Carol Horton, co-editor of 21st Century Yoga, has just published a new work, Yoga Ph.D: Integrating the life of the mind and the wisdom of the body This is a truly outstanding examination of yoga, and a perfect sister volume to 21st Century Yoga.

In this work, Horton, who has a Ph.D in political science and is a former faculty member at the esteemed Macalester College offers an examination that is highly scholarly, intensely personal and beautifully written. As with 21st Century I was genuinely saddened when the pages had flown by.

She explains her own journey of personal exploration and transformation, one likely to be familiar to those with a sustained and thoughtful devotion to the practice. Never pedantic, and able to avoid over simplification and over generalization Horton weaves a sensitive and nuanced first person account. Her research skills, well honed during her 2 decades work in policy research serve her well as she provides a concise historical review of the genesis of modern yoga. As in 21st Century Yoga, the linkage through the ascetic tradition of the Yoga Sutras is challenged.

Chapter titles “Handstand Psychotherapy” and “Burning Off Karma To Be A Better Mother” are especially memorable.

Carol Horton is an important voice in the yoga community. We should all listen.

Thanks for reading,

DFD