In their first volume of the Yoga 2.0 series, Shamanic Echoes (2010), Matthew Remski and Scott Petrie present a new take on the history of yoga, playfully described as Yoga 2.0. Diverging from the usual de-evolutionary narrative in which our knowledge, handed down to us from enlightened prophets or wise oracles from above, has been corrupted over time, Remski and Petrie reclaim yoga from its declensionist past to reveal a lesser-known and more positive trajectory that is based on process rather than degradation. In particular, they argue that yoga has changed in accordance with the rest of our basic evolutionary thrusts, making Yoga 2.0 a case of organic development in line with human evolution.
The concepts in Yoga 2.0 are not easy—nor are they meant to be. Melding everything from Darwinian evolution and behavioural psychology to spirituality and postmodern theory, the authors establish a dialogue that challenges both the traditional narrative of yoga and the embodiment of its tenets as a “perfectly closed canon” now somewhat ironically reified within the postmodern mind.