Contextualization of the yogic breathwork in the western Sufi communities

Abstract

This paper addresses contextualisation of Yogic practices, in particular, pranayama or breathwork in the western Sufism. For at least a half of century western religious milieu has been subjected to the eastern religious tradition influx and syncretisation that has an impact on appropriation of Sufis traditions in the West. Contemporary developments in the western Sufis are regarded in line with the concept of ‘reflective spirituality’ (Roof) who claims that contemporary ‘reflective self’ finds it expression in the ‘reflective spirituality’ that tend to be highly fused and oriented towards the practical holistic perspective of ‘self-realisation’.