Tune into some of our past talks and podcasts.
Āsanas of the Yogacintāmaṇi
Dr. Jason Birch, with Adam Keen of Keen on Yoga, delves into the historical and philosophical significance of the Yogacintāmaṇi, Jason's latest book. They explore the evolution of Haṭha Yoga, the role of key historical figures, and the influence of Persian texts on yoga practices. The discussion also touches on the politics surrounding yoga and how historical narratives can be shaped by contemporary interests. Available on YouTube.
More talks and podcasts
The Amaraugha: The Genesis of Haṭha and Rājayoga
Dr Jason Birch presents at the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies. This presentation introduces one of the earliest texts of the Haṭhayoga tradition, namely the Amaraugha of Gorakṣanātha. The Amaraugha was one of the main sources of the Haṭhapradīpikā, which created a template for Haṭhayoga that was widely accepted after the fifteenth century.
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Yogacintāmaṇi – A premodern compendium of Āsana
Dr James Bae, a doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, interviews Jason Birch about his publication.
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The Amaraugha and the Amaraughaprabodha of Gorakṣanātha: The Genesis of Haṭha and Rājayoga
The Yoga Studies Symposium: Celebrating 20 Years of Academic Engagement took place at the CRIA (Centre for Research in Anthropology) in Portugal. Speakers: Jason Birch and Adrián Muñoz were invited to discuss this important publication.
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Embodied Liberation
Curators of the Embodied Liberation exhibition at the Brunei Gallery in London, Jacqueline Hargreaves and Daniela Bevilacqua, are interviewed during the Covid lockdown by Bhav Mehta of Knowledge Quarter, London.
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Jason Birch – Āsanas of the Yogacintāmaṇi
SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies and the École Française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) in Pondichéry, India, were delighted to co-host this double book launch. Jason Birch (University of Oxford), author of Āsanas of the Yogacintāmaṇi: The Largest Premodern Compilation on Postural Practice, and James Mallinson (Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford), author of The Dattātreyayogaśāstra, discuss their books with respondent Shaman Hatley, Professor of Asian Studies and Department Chair at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
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New light on the Haṭhapradīpikā
In this two-part podcast, Dr. Jason Birch, Senior Research Fellow on the 'Light on Hatha Yoga' Project, discusses the historical importance of the Haṭhapradīpikā and the challenges of editing it with Adam Keen of Keen on Yoga.
SOAS Understanding Yoga Studies: An Introduction to Philology
Philology is the study of the history of language, in particular the historical study of literary and canonical texts. It is a central methodology in Yoga Studies because manuscripts preserve the historical details of Indic traditions, beliefs and practices.
In this interview, Dr. Jason Birch, Senior Research Fellow on the 'Light on Hatha Yoga' Project, discusses philology, the production of critical editions, worm-eaten manuscripts and his discovery of the fourteenth-century compendium Yogārṇava, 'The Ocean of Yoga'.
Jacqueline Hargreaves – The Luminescent and Embodied Philology
In this podcast, scholar-practitioner Jacqueline Hargreaves speaks with host Seth Powell about her work with the Hatha Yoga Project, her background as an engineer that first brought her to India, and her life as a nomadic yoga researcher with her partner Jason Birch.
Jacqueline shares stories about her work, including a rare audience with Mysore's Royal Family and the discovery of a lost manuscript thousands of miles from India in an unlikely place.
Hatha Yoga Project Finalé
This panel, hosted by the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies, marked the finale of the five-year ERC-funded Hatha Yoga Project. Chaired by Dr. Suzanne Newcombe of the Open University and Inform, team members Dr. James Mallinson, Dr. Jason Birch, Dr. Daniela Bevilacqua and Dr. Mark Singleton discuss their findings.
The panel also includes an impact assessment by Jacqueline Hargreaves of The Luminescent, who collaborated to produce the 'Embodied Liberation' exhibition at the Brunei Gallery, followed by questions.
Silenced Voices
Hosted by Brighton Yoga Foundation, this unprecedented panel spotlights writer and activist Karen Rain and yoga teacher Jubilee Cooke, PhD, as they speak about sexual abuse by Pattabhi Jois and the ways members of the Ashtanga Yoga community enabled abuse and profited from silencing victims.
Researcher and yoga teacher Theo Wildcroft, human rights activist and psychotherapist Josna Pankhania, and scholar Jacqueline Hargreaves also contributed to the dialogue.
Untangling Traditions: Yoga, Ayurveda, and Alchemy
These video conversations between Jacqueline Hargreaves and the AyurYog project team introduce the project's research findings and outputs, and showcase collaborations with other research projects, scholars and practitioners.
The research reveals how past encounters and cross-fertilisations have informed and shaped these bodies of knowledge over time.
Manuscript Hunting and the History of Medieval Yogas
In this podcast, Dr. Jason Birch speaks with host Seth Powell about his early training in yoga and Indology, the late 1990s and early 2000s yoga scene in Rishikesh, Sanskrit manuscript hunting in India, and more.
What is Yoga?
A Scholar Symposium with panelists Jason Birch, James Mallinson, Suzanne Newcombe, Richard Rosen and Mark Singleton.
What is Haṭhayoga?
The Hatha Yoga Project presents its evolving understanding of the term haṭhayoga. Although the term is familiar from many popular forms of transnational yoga, historical philology and ethnographic research among contemporary ascetic practitioners reveal a much more complex picture, with varied meanings and subtle nuances of understanding.
Revisiting Yoga Philosophy
A discussion between Dr. Jason Birch and host Adrian Baker, recorded during a brief visit to Japan in 2018. Topics include the āsana practice in the eighteenth-century Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati and its link to Kṛṣṇamācārya; whether modern yoga is modern; Buddhist and Śaiva influences on early Haṭhayoga; and the emergence of Haṭha and Rājayoga from older Tantric and ascetic traditions.
Cultural Appropriation in Yoga
This Teachers' Symposium offered a lively discussion of the difficult topic of cultural appropriation in yoga. The panelists included Sally Kempton, Max Strom, Dr. Jason Birch, Satish K. Sharma and Stacie CC Graham.
Sanskrit Texts on Yoga
This workshop was organised by James Mallinson and Jason Birch of the Hatha Yoga Project, focusing on the reading of Sanskrit manuscripts on yoga. It features Prof. Alexis Sanderson and other leading scholars in yoga, Śaivism and Sanskrit philology.
A rich collection of resources includes a film taster, photographs, audio recordings and handouts.
Yogabīja: A Robust Defence of Yoga
Dr. Jason Birch reads his critical edition of the Yogabīja with the Sanskrit Reading Room at SOAS University of London.
Zen 2.0: Feel your body. Know your mind.
Zen 2.0 is a mindfulness conference held annually in Kamakura, Japan, which addresses progressive themes. Among esteemed monastics, scholars and practitioners, Jacqueline Hargreaves contributed in 2018 to the theme 'Feel your body. Know your mind.' This brief video captures the authentic joy of the Second Annual Global Mindfulness Forum.
Recipes for Immortality: The Intoxicating Alchemy of Inner and South Asia
This two-day workshop, convened by the AyurYog Project, explored the historically linked South and Inner Asian practices of rasāyana, kāyakalpa and bcud len. These practices, treatments and formulations pursue goals ranging from prolonging life, restoring youthfulness and promoting physical health to accessing special powers, achieving enlightenment and attaining immortality.
Yoga: Austerity, Passion and Peace
In 2016, the British Museum hosted an interdisciplinary panel examining yoga from ancient Indic times to the present, including the modern quest for authentic spiritual communion with the divine from Indian and global perspectives.
Chaired by independent scholar and founding director of Calm Energy Yoga, Hilary Lewis Ruttley, the panellists included Dr. Jason Birch of the Hatha Yoga Project, novelist, journalist and BBC broadcaster Jameela Siddiqi, and Sunil Khilnani, Avantha Professor and Director of King's India Institute.
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