Faculty

Seth Powell is a scholar of Indian religions, Sanskrit, and yoga traditions, who earned his PhD in South Asian Religions at Harvard University. His dissertation comprised a critical edition, translation, and detailed study of a 15th-century Sanskrit yoga text from south India known as the Śivayogapradīpikā—which uniquely combines yoga, ritual, and devotion. He also works extensively on the visual and material culture of yoga in premodern India, uncovering yoga's past through temple sculptures. 

As an educator, Seth is passionate about sharing the latest academic research on yoga's vast history and philosophies and is gifted in his ability to present the ancient teachings of yoga clearly in an accessible, light-hearted, and inspiring manner—while maintaining a rigor and sensitivity to traditional Indian knowledge systems. 

Seth founded Yogic Studies in 2018 and serves as the Director and Head Faculty. He is also the host of The Yogic Studies Podcast. 

Courses taught: 

• YS 101 | An Introduction to the History and Philosophy of Yoga
• YS 201 | The Yogasūtras of Patañjali
• YS 202 | The Yogas of the Bhagavad Gītā
• YS 203 | The Haṭhapradīpikā: Lamp on Haṭha Yoga
• YS 213 | The Śivayogapradīpikā: Lamp on Śiva Yoga
• SKT 100a | The Devanāgarī Seminar
• SKT 100b | Sanskrit for Yogis

Selected Publications: 

• 2023. "A Lamp on Śivayoga: The Union of Yoga, Ritual, and Devotion in the Śivayogapradīpikā.” Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. 
• 2023. "Yogi Sculptures: Complex Āsanas Across the Deccan." In Yoga and the Traditional Physical Practices of South Asia: Influence, Entanglement and Confrontation. Edited by Daniela Bevilacqua and Mark Singleton.
• 2018. "Etched in Stone: Sixteenth-century Visual and Material Evidence of Śaiva Ascetics and Yogis in Complex Non-seated Āsanas at Vijayanagara." Journal of Yoga Studies. 
• 2018. "The Ancient Yoga Strap: A Brief History of the Yogapaṭṭa." The Luminescent.