Critical Yoga Studies invites the submission of well-researched, clearly-written manuscripts. Article manuscripts should be limited to 8000 words, including endnotes and references.  An abstract that does not to exceed 250 words should be included. Review essays should be limited to 4000 words. Review essays may survey recently published literature, films, art exhibits, or popular culture related to the field. Shorter reviews of approximately 600-1200 words are considered appropriate for film, literature, art, etc, although we welcome longer submissions as well. 

Personal Narratives

Critical Yoga Studies publishes personal narratives, which offer subjective insights into yoga practices and their relation to wider social dynamics. Although personal narratives are often more intimate than articles, they must still have a thesis, clear structure, and narrative arc. The author can start with a traditional introduction that indicates where the narrative is going and why to orient the reader. Authors must also include a positionality statement that is critical, reflexive, and considers intersectional axes of privilege and oppression. The author might describe and deeply analyze one specific experience or chart a path through a series of events that contribute to an overarching viewpoint. Successful essays in past issues have been structured chronologically or thematically. Including in-scene descriptions of events can also strengthen a personal narrative by bringing the reader into a particular moment. For example, the author could include sensory details (ie. smell, taste, sound, sight, energies, etc.) to help readers understand what it felt like to be present. The author should use their personal experiences to reveal insights about the histories, politics, and practices of yoga in alignment with the journal’s aims. In other words, the author should analyze their subjective encounters to produce a meaningful and cohesive story about the powerful possibilities and/or limitations yoga offers in dialogue with systems of power. To aid and/or deepen this analysis, authors may cite relevant external scholarship; however, the author’s distinct personal voice should drive both the narrative and its insights. 

To further support the author in writing a personal narrative, the Critical Yoga Studies editorial team suggests reading personal narratives that the journal has previously published. The following are especially instructive for capturing the personal narrative style: Cultivating a Yogic Theology of Collective Healing; When Even Spirit Has No Place to Call Home; Black Girl Yoga; Desis on the Mat. 

Personal narratives should be 2000-3000 words, and authors will receive substantive feedback to improve clarity and depth from the Critical Yoga Studies editorial team for revisions. 

Book Reviews

We publish book reviews of recently published scholarly texts, review essays that consider multiple works, and essays that cover art, literature, films, trade publications, and/or other popular culture related to the field. A review should critically reflect and evaluate the key arguments of a work, what the work contributes to the field, the work’s limitations, and its relevance to the interdisciplinary audiences of Critical Yoga Studies. A review is not: a summary of the work(s), a research paper (with significant outside citations), or a personal opinion piece. Book reviewers should engage in intersectional analysis and balanced scholarly critique. Reviewers of artistic or creative works should also review the work, including its themes, techniques, form, and content related to the critical study of yoga. Please see below for a list of suggested questions to consider in your review. All reviewers should expect to receive substantive feedback to improve clarity and depth from our editorial team and to revise their review based on this feedback. 

At Critical Yoga Studies, the recommended length for a book review of a single work is 1500-2000 words. All reviews must also include an author biography of 50-200 words. If interested in writing a traditional academic book review, please review the list of available books, consider your expertise, and if there is a book available that is a good fit for you, contact our Review Editor, Samantha Griggs, via criticalyogastudiesjournal@gmail.com. Please include a brief biography in your email. A copy of the book will be provided for you. You may also email and suggest a title for review or inquire about reviewing art, literature, film, or other media. We reserve the right to accept or reject suggestions based on the scope of the journal. 

Suggested Questions to Consider When Writing a Review Essay: 

• What is the main argument of the work or central questions it explores?  
• What other works is it in conversation with? How is it similar or different from those works?
• What does the work aim to contribute to current debates in critical yoga studies? 
• Who is the author (or other people involved with the work)? What are their qualifications?  
• How does the work being reviewed fit with the author’s previous works? 
• What is the form of the work? How is the work organized? How do the form and organization of the work contribute to the author's argument/main idea? 
• Does the work do what it says it is going to do?  
• How does the narrative structure of the work advance its ideas?  
• Is the work convincing? Why or why not? 
• What methodologies and theoretical frameworks does the author use? How does this shape the author’s argument?  
• How well does the author justify their methodology and approach?  
• Are there other methodologies or approaches that could have been used to deepen or broaden the analysis? 
• How accessible is the work for different types of readers (scholars, practitioners, activists)?  
• Does the author use language that is inclusive?  
• How might the work be received by different audiences? 
• What future research directions or questions does the work raise?  
• Does it open up new avenues for research, practice, or activism? 
• Does it offer pathways for engaging yoga in ways that are transformative or politically engaged? 
• How does the work resonate with the reviewer on a personal or professional level?  
• Has the work prompted the reviewer to reconsider or rethink certain aspects of yoga?

Citation Style & Formatting

Papers should be left-justified and use Times New Roman font. Submissions must follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition (author-date style) and use endnotes. Papers that do not adhere to submission guidelines will be returned to the author for revision.   

Author Biography

All submissions must also include an author biography of 100-150 words. 

For questions, please contact criticalyogastudiesjournal@gmail.com