The Yogic Studies Podcast
In-depth explorations into the traditions of Yoga, Sanskrit, Indian Philosophy, and South Asian Religions. Featuring candid conversations and interviews with scholars and educators from around the world. Hosted by Seth Powell.
Episodes
59 episodes
33. Stuart Sarbacker | Aṣṭāṅgayoga: Eight Limbs of Yoga
In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Stuart Ray Sarbacker for a wide-ranging discussing about his upcoming course, YS 121 | 8 Limbs of Yoga: History, Theory, and Practice of Aṣṭāṅgayoga. We disc...
32. Sravana Borkataky-Varma | Hijrās, Women, and Gender in Śākta Tantra
In this episode we welcome back to the Podcast, Sravana Borkataky-Varma. We catch up on her latest book projects, research, and teaching at Harvard Divinity School. We discuss the categories of so-called Classical Tantra vs. Neo Tantra, and som...
31. Rajiv Ranjan | On Teaching and Learning Hindi
In this episode we sit down with Rajiv Ranjan to discuss all things Hindi. We learn about Rajiv's remarkable journey from growing up in rural north-east India to MSU university professor, scholar, and author. We discuss the relationship between...
30. Raj Balkaran | The Significance of the Devīmāhātmya
In this episode we sit down with return guest Raj Balkaran to catch up and dive deep into the world of the Devīmāhātmya. Raj shares with us about the publication of his latest book, The Stories Behind the Poses (2022) and how ...
29. Varun Khanna | The Wisdom of the Upaniṣads
In this episode we sit down with Varun Khanna to discuss his upcoming course, YS 207 | The Upaniṣads. We first learn about his background as a pre-med student stumbling into Sanskrit when he tri...
28. Keith Edward Cantú | Esotericism, Bauls, and Sabhapati Swami
In this episode we sit down with Keith Cantú for a wide ranging conversation on the language and categories of esotericism, the occult, and yoga. We learn about Keith's background, travels, and language training as well as unique experience lea...
27. James Mallinson | The Source Texts of Haṭha Yoga
In this episode we welcome back Jim Mallinson for an update on his pioneering research into the earliest Sanskrit texts of Haṭha Yoga. We review some of the major findings from the 5-year ERC Haṭha Yoga Project and learn about his latest projec...
26. Adrián Muñoz | The Study of Yoga in Latin America
In this episode we speak with Adrián Muñoz about his academic path and research at El Colegio de México where he is currently heading an exciting new project on the history of yoga in Latin America. Adrián tells Seth about his early years and t...
25. Edwin Bryant | Bhakti Yoga and the Bhāgavatapurāṇa
In this episode we speak with Edwin Bryant about his upcoming course, YS 205 | Bhakti Yoga: The Bhāgavatapurāṇa and his latest book Bhakti Yoga: Tales and Teachings from the Bhāgavata ...
24. Jvala Singh | The History of Sikhi and Yoga
In this episode we sit down with Sikh scholar and historian Jvala Singh to discuss the history of yoga within Sikhi, the topic of his upcoming Yogic Studies course YS 116 | Sikhism and Yoga. Jval...
23. Patton Burchett | Bhakti, Tantra, Yoga, and Sufism in North India
In this episode we talk with Patton Burchett about his latest book A Genealogy of Devotion: Bhakti, Tantra, Yoga, and Sufism in North India (2019, Columbia University Press) and his upcoming course,
22. Kate Hartmann | Buddhism, Pilgrimage, and BSO
In this episode we sit down with Kate to celebrate the launch of Buddhist Studies Online. We learn about her story, her background in academia and Buddhism, travels in Asia, how she first met Seth as grad students at Harvard, building course we...
21. Philipp Maas | What is Sāṅkhya Philosophy?
In this episode we speak with return guest Dr. Philipp Maas about the ancient school of Sāṅkhya—which he describes as India's philosophy par excellence for its wide and enduring influence on Indian culture. Giving us a taste o...
20. Suzanne Newcombe + Karen O'Brien-Kop | Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies
In today's episode we talk with Dr. Suzanne Newcombe and Dr. Karen O'Brien-Kop about their recent collaboration co-editing The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies (2021), and the labor of love that went into crea...
19. Theodora Wildcroft | Post-Lineage Yoga: From Guru to #MeToo
In this episode Dr. Theodora Wildcroft discusses her new book, Post-Lineage Yoga: From Guru to #MeToo (2020). We explore the historical shifts that have been reshaping yoga in the west: from the ways schools of yoga have been forced to...
18. Jacqueline Hargreaves | The Luminescent and Embodied Philology
In this episode, we talk with scholar-practitioner Jacqueline Hargreaves about her work with the Hatha Yoga Project, her unlikely background as an engineer that first brought her to India, and her life as a nomadic yoga researcher with her part...
17. Stuart Sarbacker | Tracing the Path of Yoga
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Stuart Ray Sarbacker about his newest book Tracing the Path of Yoga: The History and Philosophy of Indian Mind-Body Discipline (2021, SUNY Press). We explore the origins of yoga, what Stuart calls the...
16. Daniel Simpson | The Truth of Yoga
In this episode we talk with Daniel Simpson about his upcoming book, The Truth of Yoga: A Comprehensive Guide to Yoga's History, Texts, Philosophy, and Practices (2021, North Point Press). We discuss his writing process, his background...
15. Mark Singleton | Yoga Body, 10 Years Later
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Mark Singleton about his journey and career in yoga and academia, his dissertation turned book Yoga Body and its reception 10 years after publication, the "birth" of modern yoga in the 19th and ...
14. Amanda Lucia | White Utopias, Yoga, and Transformational Festivals
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Amanda Lucia about her new book, White Utopias: The Religious Exoticism of Transformational Festivals (2020, UC Press). We discuss transformational festivals in California, the nature of religious exo...
13. Raj Balkaran | Purāṇas and Hindu Mythology
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Raj Balkaran about his early days of spiritual seeking in Toronto, discovering religious studies, the power of myth and narrative in Hindu traditions, his work on the Purāṇas, the Devī Māhātmya and
12. Ruth Westoby | Women and Gender in Yoga
In this episode, we speak with Ruth Westoby (PhD Candidate, SOAS) about her background in Ashtanga, her doctoral research on women and gender in the history of yoga, female practitioners of Haṭha yoga and asceticism, frameworks for understandin...
11. Philipp Maas | The Pātañjalayogaśāstra and its Textual History
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Philipp Maas about his pioneering textual research on the Yogaśāstra of Patañjali and its commentarial tradition, the authorship and dating of the Yogasūtra and its commentary the Bhāṣya, the surviving Sanskri...
10. Ian Baker | Tibetan Yoga, Hidden Lands, and Bringing Esoteric Teachings to Light
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Ian Baker about his many journeys into Tibet and Tantric Buddhism, the power of hidden lands (beyul), isolated mountain retreats, Tibetan physical yogas (trulkhor), receiving guidance from H....
9. Jason Birch | Manuscript Hunting and the History of Medieval Yogas
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Jason Birch (SOAS, University of London) about his early training in yoga and Indology, the early 2000s yoga scene in Rishikesh, Sanskrit manuscript hunting in India, his Oxford thesis on the Amanaska, Rāja Yo...