1 1669 117 NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND NEUROCOGNITIVE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA-BASED PRACTICES: TOWARDS A COMPREHENSIVE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK. DURING RECENT DECADES NUMEROUS YOGA-BASED PRACTICES (YBP) HAVE EMERGED IN THE WEST, WITH THEIR AIMS RANGING FROM FITNESS GAINS TO THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT. YOGA IS ALSO BEGINNING TO SPARK GROWING INTEREST WITHIN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, AND YOGA-BASED INTERVENTIONS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH MEASUREABLE CHANGES IN PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS, PERCEIVED EMOTIONAL STATES, AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING. YBP TYPICALLY INVOLVE A COMBINATION OF POSTURES OR MOVEMENT SEQUENCES, CONSCIOUS REGULATION OF THE BREATH, AND VARIOUS TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE ATTENTIONAL FOCUS. HOWEVER, SO FAR LITTLE IF ANY RESEARCH HAS ATTEMPTED TO DECONSTRUCT THE ROLE OF THESE DIFFERENT COMPONENT PARTS IN ORDER TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THEIR RESPECTIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE EFFECTS OF YBP. A CLEAR OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF YOGA-BASED THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES, AS WELL AS A COMPREHENSIVE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FROM WHICH TESTABLE HYPOTHESES CAN BE FORMULATED, IS THEREFORE NEEDED. HERE WE PROPOSE SUCH A FRAMEWORK, AND OUTLINE THE BOTTOM-UP NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND TOP-DOWN NEUROCOGNITIVE MECHANISMS HYPOTHESIZED TO BE AT PLAY IN YBP. 2015 2 2086 41 THE EFFECT OF MOVEMENT-FOCUSED AND BREATH-FOCUSED YOGA PRACTICE ON STRESS PARAMETERS AND SUSTAINED ATTENTION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED PILOT STUDY. YOGA-BASED PRACTICES (YBP) TYPICALLY INVOLVE A COMBINATION OF MOVEMENT SEQUENCES, CONSCIOUS REGULATION OF THE BREATH, AND TECHNIQUES TO ENGAGE ATTENTION. HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT WHETHER EFFECTS OF YBP RESULT FROM THE SYNERGISTIC COMBINATION OF THESE COMPONENTS, OR WHETHER A SUBSET MAY YIELD SIMILAR EFFECTS. IN THIS STUDY WE COMPARED THE EFFECT OF A MOVEMENT-FOCUSED PRACTICE AND A BREATH-FOCUSED PRACTICE ON STRESS PARAMETERS (PERCEIVED STRESS AND SALIVARY CORTISOL) AND SUSTAINED ATTENTION (RESPONSE INHIBITION) IN YOGA NAIVE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. WHILE PARTICIPANTS OF BOTH PROGRAMS SHOWED A REDUCTION IN PERCEIVED STRESS AND SALIVARY CORTISOL, ONLY THE BREATH-FOCUSED GROUP SHOWED IMPROVEMENTS IN SUSTAINED ATTENTION. IN ADDITION, IMPROVEMENT IN SUSTAINED ATTENTION WAS CORRELATED WITH REDUCTION IN PERCEIVED STRESS BUT NOT WITH REDUCTION IN SALIVARY CORTISOL. WE DISCUSS THESE FINDINGS IN THE CONTEXT OF A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OUTLINING BOTTOM-UP NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND TOP-DOWN NEUROCOGNITIVE MECHANISMS HYPOTHESIZED TO BE ENGAGED BY YBP. 2018 3 2809 14 YOGA THERAPY: BUILDING A HOLDING ENVIRONMENT FOR SOMATIC AND PSYCHE CHANGE. DRAWING ON IDEAS FROM D.W. WINNICOTT AND THE WORK OF QUAKER THEOLOGIAN PARKER PALMER, THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES THE CONCEPT OF A HOLDING ENVIRONMENT, ITS REFINED UNDERSTANDING IN THE LITERATURE OVER THE YEARS, AND HOW IT CAN BE OPTIMALLY USED IN YOGA THERAPY. THE EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT EFFECTIVELY ESTABLISHING A HOLDING ENVIRONMENT CAN FACILITATE BOTH SOMATIC AND DEEP STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN A CLIENT, FACILITATING HEALING FROM PRIMAL WOUNDING AS WELL AS THE POTENTIAL RECONNECTION TO THE TRUE SELF. 2015 4 2892 14 YOGAHOME: TEACHING AND RESEARCH CHALLENGES IN A YOGA PROGRAM WITH HOMELESS ADULTS. YOGAHOME IS A THERAPEUTIC YOGA PROGRAM FOR HOMELESS WOMEN. DEVELOPING AND REFINING YOGAHOME PROVIDED A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE THE PROCESS OF TEACHING YOGA TO WOMEN FACED WITH THE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL STRESS OF LIVING IN A HOMELESS SHELTER. UNIQUE TEACHING AND RESEARCH CHALLENGES ARE PRESENTED AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE PROGRAMS ARE DISCUSSED. 2012 5 399 24 BEYOND THE BODY: INSIGHTS FROM AN IYENGAR YOGA PROGRAM FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITY AFTER BREAST CANCER. LYMPHEDEMA, PAIN, AND RANGE OF MOTION RESTRICTIONS AFTER BREAST CANCER REMAIN UNDEREXPLORED, AND FEW INTERVENTIONS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FOR THESE WOMEN. TOGETHER WITH A YOGA INSTRUCTOR, OUR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH TEAM DEVELOPED A YOGA PROGRAM FOR WOMEN WITH LYMPHEDEMA AFTER BREAST CANCER (N = 13). QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS AND PARTICIPANTS' JOURNALS SHOW THAT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF BENEFITS TO THE YOGA PROGRAM. THEMES OUTLINING THESE ARE (1) UNDERSTANDING ARM MORBIDITY; (2) BECOMING AWARE OF POSTURE; AND (3) COUNTERING FATIGUE. MORE SURPRISINGLY, PERHAPS, THE PARTICIPANTS ALSO DESCRIBED THE WAYS IN WHICH YOGA FURTHERED THEIR UNDERSTANDINGS OF LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH DISABILITY, THE FOURTH THEME, AND SHOWED THAT YOGA ENHANCED THEIR EXPERIENCES OF EMBODIMENT, THE FINAL THEME. FINALLY, WE ASSERT THAT OUR RESEARCH DEMONSTRATES THE POTENTIAL FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CONNECTED TO THE EVALUATION OF INTERVENTIONS AND THAT IT DEMONSTRATES THE BLURRING OF TRADITIONAL BOUNDARIES BETWEEN INTERVENTIONS AND DATA COLLECTION. 2014 6 2724 10 YOGA NEUROPATHY. A SNOOZER. SCIATIC NERVE COMPRESSION VERY RARELY OCCURS BILATERALLY. THE AUTHORS PRESENT A WOMAN WITH PROFOUND LOWER EXTREMITY WEAKNESS AND SENSORY ABNORMALITY AFTER FALLING ASLEEP IN THE HEAD-TO-KNEES YOGA POSITION (ALSO CALLED "PASCHIMOTTANASANA"). CLINICAL AND ELECTRODIAGNOSTIC FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED IN DETAIL AND A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE IS PRESENTED. 2005 7 2280 10 THE SEVEN SURPRISES: WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT NURSING THROUGH YOGA. UPDATED SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK WITH POSTS BY A WIDE VARIETY OF AUTHORS, AJN'S BLOG OFF THE CHARTS ALLOWS US TO PROVIDE MORE TIMELY-AND OFTEN MORE PERSONAL-PERSPECTIVES ON PROFESSIONAL, POLICY, AND CLINICAL ISSUES. BEST OF THE BLOG IS A REGULAR COLUMN TO DRAW THE ATTENTION OF AJN READERS TO POSTS WE THINK DESERVE A WIDER AUDIENCE. TO READ MORE, PLEASE VISIT: WWW.AJNOFFTHECHARTS.COM. 2021 8 409 22 BLENDING MARTIAL ARTS AND YOGA FOR HEALTH: FROM THE LAST SAMURAI TO THE FIRST ODAKA YOGA WARRIOR. THIS PAPER INTRODUCES THE CASE STUDY OF ODAKA YOGA, AN INNOVATIVE STYLE OF POSTURAL YOGA BLENDED WITH MARTIAL ARTS ELEMENTS WHICH EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF PRACTITIONERS' HEALTH AND PROCESSES OF SELF-TRANSFORMATION AS PIVOTAL TO THE SCHOOL'S ETHOS. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE PAPER EXPLORES HOW ODAKA YOGA'S PHILOSOPHICAL BACKDROPS AND PRACTICAL REPERTOIRE, COMPOSED BY A MIXTURE OF "EXOTIC" RESOURCES SUCH AS BUSHIDO, ZEN, YOGA, AND A CONSTANT REFERENCE TO THE OCEAN WAVES AND BIOMECHANICS, CONSTITUTE A VERY SPECIFIC VISION OF HEALTH AT THE INTERSECTION OF WESTERN SCIENCE AND ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE. THEORETICALLY, THE PAPER BORROWS FROM JENNINGS' THEORY OF MARTIAL CREATION AND ENRICHES IT WITH SOME OF THE CENTRAL ANALYTICAL TOOLS PROPOSED BY THEORISTS SUCH AS BOURDIEU AND FOUCAULT. METHODOLOGICALLY, IT RELIES ON A MULTIMODAL APPROACH INCLUDING DISCURSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE SCHOOL'S PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS, INTERVIEWS WITH THE FOUNDERS AND OTHER KEY TEACHERS, AND OBSERVANT PARTICIPATION OF PRACTITIONERS' APPRENTICESHIP PROCESSES. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THIS PAPER DISCUSSES THE BIRTH OF ODAKA YOGA AS OCCURRING AT THE INTERSECTION OF ASIAN MARTIAL ARTS AND YOGA, AS WELL AS THE FOUNDERS' BIOGRAPHICAL TRAJECTORIES FROM THE WORLD OF COMPETITIVE MARTIAL ARTS AND FITNESS, TO YOGA; IT THEN TURNS TO AN EXAMINATION OF ODAKA YOGA'S CONCEPTION OF HEALTH AS A MIXTURE OF THE WESTERN BIOMEDICAL MODEL AND THE SUBTLE BODY MODEL OF ASIAN TRADITIONS SUCH AS YOGA AND MARTIAL ARTS. IT ARGUES THAT THE CONCEPTION OF HEALTH PROMOTED BY THIS SCHOOL GIVES RISE TO THE ODAKA YOGA WARRIOR, THE IDEAL-TYPICAL PRACTITIONER WHOSE BODY IS SIMULTANEOUSLY EXPOSED TO THE MEDICAL GAZE AND ITS IMPERATIVES OF CONTROL, KNOWLEDGE, AND MANIPULATION; WHILE IT ALSO DEIFIES IT, AS IT IS ANIMATED BY THE ELUSIVE FLOWS OF ENERGY (QI OR PRANA) THAT PROLONGED PRACTICE AIMS TO MASTER. THE PAPER CONCLUDES WITH A REFLECTION ON HYBRID CONCEPTIONS OF HEALTH AND THE UBIQUITOUS ROLE OF HEALTH DISCOURSES AND NARRATIVES ACROSS SOCIOCULTURAL DOMAINS. 2020 9 543 10 CONSCIOUSNESS AND ITS PROFOUND ELEVATION WITH AYURVEDA AND YOGA. THE AYU HAS ITS FOUR COMPONENTS NAMELY :- BODY, MIND, SENSE AND CONSCIOUSNESS. THUS WO CAN SAY THAT AYURVEDA MEANS "A SYSTEMATIC COMPLETE VALID KNOWLODGE OF LIFE SCIENCE INCLUDING THO GROSS AND ASTRAL FORM OF BODY." THE WHOLE OBJECT OF AYURVEDA AND YOGA CENTRE ROUND THE KNOWLEDGE OF CORRELATION AMONG THE FOUR COMPONENTS AND ESTABLISHING A HARMONY AMONG THEM FOREVER". 1982 10 2309 13 TRANSFORMING CARE WITH YOGA THERAPY. VERONICA RIERA-GILLEY PARTNERS WITH CERTIFIED YOGA THERAPIST ANGEL BROWNLEE TO DISCUSS THE ADAPTABILITY OF A YOGA PRACTICE TO AN OLDER PERSON'S UNIQUE MOVEMENT NEEDS AS THEY PROGRESS THROUGH LATE-LIFE TO END-OF-LIFE. THE AUTHORS DISCUSS THE BENEFITS OF AND PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR YOGA THERAPY. 2021 11 401 11 BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO TEACHING ANATOMY FOR YOGA. CONTEXT: THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO TEACHING ANATOMY FOR YOGA, WHILE SYSTEMATIC, IS OFTEN INEFFECTIVE. METHODS: A UNIQUE APPROACH TO TEACHING ANATOMY FOR A YOGA TEACHER TRAINING SEMINAR IS PRESENTED, FOUNDED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF THOMAS MYERS' ANATOMY TRAINS. LAB ACTIVITIES ARE DETAILED AND BLOOM'S TAXONOMY IS APPLIED TO ENSURE STUDENTS ARE ENGAGED IN HIGHER LEVEL THINKING AND APPLICATION. CONCLUSION: GOING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO TEACHING ANATOMY FOR YOGA CAN BE EXTREMELY REWARDING FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS ALIKE. 2015 12 1775 14 PRACTICE OF YOGA MAY CAUSE DAMAGE OF BOTH SCIATIC NERVES: A CASE REPORT. SCIATIC NERVE TRAUMATIC DAMAGE VERY RARELY OCCURS BILATERALLY. WE DESCRIBE THE CASE OF A 67-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WHO REPORTED A BILATERAL TRAUMATIC LESION OF THE SCIATIC NERVE DURING PRACTICE OF YOGA. NERVE CONDUCTION STUDIES SHOWED A BILATERAL SCIATIC NERVE NEUROPATHY, MOSTLY AFFECTING THE PERONEAL COMPONENT. LUMBAR PLEXUS MRI DOCUMENTED REGULAR ANATOMICAL FEATURES OF THE MAIN PRINCIPAL NERVE ROOTS WITH BILATERAL T2 SIGNAL ALTERATION OF ROOTS L4, L5 AND S1 THAT EXTENDED INTO THE SCIATIC NERVES SHOWING BOTH INCREASE IN SIZE, PROBABLY RELATED TO CHRONIC INJURY OF NERVES, AND AN ALTERATION IN DIFFUSION SIGNAL THAT SUGGESTED A RECENT ACUTE OVERLAPPED PROCESS. 2013 13 486 16 CLINICAL HYPNOSIS AND PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS. THE TRANCE STATES IN YOGA AND HYPNOSIS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SIMILAR PHENOMENA LIKE RELAXATION, DISINCLINATION TO TALK, UNREALITY, MISREPRESENTATION, ALTERATIONS IN PERCEPTION, INCREASED CONCENTRATION, SUSPENSION OF NORMAL REALITY TESTING, AND THE TEMPORARY NATURE OF THE PHENOMENA. WHILE SOME RESEARCHERS CONSIDER YOGA TO BE A FORM OF HYPNOSIS, OTHERS NOTE THAT THERE ARE MANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE TRANCE IN YOGA AND THE HYPNOTIC TRANCE. THE PRESENT STUDY AIMED TO FIND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE TRANCE STATES OF HYPNOSIS AND PATANJALI'S YOGA SUTRAS. THE TRANCE STATES WERE COMPARED WITH THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHENOMENA OF TRANCE, AND THE THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES AND BENEFITS OF BOTH. AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPT OF TRANCE IN PATANJALI'S YOGA SUTRAS WAS GAINED THROUGH A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK FOUR CHAPTERS ON FREEDOM BY SWAMI SATYANANDA SARASWATI. THIS LED TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPT OF TRANCE IN THE YOGA SUTRAS. THE OBTAINED CONCEPTS WERE COMPARED TO THE CONCEPTS OF TRANCE IN HYPNOSIS (OBTAINED THROUGH THE LITERATURE ON HYPNOSIS) TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER OR NOT THERE EXIST SIMILARITIES. THE FINDINGS OF THE STUDY SHOW THAT THERE ARE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE TRANCE IN HYPNOSIS AND THE TRANCE IN PATANJALI'S YOGA SUTRAS IN THE INDUCTION AND DEEPENING OF THE TRANCE STATES IN HYPNOSIS AND THAT OF SAMADHI, THE PHENOMENA PRESENT IN HYPNOSIS AND THE KINDS OF SIDDHIS THAT ARE OBTAINED THROUGH SAMADHI, AND THE THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES AND THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS IN PATANJALI'S YOGA SUTRA AND HYPNOSIS. 2013 14 1952 18 SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER AND THE YOGA PARADIGM: A RECONSIDERATION OF THE ROLE OF THE PINEAL GLAND. SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER IS A PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER WHOSE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND CLINICAL PRESENTATION ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. BY APPLYING THE ANCIENT PARADIGM OF YOGA PSYCHOLOGY TO THIS SUBJECT, NEW UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE SYNDROME EMERGE REGARDING THE POSSIBLE ROLE OF THE PINEAL GLAND, THE CLINICAL PRESENTATION OF THE SYNDROME, AND THE POSSIBLE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF PHOTOTHERAPY. THE ENERGY DEPLETION MODEL PRESENTED HERE TIES TOGETHER SUCH DIVERSE ELEMENTS AS: DOSE-RESPONSE ASPECTS OF PHOTOTHERAPY, ANERGIA AS A PRIMARY SYMPTOM OF SAD, 'SPRING FEVER', MYOFASCIAL PAIN DISORDER, THE ANTI-GONADOTROPHIC EFFECT OF MELATONIN, AND PINEAL SUPERSENSITIVITY IN BIPOLAR PATIENTS. CLINICAL PREDICTIONS ARE MADE, AND SIMPLE RESEARCH PROTOCOLS ARE SUGGESTED WHICH CAN DIRECTLY TEST THE HYPOTHESES GENERATED BY THIS PARADIGM. 1990 15 407 19 BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PIEZOELECTRICITY IN RELATION TO ACUPUNCTURE, HATHA YOGA, OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE AND ACTION OF AIR IONS. PIEZOELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES SUCH AS PROTEINS, NUCLEIC ACIDS AND MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDES ARE REVIEWED IN THIS PAPER. IT IS INDICATED THAT THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS OF THE HUMAN BODY COMPOSED OF THESE PIEZOELECTRIC SUBSTANCES ARE CAPABLE OF TRANSDUCING A MECHANICAL ENERGY INTO AN ELECTRIC CURRENT. SUCH A TRANSDUCTION MAY BE BROUGHT ABOUT BY MOVEMENTS OF AN ACUPUNCTURE NEEDLE, OSTEOPATHIC MANIPULATIONS; HATHA YOGA POSTURES OR ACTION OF NEGATIVELY CHARGED AIR IRONS. IT IS POSTULATED THAT ELECTRIC CURRENT INDUCED BY STIMULATION OF THE SPECIFIC SITES ON THE SURFACE OF HUMAN BODY FLOWS TOWARDS THE INTERNAL ORGANS ALONG THE SEMICONDUCTIVE CHANNELS OF BIOLOGIC MACROMOLECULES. ELECTRIC CURRENT INDUCED EITHER BY THE PIEZOELECTRIC TRANSDUCTION OR DIRECTLY APPLIED FROM AN EXTERNAL SOURCE MAY IN TURN STIMULATE INDIVIDUAL CELLS IN THE TARGET ORGAN. INVOLVEMENT OF ELECTRICAL PHENOMENA IN REGULATORY MECHANISMS ON CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR LEVELS IS DISCUSSED. 1977 16 533 19 COMPARISON OF TWO TAGTEACH ERROR-CORRECTION PROCEDURES TO TEACH BEGINNER YOGA POSES TO ADULTS. TEACHING WITH ACOUSTICAL GUIDANCE INVOLVES AUDITORY FEEDBACK (E.G., A CLICK SOUND WHEN A DESIRED BEHAVIOR OCCURS) AS PART OF A MULTICOMPONENT INTERVENTION KNOWN AS TAGTEACH. TAGTEACH HAS BEEN FOUND TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN SPORT, DANCE, SURGICAL TECHNIQUE, AND WALKING. WE COMPARED THE EFFICACY AND EFFICIENCY OF THE STANDARD TAGTEACH ERROR-CORRECTION PROCEDURE AND A MODIFIED TAGTEACH ERROR-CORRECTION PROCEDURE TO TEACH 4 NOVICE ADULT YOGA PRACTITIONERS BEGINNER YOGA POSES. BOTH ERROR-CORRECTION PROCEDURES WERE EFFECTIVE FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS; HOWEVER, THE RELATIVE EFFICIENCY OF THESE ERROR-CORRECTION PROCEDURES WAS UNCLEAR. RESULTS ARE DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF LIMITATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH. 2020 17 2694 18 YOGA INDUCED ACUTE ULNAR NERVE COMPRESSION BY A GANGLION CYST IN GUYON'S CANAL. ACUTE ULNAR NEUROPATHY AT THE WRIST CAN BE DIFFICULT TO DIAGNOSE, AS IT IS AN UNCOMMON NEUROPATHY WITH VARIABLE CLINICAL PRESENTATIONS AND NUMEROUS ETIOLOGIES. WE PRESENT A CASE OF ACUTE ULNAR NEUROPATHY OF THE DEEP MOTOR BRANCH CAUSED BY A GANGLION CYST IN GUYON'S CANAL. INTERESTINGLY, THIS CASE OF ACUTE LOSS OF MOTOR FUNCTION OCCURRED AFTER THE PATIENT PARTICIPATED IN YOGA (SPECIFICALLY THE DOWNWARD DOG POSITION), AND RESOLVED SPONTANEOUSLY OVER TIME AFTER STOPPING YOGA, WITHOUT SURGICAL EXCISION OF THE GANGLION, SUGGESTING EXACERBATION OR PROTRUSION OF AN OCCULT GANGLION CYST DUE TO INCREASED ACTIVITY AND COMPRESSION OF THE HYPOTHENAR EMINENCE. 2013 18 1674 16 NURTURING THE FEMALE BODY: NOTIONS OF WELLBEING IN WOMB YOGA. ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES WHICH AIM TO ENHANCE WOMEN'S WELLBEING HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF CONTRIBUTING TO HEALTHIST AND POSTFEMINIST AGENDAS WHICH REST UPON A NEOLIBERAL LOGIC. I CRITICALLY ENGAGE WITH THIS ISSUE HERE THROUGH AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF WOMB YOGA, A WOMEN'S ALTERNATIVE THERAPY DEVELOPED IN THE UK. I ARGUE THAT WHILE BEING COMMERCIAL AND EMPHASIZING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, WOMB YOGA LARGELY WORKS AGAINST THE CURRENT NEOLIBERAL OPTIMIZATION IDEAL. WOMB YOGA PRACTITIONERS DISMISS GOAL-ORIENTED SELF-MANAGEMENT AND DISCIPLINE, AND AVOID A SIMPLE REPRODUCTION OF GENDER STEREOTYPES BY DEFLECTING CARE AWAY FROM OTHER-DIRECTEDNESS AND OPENING THE INTERPRETATION OF FEMININITY TO THE IMAGINATIVE AND EXPERIENTIAL REALMS. 2021 19 2373 27 WHAT IS OUR "EPISTEMIC RESPONSIBILITY"? REFLECTIONS ON SOCIAL WORK'S ORIENTATION IN YOGA THERAPY RESEARCH. THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO EXPLORE HOW THE SOCIAL WORK DISCIPLINE COULD PROVIDE A COMPLEMENTARY LENS THROUGH WHICH YOGA THERAPY CAN BE ANALYZED AND EVALUATED BY ENGAGING IN KNOWLEDGE-CREATION PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES THAT PRIORITIZE THE "EPISTEMIC RESPONSIBILITY" DESCRIBED BY PHILOSOPHER LORRAINE CODE. MORE SPECIFICALLY, BY SEEKING TO STRATEGICALLY INCLUDE OFTEN-SUBJUGATED TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE AND BY FOCUSING ON REDISTRIBUTING EPISTEMIC POWER TO AGENTS THAT TYPICALLY HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED FROM EPISTEMIC PARTICIPATION IN CONTEMPORARY YOGA THERAPY RESEARCH, THE SOCIAL WORK DISCIPLINE, WITH ITS STRONG COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL JUSTICE, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CONTRIBUTE TO FILLING AN IMPORTANT GAP IN SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. WE BEGIN BY PRESENTING THE RELEVANCE OF THE SOCIAL WORK PERSPECTIVE IN RELATION TO THE FIELD OF YOGA THERAPY. WE NEXT OFFER A RESERVED CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DOMINANT TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE BASE THAT CURRENTLY INFORMS YOGA THERAPY PRACTICE. THIS ANALYSIS HIGHLIGHTS THE SOCIAL PARAMETERS THAT MAY BE RENDERED INVISIBLE OR LEFT ASIDE WHEN ADOPTING A POSITIVIST EPISTEMOLOGICAL LENS AND JUSTIFIES HOW THE CONCEPTUAL APPARATUS OF EPISTEMIC RESPONSIBILITY SERVES AS A POTENTIAL PLATFORM FOR RETHINKING SOCIAL WORK'S POSITION AND FUTURE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIELD OF YOGA THERAPY. FINALLY, WE MOBILIZE THE CONCEPT OF CULTURAL APPROPRIATION TO ILLUSTRATE HOW STRIVING FOR EPISTEMIC RESPONSIBILITY PROVIDES AN ENTRY POINT FOR ADDRESSING THE MULTILEVEL, COMPLEX SOCIAL PROCESSES EMBEDDED IN YOGA THERAPY PRACTICE AND RESEARCH WHILE AIMING TO CAPTURE THE MANY VOICES-AND HENCE THE VARIOUS TRUTHS-IMPLICATED IN A DEMOCRATIC, REFLEXIVE, AND INCLUSIVE RESEARCH PROCESS. 2020 20 1310 22 HEALING MYTHS, YOGA STYLES AND SOCIAL BODIES: SOCIO-LOGICS OF YOGA AS A HEALTH PRACTICE IN THE SOCIALLY STRATIFIED CITY OF MARSEILLE, FRANCE. DRAWING ON PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION AND INTERVIEWS IN TWO YOGA STUDIOS IN THE HIGHLY SOCIALLY STRATIFIED CITY OF MARSEILLE, FRANCE, THIS PAPER EXPLORES THE UNDERSTANDINGS OF YOGA AS A HEALTH PRACTICE THAT EMERGE AT THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN YOGA STYLES AND THEIR SOCIAL CONTEXTS OF CONSUMPTION. ITS INSIGHTS EMERGE FROM THE COMPARISON OF THREE MODERN YOGA STYLES THAT WERE DEVELOPED FOR WESTERN ENGLISH-SPEAKING CULTURAL CONTEXTS - IYENGAR, BIKRAM AND FORREST - AND WHICH DIFFER IN FORM BUT ALSO IN THE CHRONOLOGY OF THEIR EMERGENCE ON THE GLOBAL YOGA MARKET AND THAT OF THEIR RECEPTION IN FRANCE. THESE THREE YOGA STYLES ARE ALSO BRANDED THROUGH CONTRASTING MYTHOLOGIES OF TRANSFORMATIONAL HEALING, AND THE AIM OF THIS PAPER IS TO EXPLORE HOW A BRAND CONCEPTUALIZATION OF YOGA AS A HEALTH PRACTICE RELATES TO OR RESONATES WITH THE EMBODIED EXPERIENCES OF PRACTITIONERS, AND TO THE SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXTS IN WHICH PRACTITIONERS AND THEIR PRACTICES ARE EMBEDDED. THE PAPER CONTRIBUTES A NEW CASE STUDY TO THE GLOBAL YOGA SCHOLARSHIP AND TO A POORLY STUDIED FRENCH YOGA SCENE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT CROSS-EXAMINES THE DISCOURSES THROUGH WHICH A YOGA STYLE IS BRANDED, THE WAY IT IS TRANSMITTED, AND THE SOCIAL CONTEXT AND SOCIAL POSITIONING OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO PRACTICE IT. COMBINING PERSPECTIVES ON THE BODY, NARRATIVE AND RITUALS, IT IDENTIFIES HOW YOGA HEALING IS CONSTRUED IN RELATION TO GENDER, ETHNICITY AND CLASS AND THE POINTS OF CONSENSUS AND DISSENT THAT EMERGE FROM THE ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN FRENCH SOCIAL BODIES AND EXOGENOUS YOGA STYLES. 2021