ESSAY CONTEST 2003

"Only the educated are free"—Epictetus, Greek yogin (Stoic)

The essay contest for 2003 closed on June 30.
The winner will be announced in late December 2003.
At that time we will also specify the essay topic for next year's contest.

We thank all contestants for their entries,
but please do not write or call about the status of your essay.
Apart from the winning essay, we may also publish the submissions of finalists
on our website. If we do so, we will get in touch with you.

On January 1, 2003, Yoga Research and Education Center (YREC) instituted an annual award of $1,008 for the best essay on Yoga.

The purpose of this contest is to encourage Yoga practitioners to study the magnificent spiritual tradition to which they belong. Study (svâdhyâya) has always been an integral part of the yogic heritage, and without it one cannot hope to comprehend the depth of Yoga or practice it properly.

This award is meant to countermand the current popular trend of reducing Yoga to fitness training. While fitness is valuable and the physical exercises of Yoga positively affect one's physical health, the real purpose of Yoga is to enhance one's spiritual life. Yoga is the theory and practice of systematic mind training in order to achieve inner peace, happiness, and freedom.

YREC has enlisted the help of eight published Yoga practitioners and writers to appraise each submitted essay: Stephen Cope (Yoga and the Quest for the True Self), Georg Feuerstein (The Yoga Tradition), Suza Francina (The New Yoga for People Over 50), Judith Lasater (Living Your Yoga), Gary Kraftsow (Yoga for Transformation), Leza Lowitz (Yoga Poems), Richard Rosen (The Yoga of Breath), Erich Schiffmann (Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness), and Deborah Willoughby (editor of Yoga International).

The topic for the 2003 award is:

"Yoga and World Peace"

Rules: The essay must be unpublished, well considered, well written, and between 2,500 and 3,000 words long. Writers must have practiced Yoga regularly for at least three years and should demonstrate a good grasp of the concepts of Yoga and be able to express them skillfully in today's language. When submitting the essay, contestants should include two references who are able to confirm that a contestant has had a steady Yoga practice for at least three years. Employees, board members, and advisory board members of YREC and their immediate relatives, as well as professional published writers are excluded from participating in this contest.

Essays must be typed 1.5-spaced, and the author's full name and address must appear at the top of the first page. Electronic submissions will not be accepted. Submissions will not be returned to their authors, and participation in this contest implies that participants give YREC the nonexclusive right to publish the essay first. YREC's decision is final. Any infringement of the rules will automatically disqualify a contestant.

The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2003. The award winner will be announced in the January 2004 issue of Yoga International and on YREC's website at www.yrec.org.

If you like the idea of this annual contest and wish to support it, we would welcome your donation to our special essay contest fund.