“Identity, Body and Emotion among Yoga and Meditation Practitioners in Brazil”

Dr. Cecilia Bastos

The objective of this presentation is to discuss the dimensions of identity related to the body and emotions, based on the ongoing case study of over ten years among yoga and meditation practitioners in Brazil. My research aims to understand how the yogic identity is constructed, first visible in the transformation of their bodies, and seeming to involve the adoption of a “yogic lifestyle, worldview or way of thinking.” Seeing the self as beyond the body and mind— since it would be atma—involves a shift towards understanding it as beyond thought, speech and actions, whose aim is to acquire a command over emotions and an “objective” and “critical” mind. On that account, it will be discussed how the articulation between identity, body and emotion is developed through the resignification of personal experiences.

05.12.2023 – 18:15-19:45