The Yogic Studies Podcast

Епизоде

• 55. Anjali Rao | Yoga as Embodied Resistance 08.06.2026 1ч 4мин

  In this episode, we speak with Anjali Rao, yoga educator, practitioner, and doctoral candidate at the California Institute of Integral Studies, about her recently published book, Yoga as Embodied Resistance: A Feminist Lens on Caste, Gender, and Sacred Resilience in Yoga History (North Atlantic Books, 2025). The conversation ranges widely, exploring the entangled histories of yoga, caste, and gender; the contested question of whether yoga is "Hindu"; and the rich "heterodox" traditions—...
• 54. Anirudh Kanisetti | Lords of Earth and Sea: A History of the Chola Empire 04.05.2026 1ч 4мин

  In this episode, we speak with Anirudh Kanisetti, a public historian and award-winning author specializing in early medieval South India. We discuss his path from tech journalism and podcasting into serious historical scholarship, and explore the world of his latest book, Lords of Earth and Sea: A History of the Chola Empire (Juggernaut, 2025). Beginning with the origins of the Chola dynasty on the banks of the Kaveri river around 850 CE, we trace how a clan of humble agrarian origins rose to...
• 53. Giacomella Orofino | The Dawn of Physical Yoga: New Discoveries in Tibetan Haṭhayoga 30.04.2026 1ч 7мин

  In this episode, we speak to Dr. Giacomella Orofino about her decades of research in Indo-Tibetan religious traditions, and the fieldwork she has conducted across Nepal, Bhutan, and the Himalayan regions of India. We then turn to the centerpiece of this conversation: her recently published monograph, The Dawn of Physical Yoga: Dispelling the Hindrances to Immortality (Amṛtasaṃkaṭanibarhaṇa, Tib. 'Chi med kyi 'phrang sel), published by UniorPress in 2025 and available open access. This landmar...
• 52. Tamara Cohen | Exploring the Mokṣopāya and Yogavāsiṣṭha 26.01.2026 1ч 11мин

  In this episode, we speak with Dr. Tamara Cohen about her background in Siddha Yoga, meditation, and how she came to pursue a PhD at the University of Toronto on the Yogavāsiṣṭha. We discuss the dream-like nature of the text and its unique nondualism, the textual history of the Yogavāsiṣṭha and its earlier recension known as the Mokṣopāya, the role of the term haṭhayoga within the text, and in what ways the Mokṣopāya/Yogavāsiṣṭha should be considered an important work on yoga. We conclu...
• 51. Sunila Kale and Christian Novetzke | The Yoga of Power 09.06.2025 1ч 13мин

  In this episode, we speak with Dr. Sunila Kale and Dr. Christian Novetzke from the University of Washington about their recent publication, The Yoga of Power: Yoga as Political Thought and Practice in India (Columbia 2025). We discuss the genesis of their book beginning with court cases in both the U.S. and India involving yoga and politics, an understanding of the term yoga not only as philosophy or mind-body disciplines but as a political idea and practice, yoga's varied meanings in the anc...
• 50. Anya Golovkova | Śrīvidyā, Tantra, and the Goddess 14.03.2025 1ч 1мин

  In this episode, we speak with Dr. Anya Golovkova about the world of Śrīvidyā and the Hindu tantric traditions. We learn about her background growing up in Russia and then discovering South Asian studies later in life in New York City, eventually going on to pursue a PhD on Śrīvidyā texts and traditions. We discuss the category of "tantra," the role of the Goddess within tantric traditions, the history of Śrīvidyā, the major texts of the tradition, the nature of the Śrī Cakra, contemporary Śr...
• 49. Daniela Bevilacqua | From Tapas to Modern Yoga 20.11.2024 1ч 16мин

  In this episode, we speak with return guest and teacher Dr. Daniela Bevilacqua to discuss the publication of her latest work, From Tapas to Modern Yoga: Sādhus’ Understanding of Embodied Practices (2024). We discuss the origins of the book as part of the research and output of the infamous SOAS Hatha Yoga Project (2015-2020), her methodology as an ethnographer working in India, the various sampradāyas, the role of yoga and the question of who are the yogis amongst sādhus today, and many stori...
• 48. Brian Dana Akers | The Yoga Manifesto and the World of Yoga Publishing 21.10.2024 52мин

  In this episode we speak with Briana Dana Akers, who is a publisher, editor, and translator, best known for his translation of the Haṭhapradīpikā. We discuss his background discovering yoga at a young age, learning Sanskrit in Michigan and in India, and how he first began publishing Sanskrit works on yoga when he founded YogaVidya at just 23 years old. Brian shares with us insights into the world of independent publishing, Sanskrit translation, working with scholars like Dr. James Mallinson, ...
• 47. Zoë Slatoff | Yoga, Vedānta, and Ashtanga Yoga 19.09.2024 1ч 3мин

  In this episode we speak with Zoë Slatoff about her background as an Ashtanga Yoga practitioner and teacher turned academic and Sanskrit professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. We discuss how her experiences within the Ashtanga Yoga community led her to the study of Sanskrit, and the eventual writing of her textbook called Yogāvatāraṇam. She details how her love for the study of yoga, Sanskrit, and philosophy led to her pursuing a PhD on the Aparokṣānubhūti, or "Direct Awaren...
• 46. Kunsang | From Buddhist Nun to Tibetan Translator 02.09.2024 1ч 25мин

  In this episode we speak with Kunsang about her upcoming series of courses in Classical Tibetan. We learn about her fascinating journey growing up in Venezuela and Italy and first encountering Tibetan Buddhism in her youth, studying Buddhist philosophy in Italy, becoming ordained as a Buddhist nun, studying Tibetan language and joining a nunnery in Dharamsala, India. We discuss some of the details and curriculum of her life as a monastic studying and training in India, eventually becoming a t...
• 45. Lucy May Constantini | Kaḷarippayaṟṟ˘: Martial Art of Kerala 15.04.2024 1ч 17мин

  In this episode we speak with Lucy May Constantini about her fascinating research and practical experience studying the south-Indian martial art tradition of kaḷarippayaṟṟ˘. We discuss Lucy's background of training in Kerala, the history of kaḷari, the role of the gurukkaḷ ("lineage-holder"), the tradition's Śākta Tantra context in Kerala, medieval ankam battles, the gendered dynamics of male and female practitioners, training with weapons, parallels with yogāsana and the renaissance of moder...
• 44. Kate Hartmann | Pilgrimage and Buddhism 19.03.2024 1ч 5мин

  In this episode we welcome back Kate Hartmann, former director of Buddhist Studies Online, to discuss all things pilgrimage and Buddhism. We discuss how Kate first got into pilgrimage studies as a grad student at Harvard, whether pilgrimage is a universal concept across cultures, and question what separates a pilgrim from a tourist? We then turn to the early history of the Buddhist pilgrimage tradition in India, going back to accounts of the words of the Buddha himself to Ānanda and his other...
• 43. Christopher Jain Miller | Embodying Transnational Yoga 14.12.2023 1ч 5мин

  In this episode we speak with Christopher Miller about his recent monograph, Embodying Transnational Yoga: Eating, Singing, and Breathing in Transformation (Routledge 2023) and his upcoming online course at Yogic Studies. We begin by discussing his academic background and how he first got into critical Yoga and later Jain Studies, his experiences as a practitioner of yoga in Santa Monica, California, and how he developed his dissertation project that would eventually become the book. We discu...
• 42. Samuel M. Grimes | Newar Buddhism, Nepal, and Yoga 08.11.2023 47мин

  In this episode we speak with Samuel Grimes about his research and experience with the tradition of Newar Buddhism in Nepal. We discuss the unique history of Buddhism in Nepal, the decline of Buddhism in India, and what it means to be the only living "Sanskritic Buddhist" tradition in South Asia. We then discuss the meaning and role of yoga within Buddhist traditions, previewing Grimes' upcoming online course, BS 112 | Yoga in Buddhism. Speaker Bio Dr. Samuel M. Grimes is the Shinjo Ito Postd...
• 41. Keith Edward Cantú | The History of Theosophy and Yoga 04.10.2023 1ч 3мин

  In this episode we welcome back Keith Cantú for a wide ranging conversation on the history of the Theosophical Society and in particular its unique relationship with the modern history of yoga. We discuss the influence of figures like Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott, as well as lesser-known South Asian Theosophists and Theosophy-adjacent authors and scholars. We discuss the impact of Theosophical publications on the global dissemination of yoga in English-print books and journals, a l...
• 40. Caley Smith | The World of Vedic Sanskrit 28.06.2023 1ч 16мин

  In this episode we speak with Caley Smith about the ancient and fascinating world of Vedic Sanskrit. We discuss some theories and debates about the origins of Sanskrit, its relationship with other Indo-European languages, the nature and scope of the Vedas, Vedic notions of authorship, comparisons between Classical Sanskrit and Vedic, the importance of orality, and much more. We conclude the conversation with a preview of Smith's upcoming online course, SKT 303 | Vedic Sanskrit. ...
• 39. Lubomír Ondračka | Yogic and Tantric Bodies 07.06.2023 1ч 4мин

  In this episode we speak with Lubomír Ondračka about his research on conceptions of the body within yogic and tantric traditions. We first discuss his background in chemical engineering and studying Indology in the Czech Republic, and how his interest in alchemy led him to India and the study of the Nāth yogis. We discuss the various scholarly categories of the 'yogic body', 'tantric body', and the so-called 'subtle body' and weigh in on their usefulness, as well as their components such as t...
• 38. Carl Ernst | The History of Sufism and Yoga 25.03.2023 1ч 24мин

  In this episode we speak with Carl Ernst about his career of scholarship on Sufism—which he describes as the tradition of ethics and spirituality associated with Islam. In particular we discuss the unique history of Sufism's engagement with Hindu forms of yoga in northern India, which has been the subject of numerous important publications by Ernst. We discuss the nature of Sufism, the fluid boundaries of religious identity, and the fascinating history of translation and adaptation of y...
• 37. James Mallinson | Dattātreya's Discourse on Yoga 11.12.2022 51мин

  In this episode we welcome back Jim Mallinson for another update on his pioneering research into the earliest Sanskrit texts of Haṭha Yoga. We discuss the Light on Hatha Yoga Project (2021–2024) which will produce a critical edition of the Haṭhapradīpikā. We then dive into the Dattātreyayogaśāstra, the "Dattātreya's Discourse on Yoga," perhaps the first text to teach Haṭhayoga within an Aṣṭāṅga framework. We discuss its authorship, dating, Vaiṣṇava milieu, yogic teachings, intended audience, ...
• 36. Philip Deslippe | Early American Yoga and the "Swami Circuit" 02.11.2022 1ч 16мин

  In this episode, we speak with return guest Philip Deslippe about his research on the history of Early American Yoga. Philip shares with us his archive of knowledge and stories from the "Swami Circuit"—the network of forgotten South Asian yoga teachers who travelled and taught various forms of yoga throughout the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. We discuss the nature of yoga and yoga teachers during this time, the demographics and geography of yoga, issues of authenticity and...