Yogavidyā Conference 2024
The past twenty-five years has witnessed remarkable growth in the academic field of Yoga Studies, with pioneering new research that has in many cases turned our conventional understanding of yoga "on its head." This 3-day online conference aims to survey and showcase much of this exciting research for the broader yoga public. Featuring talks from over 25 of the world's leading yoga scholars, and drawing across the disciplines of Philology, Religious Studies, Anthropology, Art History, Sociology, and more—this conference will shine new light on yoga's past and present.
Over the course of three full days we will explore a wide range of topics including—the historical roots of yoga, early and lesser-known yoga texts, Buddhist meditation manuals, yoga within the Tantras, cakras and the subtle body, yoga and alchemy, yoga as taught within Sufism, Sikhism, and Jainism, new insights from yoga philology, the roots of Haṭhayoga, sculpture and iconography, the role of the scholar-practitioner, the imbrication of yoga, religion, and politics, and so much more.
Participants will walk away with a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural roots of yoga in India, the vast diversity of yoga traditions, unique insight into the world of academic research, as well as critical tools for thinking about the contemporary issues facing yoga teachers and practitioners today.
The event will be held online on Zoom and is free to register.
Conference Speakers
Dr. Philipp Maas
Dr. Dominic Goodall
Dr. Finnian Gerety
Dr. Kengo Harimoto
Dr. Karen O’Brien-Kop
Dr. Shaman Hatley
Dr. Ben Williams
Dr. Somdev Vasudeva
Dr. Patricia Sauthoff
Dr. James Mallinson
Dr. Vijay Sarde
Dr. Christopher Jain Miller
Dr. Ruth Westoby
Dr. Seth Powell
Dr. Carl Ernst
Dr. Jvala Singh
Dr. Keith Edward Cantú
Dr. Jason Birch
Dr. Sunila Kalé
Dr. Christian Lee Novetzke
Dr. Daniela Bevilacqua
Dr. Gudrun Bühnemann
Dr. Borayin Larios
Dr. Suzanne Newcombe
Dr. Adrian Muñoz
Dr. William Pinch
Philip Deslippe
Dr. Shameem Black
Conference Schedule
All times are listed in Pacific Standard Time (PST).
Day 1 – Friday, October 11
8:00 - 8:30am | Welcome and Opening Remarks – Seth Powell
8:30 - 9:30am | Keynote 1 – The Roots of the Pātañjalayogaśāstra – Philipp Maas
Panel 1 – Early Yoga
9:30 - 10:15am | The Yoga of the Seventh-century Śivadharmottara – Dominic Goodall
10:15 - 11:00am | Ascent from Sound to Non-sound: Yoga in the Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad – Finnian Gerety
11:00am - 11:45am | Hiraṇyagarbha and his Yogaśāstra – Kengo Harimoto
11:45am - 12:30pm | The Visual Syntax of Meditation in the Qizil Yoga Manual – Karen O’Brien-Kop
12:30 - 1:30pm | Lunch Break
Panel 2 – Yoga, Tantra, and Alchemy
1:30 - 2:15pm | The Wheel of the Navel and Lotus of the Heart: Metaphor, Medical Knowledge, and the Body of Early Yoga – Shaman Hatley
2:15 - 3:00pm | Kuṇḍalinī in Abhinavagupta's Trika Sources – Ben Williams
3:00 - 3:45pm | Early Kaula Yoga – Somdev Vasudeva
3:45 - 4:30pm | Yoga and Rasaśāstra – Patricia Sauthoff
Day 2 – Saturday, October 12
8:00 - 9:00am | Keynote 2 – New Thoughts on Old Practices: Research on Haṭhayoga over the Last Three Decades – James Mallinson
Panel 3 – Medieval Yoga
9:00 - 9:45am | Sculptures and Iconography of Nātha Yogis – Vijay Sarde
9:45 - 10:30am | Jain Yoga: Ahiṃsā as the Foundation of Yoga Practice – Christopher Miller
10:30 - 11:15am | Subtle Body, Yogic Body, Saṃsāric Body: Conceptualisations of the Body in Early Haṭhayoga – Ruth Westoby
11:15am - 12:00pm | The Unuttered Mantra: The Role of Ajapā in Haṭhayoga – Seth Powell
12:00 - 1:00pm | Lunch Break
Panel 4 – Medieval and Early Modern Yoga
1:00 - 1:45pm | Sufi Interpreters of Yoga – Carl Ernst
1:45 - 2:30pm | Guru Nanak’s Two Types of Yoga – Jvala Singh
2:30 - 3:15pm | Sri Sabhapati Swami’s Secret Teaching on the Four Types of Temples – Keith Edward Cantú
3:15 - 4:00pm | Insights From the New Critical Edition of the Haṭhapradīpikā – Jason Birch
Day 3 – Sunday, October 13
8:00 - 9:00am | Keynote 3 – The Yoga of Power: Yoga as Political Thought and Practice in India – Sunila Kalé and Christian Lee Novetzke
Panel 5 – Modern Yoga Studies I
9:00 - 9:45am | Thinking of Āsanas in Terms of Performativity: Insights from the Sādhus’ World – Daniela Bevilacqua
9:45 - 10:30am | Patañjali in Contemporary India: Role and Representations – Gudrun Bühnemann
10:30 - 11:15am | “The Hats We Wear”—Academics and Practitioners in Yoga Studies – Borayin Larios
11:15am - 12:00pm | Yoga Studies—Stretching and Strengthening the Academy – Suzanne Newcombe
12:00 - 1:00pm | Lunch Break
Panel 6 – Modern Yoga Studies II
1:00 - 1:45pm | Early Yoga in Mexico: Mystics, Dreamers and Reformers – Adrián Muñoz
1:45 - 2:30pm | Genealogies of the Modern Political Yogi – William Pinch
2:30 - 3:15pm | Rishi: Researching and Recounting the Life of a Pioneer of Early American Yoga – Philip Deslippe
3:15 - 4:00pm | Flexible India: Yoga in Popular Culture – Shameem Black
4:00 - 4:30pm | Closing Remarks – Seth Powell
Registration is still OPEN!
Sign up now to reserve your spot at the conference. Afterwards you will receive a confirmation email with the event Zoom link to join.
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