You’ll find a list of resources below arranged in terms of topic (although of course some topics do overlap!) from yoga scholars and other highly experienced yoga enthusiasts who are highlighting the animal element in yoga. The content of these collective works provides an authoritative voice and foundation to Animalia Asana’s remit. Most of the resources listed are freely available and are articles or academic papers unless otherwise stated. If buying a hard-copy book, please buy second-hand where possible to lessen human impact on the world and our fellow inhabitants.
GENERAL
DIET/VEG*ISM
MYTHOLOGY/HISTORY
INDIAN POLITICS/SOCIETY
NATURE/ENVIRONMENT/ANIMAL PROTECTION (ESP. INDIAN)
ASANAS
MISCELLANEOUS
ART
GENERAL
- Animals in Yoga – Philosophy and Postures by Animalia Asana teacher Dr Iris Weiche
- Animating Samadhi: Rethinking Human-Animal Relationships Through Yoga by Dr Kenneth Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Swami)
- Inherent Value Without Nostalgia: Animals and the Jaina Tradition by Prof. Christopher Chapple
- Animal Ethics by Prof. Christopher Chapple
- Book: Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions by Prof. Christopher Chapple
- Disciplines and Vows (Yamas and Vratas): How the Mystical Yields to the Ethical in Yoga and Jainism by Prof. Christopher Chapple
- Krishna’s Cows: ISKCON’s Animal Theology and Practice by Prof. Anna King
- Video: Hindu Attitudes to Animals by Prof. Anna King
- Cows, Elephants, Dogs, and Other Lesser Embodiments of Atman by Nelson Lance
- Jainism, Yoga, and Ecology: A Course in Contemplative Practice for a World in Pain by Dr Christopher Miller
- Ahimsa: Non-violence in Indian Tradition by Unto-Tahtinen
- Non-Violence and Nonhumans: Foundations for Animal Welfare in the Thought of Mohandas Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer by Dr Ryan P. McLaughlin
- Hindu Ethics and Nonhuman Animals by Dr Lisa Kemmerer
- Jainism and Nonviolence: From Mahavira to Modern Times by Lane E. Sims
- Judging by the Way Animals are Treated: Gandhi as a Manifestation of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras by Dr Sharon Lauricella
DIET/VEG*ISM
- Yoga, Ahimsa and Consuming Animals: UK Yoga Teachers’ Beliefs about Farmed Animals and Attitudes to Plant-Based Diets by Animalia Asana
- Presentation at the European Association of Critical Animal Studies 2021 Conference (video coming soon) by Animalia Asana
- Reconciling transitioning away from dairy with yogic philosophy by Animalia Asana
- Before They Were Food: Wasting and Weaponizing Animals in Yoga Gastropolitics by Jonathan Dickstein, PhD candidate
- The Case for Vegetarianism in Patanjala Yoga by Jonathan Dickstein, PhD candidate
- Their Body, Their Voice: Animal Abuse in Modern Yoga Gastropolitics by Jonathan Dickstein, PhD candidate
- Yoga Communities Must Live the Fight Against Factory Farming by Jonathan Dickstein, PhD candidate
- May Only Some Beings Be Happy and Free: Reflections on a Recent Interview by Jonathan Dickstein, PhD candidate
- Spirituality, Speciesism, and the Ethical Symmetry Gap by Jonathan Dickstein, PhD candidate
- Brushing Animals Under The Yoga Mat? by Jonathan Dickstein, PhD candidate
- Nonviolence Wins: Five Reasons Why the Arjuna Analogy Fails by Jonathan Dickstein, PhD candidate
- Jain Veganism: Ancient Wisdom, New Opportunities (and video here) by Dr Christopher Miller and Jonathan Dickstein, PhD candidate
- From Devouring to Honoring: A Vaishnava-Hindu Therapeutic Perspective on Human Culinary Choice by Dr Kenneth Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Swami) (summary by AA coming soon)
- Think Before You Eat by Prof. Nanditha Krishna
- Video: The Connection Between Yoga and Veganism by Spiritually Vegan
- Video: Hinduism and Veganism by Spiritually Vegan
- Meat-Eating in India by Dr Krithika Srinivasan
- Strategies of Vedic Subversion:The Emergence of Vegetarianism in Post-Vedic India by Prof. Edwin Bryant
- Book: Food for the Soul: Vegetarianism and Yoga Traditions by Steven J. Rosen (Satyarāja Dāsa)
- Book: Holy Cow: The Hare Krishna Contribution to Vegetarianism and Animal Rights by Steven J. Rosen (Satyarāja Dāsa)
- Book: Diet for Transcendence: Vegetarianism and the World Religions by Steven J. Rosen (Satyarāja Dāsa)
- From Ancient Vegetarianism to Contemporary Advocacy: When Religious Folks Decide that Animals Are No Longer Edible by Dr Brianne Donaldson
- Preparing the Internal Sacrifice in Hatha Yoga: Measured Diet to Move beyond the Mind by Dr Christopher Miller
- Meditation and Yoga-assisted Alteration of Dietary Behavior as a Useful Strategy for Limiting Zoonotic Pandemics: A Novel Insight by Dr Prashanath Panta and others
- Book: Yoga and Vegetarianism: The Diet of Enlightenment by Sharon Gannon
- Justice for Just Us? Spiritual Progressives and Carnism Prof. Alka Arora
- Book: The Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen: Finding Harmony Through Food by Talya Lutzker
MYTHOLOGY/HISTORY
- Video: Sacred Ecology of India by Prof. Nanditha Krishna
- Perception of Animals and Nature by Prof. Nanditha Krishna
- Book: The Sacred Animals of India by Prof. Nanditha Krishna
- Lessons from ‘The Hawk and the Dove’: Reflections on the Mahābhārata’s Animal Parables and Ethical Predicaments by Dr Veena Howard
- Zoomorphism in Ancient India: Humans More Bestial than the Beasts by Prof. Wendy Doniger (summary by AA coming soon)
- Book: Animals in Four Worlds:Sculptures from India by Prof. Wendy Doniger
- Book: Downward Dogs and Warriors: Wisdom Tales for Modern Yogis by Dr Zo Newell
- Myths of the Asanas: The Stories at the Heart of the Yoga Tradition by Alanna Kaivalya and Arjuna van der Kooij
- Evolving a Monkey: Hanuman, Poster Art and Postcolonial Anxiety by Prof. Philip Lutgendorf
- Animals in Stone: Indian Fauna Through Time by Dr Alexandra Anna van der Geer
- Hanumån’s Shamanic Journey by Prof. E.H. Rick Jarow
INDIAN POLITICS/SOCIETY
- Video: Welfare Issues of India’s Bovine Milch Animals by Animalia Asana
- Book: Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics (free PDF available) by Dr Kenneth Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Swami)
- Cow Protection as ‘Casteised Speciesism’: Sacralisation, Commercialisation and Politicisation by Dr Yamini Narayanan
- The Sheltering of Unwanted Cattle, Experiences in India and Implications for Cattle Industries Elsewhere by Uttara Kennedy, Dr Arvind Sharma and Dr Clive J. C. Phillips
- Dark and Dairy by Dr Rajesh Kasturirangan
NATURE/ENVIRONMENT/ANIMAL PROTECTION (ESP. INDIAN)
- Nature Deadly and Nature Divine: The Bhagavata Purana’s Lessons on Human Relationships to the Environment by Dr Kenneth Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Swami)
- Igniting Hanuman’s Tail: Hindu and Indian Secular Views on Animal Experimentation by Dr Kenneth Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Swami)
- Animal Rights and Ahimsa: An Ancient Discourse on Humans, Animals, and the Earth by Dr Kenneth Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Swami)
- In the Service of All that Lives: Gandhi’s Vision of Engaged Nonviolent Animal Care (forthcoming) by Dr Kenneth Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Swami)
- Protecting the Ecology – A Sacred Duty by Prof. Nanditha Krishna
- A Pioneer of Environmental Movements in India: Bishnoi Movement by Khabirul Alam and Dr Ujjwal Kumal Halder
- Yoga Bodies and Bodies of Water: Solutions for Climate Change in India? by Dr Christopher Miller
- Iconic Fauna of Heritage Significance in India by Dr Raman Sukumar
ASANAS
- The Proliferation of Asanas in Late Medieval Yoga Texts (many animal-named postures) by Dr Jason Birch
MISCELLANEOUS
- Book: Indian Ethics Classical Traditions and Contemporary Challenges: Volume I by Prof. Bilimoria and others
- Every Breath You Take: Physiology and the Ecology of Knowing in Meditative Practice by Dr Jeremy Wasser
ART
More resources will be added to the library soon!