YS Team

Dr. Seth Powell

Founder and Director

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. 

Seth founded Yogic Studies in 2018 and serves as the Director and Head Faculty. He is also the host of The Yogic Studies Podcast. He lives with his wife and two children in the wine country of the Napa Valley, California. 

Kate Burns

Administrator

Kate Burns is a graduate of the College of William & Mary with a B.S. in Psychological Sciences, who found herself drawn to Religious Studies throughout her undergraduate career. During her senior year, she completed a capstone thesis project on the philosophy and teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981), earning her dual major in Religious Studies. Kate is a student in the Yogic Studies Advanced Certificate Program, and intends to apply her YS 501 Graduate Seminar work toward the creation of a writing sample for further graduate studies in the field of religion.

As Administrator for Yogic Studies, Kate assists students and faculty in navigating the school platform and works to enrich the online student experience. She enjoys helping students explore their interests through Yogic Studies courses and is always happy to answer questions and show students around the site. You can reach her in the inbox at [email protected] during business hours, Monday-Friday, and in the Yogic Studies Community fora.

Katherine Bennett

Course Manager

Katherine is currently pursuing an MA in Transpersonal Wilderness Therapy at Naropa University. She previously completed an MA in Religious Studies at Naropa University, focusing on Buddhist, Hindu tantric, and yogic traditions, as well as the Sanskrit language. Katherine’s thesis research explores the practitioner’s encounter with yoginīs in the textual traditions of the Vidyāpīṭha, the Cult of the Yoginīs, and the Kaula reformation of Śākta-Śaiva Tantric traditions during India’s early medieval period.

As a RYT 500, she has spent several years studying, practicing, and teaching postural yoga, yoga philosophy, and meditation in Asia (India, Nepal, Thailand, and Malaysia) and Peru. As Course Manager for Yogic Studies, Katherine develops and manages the courses on the Kajabi platform. She is the former Administrative Assistant at Buddhist Studies Online and is excited to be involved in YS courses and our community.

Dr. Sabbi Lall

Teaching Assistant

Sabbi Lall is a teaching assistant at Yogic Studies where she supports faculty and students throughout YS courses. She has a background in the sciences, holding a Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Oxford in Biochemistry. Her professional experience in the neurobiology and cognitive sciences is coupled with her academic study of the history of meditation and mindfulness practices.

Sabbi became deeply interested in pursuing academic research in Yoga Studies during a trip to Karnataka, India with Seth Powell and Yogic Studies in 2020. She recently completed the MA Traditions of Yoga and Meditation at SOAS, University of London.

She currently teaches postural yoga and meditation in the Boston, MA area.

Anna Lee White

Social Media Manager

Anna Lee is a doctoral candidate at McGill University’s School of Religious Studies with a concentration in gender and women’s studies. She previously completed her BA from Mount Holyoke College in anthropology and South Asian studies and her MA from the University of Chicago Divinity School. She also lived, studied, and researched in India, including through language programs with the American Institute of Indian Studies and the University of Wisconsin-Madison's program in Varanasi. Anna Lee’s research focuses on Hindu bhakti (devotional) literature in Hindi and Sanskrit from early modern North India, particularly on the history of the Rāmānandī sampradāy. 

Anna Lee's interest in yoga spans diverse topics including ascetics' engagement with bhakti traditions in early modern India to yoga and contemporary politics in India and North America. As Yogic Studies' Social Media Manager, she enjoys looking through museum, library, and archive websites for inspiration. Her research and teaching also introduces her to new books, poems, and stories related to yoga and South Asian religions that she can share. 

Rob Zabel

Podcast Editor

Rob Zabel (MA, ERYT500) is a scholar-practitioner of yogic traditions who has been teaching yoga, history, and philosophy in Los Angeles for over a decade. He first began studying Sanskrit independently in high school, received his MA in Yoga Studies from Loyola Marymount University, and is currently enrolled at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.

His research interests include the textual history of Haṭhayoga, the Nāth and Udassin sampradāyas, and New Religious Movements (NRMs). Rob is also a musician, calligrapher, and naturalist who formerly worked for the forest service in Washington state and on several organic farms along the west coast. As the producer and editor for The Yogic Studies Podcast, The Sanskrit Studies Podcast, and The Buddhist Studies Podcast, Rob works closely with hosts Seth, Antonia, and Kate to bring listeners fascinating insights and new research from leading scholars.