The Yogic Studies Podcast

In this episode, we speak with Dr. James Mallinson (SOAS, University of London) about his travels through India, meeting his guru, his journey to becoming an Indologist, his pioneering research on the history of yoga and yogīs, key findings from the Haṭha Yoga Project, and more. Speaker Bio Dr. James Mallinson is Reader in Indology and Yoga Studies at SOAS University of London. His research focuse...

In this episode, we speak with Philip Deslippe (UC Santa Barbara) about his research on the modern history and construction of Kundalini Yoga, the controversies surrounding the late guru Yogi Bhajan, as well as the role and positionality of the scholar and historian of yoga. Speaker Bio Philip Deslippe is a historian of American religion with a background in American Studies and literature. He is...

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Antonia Ruppel (LMU, Munich) about her study and teaching of the Sanskrit language, from elite universities to the St. James Senior Boys' School, the richness and diversity of Sanskrit literature, her recent Sanskrit textbook, and her upcoming series of online Sanskrit courses. Speaker Bio Antonia Ruppel is a Classicist by training who came to Sanskrit throu...

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Daniela Bevilacqua (Post-Doc Research Fellow, SOAS) about her background in History and Anthropology, her doctoral work on the Rāmānandī Sampradāya, her ethnographic fieldwork for the Haṭha Yoga Project, and the role of yoga among sādhus today in contemporary India. Speaker Bio Daniela Bevilacqua is a South-Asianist who received her PhD in Civilizations of Africa...

In this brief introduction, Seth introduces listeners to the Yogic Studies Podcast. He shares his story of how yoga led him to academia, to the PhD at Harvard University, the study of Sanskrit, the world of yoga research, and the birth of Yogic Studies. Bio Seth Powell is a longtime practitioner of yoga and a scholar of Indian religions, Sanskrit, and yoga traditions. He is currently a PhD Candida...

In this first-ever Yogic Studies Podcast episode, we speak with Dr. Finnian Gerety (Brown University) about his background as a musician, his journey to Indology and Sanskrit studies at Harvard University, his fieldwork among Nambudiri Brahmins in the south-Indian state of Kerala, the Sāma Veda performative tradition, his short film "Mantras 2 the Max", the origins of sacred sound and th...