Exploring the intersection of yoga, gender, and spirituality through scholarly inquiry and embodied practice
Welcome to my academic journey, where the ancient wisdom of yoga meets contemporary research. My name is Dr. Agi Wittich, and my path has led me to explore the profound impact of yoga, particularly Iyengar Yoga, on women within its global tradition. Through my work, I delve into the fascinating intersection of Hinduism and gender, shedding light on how these powerful forces shape individual experiences and broader spiritual landscapes.
Some of my lectures are recorded and are available here: 🎓 Watch recorded Lectures
My research is a continuous exploration, aiming to bridge historical understanding with modern practices, and to illuminate the voices and experiences often overlooked in traditional narratives. Beyond my own research and publications, I actively contribute to the scholarly community by peer-reviewing for academic journals and contributing to prominent platforms like YogaResearch.org, fostering a collaborative environment for the advancement of yoga studies.
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Books (Editor)
Remarkable Women in South Asian Religious Traditions (Published 2024)
Co-edited with U. Huesken and N. Spina | Routledge
This groundbreaking volume brings together diverse perspectives on the significant roles women have played and continue to play within the rich tapestry of South Asian religious traditions. The book serves as a testament to the remarkable contributions of women who have shaped spiritual and cultural landscapes across history and geography. Through interdisciplinary approaches, it examines how women have navigated, challenged, and transformed religious spaces, offering new insights into gendered agency within transcultural Hindu and Buddhist contexts.
Book Chapters
Yoga’s Red Tent: Menstrual-Oriented Iyengar Yoga Practices
In “Remarkable Women in South Asian Religious Traditions” (2024)
This chapter explores how Iyengar Yoga adapts to and acknowledges women’s unique physiological experiences, specifically focusing on menstrual-oriented practices. Drawing on the metaphor of the “red tent” as a space of feminine wisdom and community, the chapter examines the innovative ways this yoga tradition caters to women’s bodies and needs. It investigates how menstrual practices within Iyengar Yoga challenge traditional taboos while creating sacred space for women’s cyclical experiences, ultimately demonstrating how ancient yogic wisdom can be thoughtfully adapted for contemporary women’s embodied spirituality.
The Changing Attitudes towards Female Priesthood in Hinduism: Insights from Pune, Southern India
In “Remarkable Women in South Asian Religious Traditions” (2024)
This chapter investigates the evolving perceptions and realities of female priesthood within Hinduism, drawing insights from ethnographic research in the vibrant spiritual landscape of Pune, Southern India. Through interviews and participant observation, it traces how traditional gender roles within Hindu religious hierarchy are being challenged and transformed by contemporary women seeking spiritual authority. The chapter examines both resistance and acceptance within religious communities, highlighting the complex negotiations between tradition and modernity in women’s pursuit of religious leadership roles.
Beyond Boundaries: A Modern Buddhist Nun’s Journey Towards Enlightenment
In “Remarkable Women in South Asian Religious Traditions” (2024)
This chapter presents an intimate portrayal of a contemporary Buddhist nun’s spiritual journey, tracing her path towards enlightenment and highlighting the challenges and triumphs she encounters. Through narrative inquiry and biographical methodology, it explores how modern Buddhist women navigate traditional monastic structures while pursuing the highest spiritual goals. The chapter illuminates the ways in which contemporary Buddhist nuns are reshaping understanding of feminine spiritual authority and creating new models for women’s religious attainment in the 21st century.
Papers in Peer-Reviewed Journals
Between Text and Body: Knowledge Transmission and the Authentication of Innovation in Iyengar Yoga (Forthcoming May 2025)
Accepted for publication | Bloomsbury Publishing
This paper examines the dynamic interplay between scriptural knowledge and embodied practice in Iyengar Yoga, analyzing how new interpretations and innovations are authenticated and integrated within the tradition. Through ethnographic methodology and textual analysis, it explores the tension between adherence to traditional yogic texts and the evolution of practice through embodied experience. The research reveals how practitioners and teachers navigate between scriptural authority and experiential knowledge, creating legitimacy for innovative practices while maintaining connection to ancient wisdom traditions.
Iyengar Yoga as Healing: Trauma, Precision, and the Ethics of Care (Forthcoming June 2025)
Accepted for publication | Brill
This forthcoming paper explores the therapeutic dimensions of Iyengar Yoga, focusing on its application in addressing trauma and the ethical considerations surrounding care within this precise practice. Drawing on trauma-informed yoga research and ethical frameworks, it examines how the precision and attention to detail characteristic of Iyengar Yoga creates a unique healing modality. The paper addresses questions of practitioner responsibility, consent, and the therapeutic relationship within yoga instruction, contributing to growing discourse on yoga as healing practice and the professional standards required for trauma-sensitive teaching.
Alchemy and Aging on Yoga Journal Covers (Forthcoming February 2025)
Co-authored with P. McCartney | Journal of Yoga Studies
This collaborative paper analyzes the portrayal of aging and transformation (“alchemy”) on the covers of Yoga Journal magazine over several decades. Through visual analysis and content study, it examines how representations of age, beauty, and spiritual transformation have evolved in popular yoga media. The research reveals changing attitudes toward aging within yoga culture and explores how visual representations both reflect and shape cultural values about youth, wisdom, and spiritual attainment in contemporary yoga practice.
Conceptualizing Motherhood in Yoga: Pregnancy-Oriented Iyengar Yoga (Published 2024)
Religions of South Asia
This paper investigates how motherhood is conceptualized and supported within the framework of pregnancy-oriented Iyengar Yoga. Through ethnographic research and analysis of teaching methodologies, it examines how yogic practices are adapted to support women through pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood. The research explores the intersection of ancient yogic wisdom with contemporary understanding of maternal health, revealing how traditional practices are reimagined to serve modern women’s experiences of becoming and being mothers within yoga communities.
Harnessing Authenticity in Iyengar Yoga: Legitimizing and Romanticizing Women-Oriented Yoga through Sanskrit Texts (Published 2023)
Zeitschrift für Indologie und Südasienstudien
This article explores the ways in which women-oriented Iyengar Yoga practices are legitimized and romanticized through their connection to traditional Sanskrit texts. It examines how practitioners and teachers invoke ancient texts to authenticate contemporary innovations in women’s yoga practice, revealing the complex relationship between tradition and adaptation. The paper analyzes how Sanskrit scholarship is employed to create authority for gender-specific practices, while questioning the implications of this textual legitimization for women’s agency within yoga traditions.
Immortality and Longevity Through Yoga in the Tirumantiram (Published 2022)
Asian Medicine
This paper delves into the ancient Tamil text, the Tirumantiram, to examine its teachings on achieving immortality and longevity through yogic practices. Through philological analysis and historical contextualization, it explores how this foundational text conceptualizes the relationship between yoga practice and life extension. The research contributes to understanding how ancient Indian medical and spiritual traditions viewed the potential for yoga to transform not only consciousness but also physical longevity, offering insights into the philosophical foundations of therapeutic yoga.
Changing Face of the Yoga Industry, Its Dharmic Roots and Its Message to Women: An Analysis of Yoga Journal Magazine Covers, 1975-2020 (Published 2020)
Co-authored with P. McCartney | Journal of Dharma Studies
This collaborative article analyzes the evolving representation of the yoga industry, its roots in Dharma, and its messages to women, as reflected on Yoga Journal magazine covers over 45 years. Through systematic visual analysis, it traces how popular yoga media has represented gender, spirituality, and commercialization. The research reveals how representations of women in yoga have shifted from spiritual seekers to lifestyle consumers, raising important questions about the commodification of yoga and its impact on women’s relationship to practice.
Iyengar Yoga for Women: A Practicing Tradition in the Making (Published 2017)
Religions of South Asia
This foundational paper examines Iyengar Yoga as a developing tradition specifically tailored for women, highlighting its ongoing evolution and adaptation. Through ethnographic research within Iyengar Yoga communities, it explores how this lineage has created space for women’s unique needs and experiences. The paper analyzes how traditional yoga practices are being reimagined to serve women’s bodies, life cycles, and spiritual aspirations, demonstrating the dynamic nature of yoga tradition and its capacity for inclusive innovation.
Conference Presentations
“Women-oriented Yoga: Female Empowerment or Patriarchal Practice in Disguise?”
Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities, Harvard University Divinity School
Cambridge, USA | May 28, 2023
“A Yoga of Her Own: Gender, Race and Authenticity in Women’s Yoga and Spirituality”
Decolonizing Contemporary Women’s Spirituality, Ghent University
Belgium | December 8, 2022 | Co-presented with Ella Poutiainen (University of Turku)
“Bleeding Yoginīs: Transforming Yoga to Accommodate Women in Iyengar Yoga”
International Association for Study of Religion and Gender Conference, Utrecht University
The Netherlands | March 11, 2021
“Yoga and Women in the Iyengar lineage”
Yoga and Gender Study Group, SOAS University
London, UK | March 22, 2021
“When Yoga Suits Her: Negotiating Women’s Positioning in the Yoga Tradition”
Department of Cultural and Religious History of South Asia, University of Heidelberg
Germany | July 26, 2020
“Yoga’s Red Tent: Menstrual-Oriented Iyengar Yoga Practices”
Female Religious Leaders Workshop, University of Heidelberg
Germany | August 12, 2020
“Her Yoga: Connecting Women to Indian Tradition by Imagined Narratives”
Global Yoga Coersion-Scapes Conference, Kyoto University
Japan | July 13, 2019
“Women Oriented Iyengar Yoga”
Yoga and Gender Study Group, SOAS University
London, UK | May 7, 2019
“Yoga for Women: The Iyengar Revolution”
Lafer Center for Women and Gender Studies Conference, Hebrew University
Jerusalem, Israel | May 30, 2018
“Iyengar Yoga for Women: Imagined and Real Histories”
Holy Lands and Sacred Histories in New Religious Movements, CESNUR
July 4, 2017
“Knowledge and Authority in Teaching Iyengar Yoga for Women”
Women’s Spiritual Leadership Conference, Schocken Institute for Jewish Research
Jerusalem, Israel | March 20, 2017
“Power and Weakness as a Scholar-Practitioner in the Iyengar Yoga Tradition”
Israeli Anthropological Association Conference
Kfar Qasem, Israel | May 18, 2017
“Yoga for Women in Iyengar yoga”
Yoga darśana, yoga sādhana Conference, Jagiellonian University
May 20, 2016
For more information about my research or to discuss potential collaborations, please feel free to contact me.
