Lesley University DigitalCommons@Lesley Educational Studies Dissertations Graduate School of Education (GSOE) Summer 9-15-2020 Can Yoga Help Make the World a Better Place? Perceptions from Adult Practitioners Claire Carroll [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/education_dissertations Part of the Adult and Continuing Education Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, and the Social Justice Commons Recommended Citation Carroll, Claire, "Can Yoga Help Make the World a Better Place? Perceptions from Adult Practitioners" (2020). Educational Studies Dissertations. 169. https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/education_dissertations/169 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School of Education (GSOE) at DigitalCommons@Lesley. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Studies Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Lesley. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. CAN YOGA HELP MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE? 1 Can Yoga Help Make the World a Better Place? Perspectives from Adult Practitioners Claire A. Carroll Graduate School of Education Lesley University Ph.D. Educational Studies Individually Designed Specialization Approvals In the judgment of the following signatories, this Dissertation meets the academic standards that have been established for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Dr. Caroline Heller, Dissertation Committee Chair Signature: Date Dr. Meenakshi Chhabra, Dissertation Committee Member Signature: Date Dr. David Hansen, Columbia University, Dissertation Committee Member Signature: Date Dr. Caroline Heller, Director, Ph.D. Individually Designed Specialization Signature: _ Date Dr. Paul Naso, Director, Ph.D. Educational Studies Department Signature: Date Dr. Amy Rutstein-Riley, Interim Dean, Graduate School of Education Signature: _ Date CAN YOGA HELP MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE? 2 Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. 5 List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. 5 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Can Yoga Help Make the World a Better Place? ........................................................................... 7 Spiritual Exercises ...................................................................................................................... 8 Research Interest ....................................................................................................................... 10 Areas of Study........................................................................................................................... 11 Important Terms........................................................................................................................ 14 Adult Education/Adult Learning/Adult Development .......................................................... 14 Cosmopolitanism .................................................................................................................. 15 Iyengar Yoga ......................................................................................................................... 15 Philosophy............................................................................................................................. 16 Social Capital ........................................................................................................................ 16 Social Justice ......................................................................................................................... 17 Spiritual Exercises ................................................................................................................ 17 Spirituality............................................................................................................................. 18 Worldview............................................................................................................................. 19 Yoga & Yoga Practice .......................................................................................................... 19 Methods......................................................................................................................................... 20 Research Question .................................................................................................................... 20 Research Design........................................................................................................................ 21 Participants ................................................................................................................................ 25 Sample................................................................................................................................... 25 Potential Sampling Errors ..................................................................................................... 29 Protection of Human Subjects .............................................................................................. 30 Data Collection ......................................................................................................................... 31 Survey ................................................................................................................................... 31 Interviews .............................................................................................................................. 32 Interview Profiles .................................................................................................................. 33 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 68 Quantitative ........................................................................................................................... 68 Qualitative ............................................................................................................................. 71 Validity of Study ....................................................................................................................... 73 CAN YOGA HELP MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE? 3 Sociocultural Context................................................................................................................ 74 Managing Preconceptions ......................................................................................................... 78 Literature Review.......................................................................................................................... 81 Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Yoga .................................................................. 82 Philosophical Origins ............................................................................................................ 82 Experiential Origins .............................................................................................................. 84 Contemporary Expressions of Yoga ......................................................................................... 86 From Counterculture to Cultural Phenomenon ..................................................................... 87 Yoga for Health..................................................................................................................... 88 Yoga as Wellness Oriented Lifestyle .................................................................................... 89 Yoga Studies as Academic Discipline .................................................................................. 90 Yoga and New Age Thought ................................................................................................ 90 Yoga for Spiritual Growth .................................................................................................... 92 Yoga and Adult Education .................................................................................................... 94 Cosmopolitan Aspects of Yoga ............................................................................................ 99 Theoretical Maṇḍala ................................................................................................................... 103 “Around every circle another can be drawn” .......................................................................... 104 Cosmopolitanism’s Roots ....................................................................................................... 107 Cosmopolitanism Theory ........................................................................................................ 108 Findings....................................................................................................................................... 112 Self-Development and the Balancing Effects of Yoga ........................................................... 112 Responding to a disorienting dilemma ............................................................................... 113 Balancing physical, mental, psychological, and spiritual selves ........................................ 114 Engaging in a continuing