Edited by Henriette Hanky, Knut A. Jacobsen and István Keul (Equinox 2024)
The newly published edited volume, Embodied Reception: South Asian Spiritualities in Contemporary Contexts, presents a groundbreaking exploration of the body’s pivotal role in the transmission and reception of South Asian spiritual practices and knowledge. Edited by Henriette Hanky, Knut A. Jacobsen, and István Keul, this comprehensive work brings together contributions from renowned scholars in yoga studies and related fields. The book’s innovative approach introduces the concept of embodied reception, offering a fresh perspective on how practitioners’ bodies engage with and shape spiritual practices as they traverse cultural boundaries. Highlights of this volume include its interdisciplinary scope, ranging from theoretical frameworks to case studies of specific practices; its examination of the interplay between traditional texts and contemporary bodily interpretations; and its analysis of how embodied practices evolve as they travel between South Asia and the West. By bridging the gap between textual analysis and lived experience, “Embodied Reception” provides crucial insights into the dynamic nature of South Asian spiritualities in modern contexts, making it an essential resource for scholars, practitioners, and students in the fields of yoga studies, religious studies, and cultural anthropology.
Using the concept of ‘embodied reception‘ as a heuristic, the contributors address the dialectic between incorporating religious knowledge by performing bodily practices and opening new avenues for religious meaning-making through bodily experiences.”
The volume introduces the concept of embodied reception, providing a theoretical framework for analyzing how practitioners’ bodies engage in the processes of receiving, adapting, and transmitting knowledge and movement repertoires. This approach is particularly salient for examining the bodily dimensions of lineage construction, origins, and authorship in contemporary yoga and meditation practices, as well as elucidating the performative and affective aspects of bodily practices as they traverse cultural boundaries.
Structured in four parts, the book offers theoretical and methodological considerations, investigates practitioners’ bodily engagement with South Asian textual sources, examines the transmission of movement practices between South Asia and Europe, and explores the interplay between bodily performance and religious or secular discourses in contemporary practice contexts.
Contributors to this volume include esteemed scholars in the field of yoga studies and related disciplines, such as Anne Koch, Theo Wildcroft, Suzanne Newcombe, and Amanda Lucia, among others. Their diverse perspectives and methodological approaches provide a comprehensive analysis of the embodied reception of South Asian spiritualities.
This volume represents a significant contribution to the fields of yoga studies, contemplative studies, and religious studies. Its innovative approach to embodied reception offers new theoretical and methodological tools for researchers, while its diverse case studies provide valuable insights into the complex dynamics of cross-cultural spiritual transmission. The book’s exploration of topics such as the aesthetics of religion, post-lineage yoga, the revival of traditional martial arts, and the intersection of body ideals with moral concepts in contemporary yoga renders it a valuable resource for scholars and practitioners alike.
By bridging the gap between textual analysis and embodied practice, “Embodied Reception” opens new avenues for understanding the global dissemination and adaptation of South Asian spiritual traditions in the modern world. This volume will be of particular interest to scholars, students, and practitioners engaged in the growing fields of yoga studies and contemplative studies, as well as those studying dance and performing arts. Furthermore, it will appeal to a broader academic audience in the study of religions, South Asian studies, anthropology, sociology, and cultural studies with an interest in embodiment and global transfers of knowledge.