A comprehensive and theoryrich investigation of the history and philosophy of yoga from its Indian origins to the contemporary context.Clear accessible and meticulously annotated Tracing the Path of Yoga offers a comprehensive survey of the history and philosophy of yoga that will be invaluable to both specialists and to nonspecialists seeking a deeper understanding of this fascinating subject. Stuart Ray Sarbacker argues that yoga can be understood first and foremost as a discipline of mind and body that is represented in its narrative and philosophical literature as resulting in both numinous and cessative accomplishments that correspond respectively to the attainment of thisworldly power and otherworldly liberation. Sarbacker demonstrates how the yogic quest for perfection as such is situated within the concrete realities of human life intersecting with issues of politics economics class gender and sexuality as well as reflecting larger Indic religious and philosophical ideals.