, Patañjali and Western Esotericism , while another can be found in chapters 7 and 8, on the Iyengar or Modern Postural type of Yoga (MPY). Even if the book does not fulfil the ambitious promise made in the
Journal
Aries – Brill
Published: Jan 1, 2008