Final Paper Proposal - Sofia G.

I propose to write about the occupation of yoga instruction as an example of where work and play merge in the professional realm, and the Western assumptions about lifestyle differences between the East and the West. I will draw mostly from the ‘Boredom’ text (for some reason the first page didn’t print so I don’t have the title or author; Danny, could you re-e-mail that to me and I’ll try to print in the right format?), and Huizinga’s essay. (It is interesting that Huizinga taught as an ‘Orientalist’ and wrote his doctoral thesis on the jester in Indian drama.) I understand that the “legitimate boredom” is different from what might be called ‘inner peace,’ but I want to draw parallels between the discussed kind of boredom and the state of consciousness one might seek in a yoga class. What role does the yoga teacher play for one who is trying to attain something like ‘void’? Does the yoga instructor benefit from the practice as much as the students? I will delineate between yoga instruction and Huizinga’s terms of play, and of work. I am interested in the gentrification (is that the right term?) of Eastern practices (from 3^rd World countries) amongst the upper class in the West.