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CSPH 5317

"Yoga: Ethics, Spirituality, and Healing"

8 week graduate course

2 credits

OM: Symbol of Yoga Course

Faculty

Miriam E. Cameron, Ph.D., M.S., M.A., R.N., Faculty.

Aimee Prasek, M.A., MA., Teaching Assistant.

Credits

A student can earn 2 undergraduate or 2 graduate credits.

Yoga Practicum

The course is 8 weeks long, rather than 10 weeks long, because each student does a Yoga Practicum.

Yoga Course Web Site

During the course, students can access the web site 24/7 except when the University is conducting maintenance.

Students

This course is open to University of Minnesota juniors, seniors, graduate students, and the public.

Course Description

This course will introduce students to ethics, spirituality, and healing from the perspective of Yoga, an ancient Indian discipline. Students will examine the claim that systematic Yoga practice leads to optimal health. Using critical thinking, students will evaluate philosophical knowledge, scientific evidence, and practical application, and propose research-based programs for integrating Yoga into personal and professional life.

Required Textbooks

Hartranft, C. (2003). The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A new translation with commentary. Boston: Shambhala.

McCall, T. (2007). Yoga as medicine: The yogic prescription for health and healing. New York: Bantam Dell.

Suggested Textbook

Liebler, N., & Moss, S. (2009). Healing depression the mind-body way: Creating happiness with meditation, yoga, and ayurveda (Foreword by Dr. Vasant Lad). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Swami Veda Bharati and Dr. Miriam Cameron

Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga is practiced in order to train the body to serve as a fit vessel for the spirit of God within, so that when the coils of divine energy are uncoiled, the body will not become a hindrance but will be physically ready to receive, channel, and use beneficially the spiritual energy realized and released from within itself.

Bharati, S.V. (Arya, P.U.). (1998). Philosophy of hatha yoga. Honesdale, PA : Himalayan Institute Press, p. 84.

Swami Veda Bharati’s Sadhaka Grama Ashram in India

Pajanjali's Eight Limbs of Yoga

Ethical restraint – not harming, truthfulness, not stealing, chastity, and not being acquisitive.
Self-restraint – cleanliness of mind and body, contentment, intense discipline, self-study, and dedication to the Infinite.
Posture – cultivation of profound physical steadiness and effortless, so body and mind move in harmony and all dualities of mind cease.
Breath expansion– sustained observation and refinement of all aspects of breathing, so as to enhance and channel life force (prana) in the breath.
Sensory inhibition - withdrawal of the senses from the external world into the interior self.
Concentration – locking attention on a single object or field, such as the breath or a lit candle.
Meditation – profound state of quiet and relaxation.
Unity – transcending state of integration and ecstasy.

- The Yoga Sutra by Patanjali

The eight photos in the banner below illustrate each of Patanjali's Eight Limbs.

Information

http://www.csh.umn.edu

612.624.5166

Images representing Ethical Behavior (Yama), Personal Behavior (Niyma), Posture
(Asana), Breath Enhancement (Pranayama), Sensory Inhibition (Pratyahara), Concentration (Dharana), Meditation (Dhyana), and Unity (Samadhi)

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The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.