The Serpent's Tale

Kundalini, Yoga, and the History of an Experience
Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-0-231-21253-3
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 392 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 138 mm x 212 mm, Gewicht: 494 g

There is a standard narrative that recurs throughout popular writings on yoga and tantra, from South Asian texts to Western esoteric thought: Kundalini is the Serpent Power. She rests coiled at the base of the spine. If awakened, this divine feminine energy rises toward the crown of the head. Some are apprehensive of Kundalini’s intense power, fearing physical and psychological turmoil. Others seek it out, hungry for experiences, both spiritual and sensual. But what does this story leave out? What are its cultural and historical roots? What do the many ways of experiencing Kundalini tell us about this elusive phenomenon?

The Serpent’s Tale traces the intricate global histories of Kundalini, from its Sanskrit origins to its popularity in the West. Sravana Borkataky-Varma and Anya Foxen explore its symbolic link with the serpent, its fraught connections to sexuality, and its commercialization in the form of Kundalini yoga. Ranging from esoteric texts to global gurus, from the cliffs of California to the charnel grounds of Assam, they show that there has never been one single “authentic” model of Kundalini but a multiplicity of visions. Bridging the gaps between textual and historical analysis and the complexities of embodied practice, Borkataky-Varma and Foxen reflect on the narration and transmission of experiences, including their own. Lively, accessible, and nuanced, The Serpent’s Tale offers rich insights for scholars, practitioners, and all readers drawn to Kundalini.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Foxen, Anya

Borkataky-Varma, Sravana

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Nicht-Westliche Philosophie Indische & Asiatische Philosophie
• Sozialwissenschaften Sport | Tourismus | Freizeit Sport Fitness, Freizeitsport, Gesundheitssport
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Hinduismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte

Über Autor(innen)

Sravana Borkataky-Varma is an instructional assistant professor of comparative cultural studies at the University of Houston as well as a research affiliate at Harvard University. She is coeditor of Living Folk Religions (2023), among other books.

Anya Foxen is associate professor of religious studies at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Her books include Inhaling Spirit: Harmonialism, Orientalism, and the Western Roots of Modern Yoga (2020).