TALKS

Recent Talks

What is Yoga?

Scholar Symposium

Panelists Jason Birch, James Mallinson, Suzanne Newcombe, Richard Rosen, Mark Singleton

Hosted by:

triyoga, SOHO

Date:

23rd September 2018 (Sunday) at 14:30pm - 6:30pm

Location:

triyoga, SOHO

What is Haṭha Yoga?

A panel discussion with the Haṭha Yoga Project Team Members.

Hosted by:

SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies

Date:

27th September 2018 (Thursday) at 6pm - 8:30pm

Location:

Khalili Lecture Theatre (KLT), SOAS University of London, WC1H 0XG

Past Talks (and Podcasts)

The Amaraughaprabodha

Dr Jason Birch

SOAS University of London (Haṭha Yoga Project)

Hosted by:

Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde

University of Vienna, Austria

Date:

15th June 2018 (Friday) at 3:15pm - 4:45pm

Location:

Campus der Universität Wien, Seminarraum 1 des ISTB, Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2.7, 1090 Wien

History of Haṭhayoga from 15-18th centuries

Dr Jason Birch
SOAS University of London (Haṭha Yoga Project)

Hosted by:

Oriental Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in collaboration with Institute of Southern and Central Asia, Faculty of Philosophy

Charles University, Czech Republic

Date:

26th June 2018 (Tuesday) at 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Location:

Charles University, Celetná 20, Room 427

Revisiting Yoga and its History

A podcast with Dr Jason Birch on the programme Hacking the Self.
26th May, 2018

We are very pleased to offer open-access to this Podcast hosted by 'Hacking the Self' with Dr Jason Birch, which was recorded during our brief visit to Japan, 2018. The discussion covers topics such as:

1. The āsana practice in the eighteenth-century Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati and its link to Kṛṣṇamācārya
2. Is modern yoga modern?
3. The Buddhist and Śaiva influence on early Haṭhayoga.
4. The emergence of Haṭha and Rājayoga from older Tantric and ascetic traditions.
5. The importance of the Pātañjalayogaśāstra in modern yoga and the integration of physical yoga with Brahmanical traditions.
6. The reinterpretation of the Pātañjalayogaśāstra by philosophers of Vedānta, householders and contemporary yoga practitioners.
7. The benefits of secular scholarship on Yoga.
8. Recommendations on primary and secondary sources of study.

Friends of The Luminescent (our Patrons) were given access to this podcast 1 day before the rest of the world. Your support enables us to offer high-quality • independent • open-access research on the diverse history of Yoga.

Cultural (Mis)appropriation in Yoga

A Teachers Symposium

triyoga Camden in London
9th September, 2017

This Teachers Symposium offered a lively discussion on the difficult to navigate topic of Cultural Appropriation in Yoga. 

The panelists:

Sally Kempton, a yoga and meditation teacher from the U.S. with more than 20 years experience as a teaching swami in the Saraswati order of Indian monks. 

Max Strom, an American wellness teacher and creator of Inner Axis, an interdisciplinary method that he does not call yoga even as he teaches its postures and breath practices. 

Jason Birch, a post-doctoral research fellow at SOAS University of London. His area of research is in the medieval yoga traditions of India. He is critically editing and translating six Haṭhayoga texts for a 5-year ERC-funded research project. 

Satish K Sharma, the General Secretary of the National Council of Hindu Temples (UK) and Chairman of the British Board of Hindu Scholars, who is concerned that those with little scriptural knowledge are recasting the sacred practices of yoga. 

Stacie CC Graham, founder of OYA Retreats which delivers holistic movement and mindfulness practice to Black women and women of colour. 

An audio recording of the event is available below.

Sanskrit Texts on Yoga

A Manuscript Workshop by the Haṭha Yoga Project

SOAS, University of London and All Souls College, University of Oxford
12th-16th September, 2016

This is a very small window into the great work being done by the Haṭha Yoga Project, particularly on the reading of Sanskrit manuscripts on Yoga. It features Prof. Alexis Sanderson and  other luminaries in the field of Yoga, Śaivism, and Sanskrit Philology. This is a very rich offering with a film taster, photos, audio recordings, handouts.... in fact, too much to highlight. The full programme of presentations are available.

FULL PROGRAMME.

The audio recording of the presentation on the 18th century Haṭhābyāsapaddhiti by Dr Jason Birch and Dr Mark Singleton is available below.

Sanskrit Reading Room

SOAS University of London

A fortnightly reading forum for budding Sanskritists to improve their Sanskrit language skills and be up to date with current Indological research. Participation is open to all students of Sanskrit, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, from UK institutions of higher education.

Find more details visit the Sanskrit Reading Room website.

AyurYog Workshop: Rejuvenation, Longevity, Immortality

Perspectives on rasāyana, kāyakalpa and bcud len practices.

Institute for South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, University of Vienna

21st - 22nd October, 2016

The two-day workshop explored the historically linked South and Inner Asian practices of rasāyana, kāyakalpa and bcud len. These are practices, treatment techniques and formulations aimed at a variety of goals that range from prolonging life, restoring youthfulness, and promoting physical health, to accessing special powers, achieving enlightenment, and attaining immortality. Read a summary of this fascinating conference here. 

All of the talks are available for viewing on the AyurYog Youtube channel.

Yoga Darśana, Yoga Sādhana: Traditions, Transmissions, Transformation

Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, Krakow
19th - 21st May, 2016

Keynote Session featuring Dr James Mallinson and Dr Jason Birch at the international academic conference Yoga Darśana, Yoga Sādhana: Traditions, Transmissions, Transformations.

Yoga: Austerity, Passion and Peace

The British Museum
Friday 8 April 2016, 18.30 – 20.00

This interdisciplinary panel of experts will examine yoga from ancient Indic times to the present, with reference to the modern quest for authentic spiritual communion with the divine, both from an Indian perspective and a global one.

Chaired by independent scholar and founding director of Calm Energy Yoga Hilary Lewis Ruttley, panellists include Dr Jason Birch of The Haṭha Yoga Project at SOAS, novelist, journalist and award-winning BBC broadcaster Jameela Siddiqi, and Sunil Khilnani, Avantha Professor and Director, King’s India Institute.