Embodied Ecology
Yoga and the Environment
Published on 26. June 2025
Book
Hardback
320 pages
979-8-88762-115-9 (ISBN)
Description
What do Hinduism and Yoga Philosophy have to say about ecology and the environment? Christopher Key Chapple provides an in-depth analysis of the traditional texts and ideas that relate to modern concerns and conversations in the environmental movement. Chapple explains what ancient Indian texts, including the Vedas and Upani?ads, tell us about the centrality of earth-awareness in early India. Chapple then also examines how contemporary eco-activists, such as Vandana Shiva, M.C. Mehta, and Sunderlal Bahuguna, are applying traditional teachings and methods to current environmental crises.
Embodied Ecology highlights how Hindu and Yoga ideals can address pressing environmental problems including global consumerism, the proliferation of plastic waste, species extinctions, and climate change. Chapple offers insights on how Yoga ethics can help us create guidelines for the modern ills of over-consumption and how meditation practices can help foster a greater connection to the environment, as well as alleviate distress brought about by eco-anxiety.
Under Chapple's guide, students will gain familiarity with primary Hindu texts describing methods for understanding and connecting with the five primary elements and learn Yoga practices and lifestyle changes that can be applied to bring about positive change on both a global and individual level.
Embodied Ecology highlights how Hindu and Yoga ideals can address pressing environmental problems including global consumerism, the proliferation of plastic waste, species extinctions, and climate change. Chapple offers insights on how Yoga ethics can help us create guidelines for the modern ills of over-consumption and how meditation practices can help foster a greater connection to the environment, as well as alleviate distress brought about by eco-anxiety.
Under Chapple's guide, students will gain familiarity with primary Hindu texts describing methods for understanding and connecting with the five primary elements and learn Yoga practices and lifestyle changes that can be applied to bring about positive change on both a global and individual level.
Reviews / Votes
"Christopher Chapple is a distinguished scholar of Hinduism and Ecology. This book represents years of scholarly reflection, careful translations, and engaged practice in the rich landscape of Hinduism. It is an invaluable guide into the ways that Hinduism offers insights into nature, ecological ethics, and yogic practices that will illuminate our world." -- Mary Evelyn Tucker, co-founder and co-director of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology "In a period where limitless greed and limitless growth is driving collapse of ecosystems and social systems, Embodied Ecology provides insights into making peace with the earth, in society, with the self. Christopher Chapple dives deep into Indian ecophilosophy and practice. Cultivating harmony and interconnectedness is yoga-joining, nonseparation. Embodied Ecology is Yoga of the Earth." -- Vandana Shiva, environmental activist and anti-globalisation author "The author has been a leading voice in the study of Hinduism and ecology for decades. Embodied Ecology is a treasure house of wisdom drawn from the ancient Vedas to contemporary environmental activists, many inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. It invites the reader into serious reflection on current environmental perils, a deep love of nature, and consideration of what the vast religious literature and practices within Hinduism have to offer as possible pathways to a healthier human presence on our precious planet." -- David L. Haberman, professor emeritus of religious studies, University of Indiana Bloomington and author of <I>People Trees: Worship of Trees in Northern India </I>More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Insight Editions
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 232 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
842 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-88762-115-9 (9798887621159)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Christopher Key Chapple | Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies The
Embodied Ecology
Yoga and the Environment
E-Book
05/2025
Mandala Publishing
€12.85
Available for download
Persons
Christopher Key Chapple is Doshi Professor of Indic and Comparative Theology and founding director of the Master of Arts in Yoga Studies at Loyola Marymount University. He has published more than twenty books, including Karma and Creativity; Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions; Yoga and the Luminous; and Living Landscapes: Meditations on the Elements in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Yogas. Chapple serves on the advisory boards for the Forum on Religion and Ecology (Yale), the Jaina Studies Centre (SOAS, London), the Dharma Academy of North America (Berkeley), the South Asian Studies Association (Los Angeles), and the International School for Jain Studies (Pune).
The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies is an academy for the study of Hindu cultures, societies, philosophies, religions, and languages. The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Mandala Publishing Series offers authoritative yet accessible introductions to a wide range of subjects in Hindu Studies. Each book in the series aims to present its subject matter in a form that is engaging and readily comprehensible to persons of all backgrounds - academic or otherwise - without compromising scholarly rigour. The series thus bridges the divide between academic and popular writing by preserving and utilising the best elements of both.
General Editor: Lucian Wong
Editorial Board: John Brockington, Avni Chag, James Madaio, and Valters Negribs
For information on Continuing Education Courses at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, visit www.ochsonline.org
The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies is an academy for the study of Hindu cultures, societies, philosophies, religions, and languages. The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Mandala Publishing Series offers authoritative yet accessible introductions to a wide range of subjects in Hindu Studies. Each book in the series aims to present its subject matter in a form that is engaging and readily comprehensible to persons of all backgrounds - academic or otherwise - without compromising scholarly rigour. The series thus bridges the divide between academic and popular writing by preserving and utilising the best elements of both.
General Editor: Lucian Wong
Editorial Board: John Brockington, Avni Chag, James Madaio, and Valters Negribs
For information on Continuing Education Courses at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, visit www.ochsonline.org