Blog

April 5, 2021 Yogic Studies Founder and Director, Seth Powell, has announced the launch of Buddhist Studies Online, a sister school to Yogic Studies focussed on the exploration of Buddhist history, philosophy, and practice through high-quality, accessible, affordable courses. 

"BSO aims to bridge the gap between the meditation cushion and the academy. We offer online courses and trainings on the history, philosophy, and languages of Buddhism—seeking the balance between the highest standards in academic scholarship, yet readily accessible, affordable, and meaningful for the...

Join Yogic Studies Founder and Director, Seth Powell, for a conversation with author Melanie Klein about yoga, accessibility, and disability in history and modernity, hosted by the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies. We hope you enjoy this rich and relevant dialogue! Please find the video on the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies YouTube page, or right here on our blog, linked below. 

This December, our friends at Yoga Alliance hosted founder and director Seth Powell for an informative and entertaining lecture series on the history of Āsana. The recordings have been posted to the YA YouTube page, and we have made them available to you right here. We hope you enjoy! 

Part 1: Sthira Sukham Āsanam: Early Meditative Seats and Asceticism

Part 2: Complex Non-Seated Postures: Medieval Haṭha Yoga

Part 3: Salutations to the Sun: The Rise of Modern Postural Yoga

Australian National University Roundtable: Teaching South Asian Languages in 2020

Leading members of the Yogic Studies Team, Seth Powell and Dr. Antonia Ruppel, were recently interviewed at the ANU Roundtable for South Asian Languages among other scholars in the field before gathering for roundtable discussions on South Asian Language instruction in 2020. 

Seth Powell's interview:

Antonia Ruppel's Interview:

Roundtable Discussion on Teaching Sanskrit.

Featuring Dr. Sadananda Das (Leipzig University), Dr. Antonia Ruppel (Yogic Studies, LMU, Munich), Dr. Varun...

Yogic Studies Founder and Director Seth Powell was recently interviewed at his alma mater, the University of Washington, where he completed his MA in Comparative Religion with a focus on Sanskrit and South Asian Religions in 2014. 

Click here to read more about his experience at the Jackson School and the founding of Yogic Studies. 

YS Founder and Director Seth Powell was recently interviewed by Dr. Raj Balkaran for the New Books in Hindu Studies Podcast. Listen below for a rich discussion of Seth's doctoral work on the 15th-century Śivayogapradīpikā, new developments in Hindu and Yoga studies, and the balance and interaction of entrepreneurship and scholarship in the burgeoning world of online education. 

It is with great excitement to announce the launch of our latest venture, The Yogic Studies Podcast! This Podcast has been a long-time in the making, and the timing was finally right to bring this project to fruition. 

The Yogic Studies Podcast, hosted by Seth Powell, will offer in-depth explorations into the traditions of Yoga, Sanskrit, Indian Philosophy, and South Asian Religions. Featuring candid conversations and interviews with scholars and practitioners.

You can find episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or most other Podcast applications. If you enjoy the...

Seth Powell and Chase Bossart come together with J Brown on his Yoga Talks podcast for an in-depth debate and inquiry into the nature and substance of Patañjali’s Yogasūtras.

They discuss whether the Sūtras and their commentary are written by the same person, differing views on what the text says yoga is, whether it involves stilling the mind to reach a liberation beyond this world or a means of finding clarity and purpose in this existence, distinguishing between mind and consciousness, and the power of deep yogic inquiry. You might want to have your favorite copy of the...

Introducing the Kajabi Mobile App

Kajabi, which is the web-based software we use and love to power Yogic Studies, has just recently launched their new mobile app. This means that students can now access and stream all of their Yogic Studies content right on your favorite iOS or Android device.

We've had a chance to play around with it a bit, and while there is still room for improvement (e.g. the Quizzes are not yet accessible; coming soon), overall I think you'll agree that this is a really fantastic tool for us!

I invite you to download the app right here: ...

Seth was recently featured on Kathryn Bruni-Young's Mindful Strength Podcast.

Episode 130. Seth Powell: Bringing Yoga Philosophy to Life

In this wide-ranging conversation, Seth and Kathryn talk about what yoga is, how we can define it, what yoga isn’t and some of the problems with our understanding of yoga philosophy. This is a great introduction to yoga philosophy in this day in age, when yoga can mean so many different things to different people. Seth shares information on the history of the strap, and how far back straps have been used. He comments that Iyengar did not invent...