There are are some other great yoga-related research projects happening around the world.
The Haṭha Yoga Project (HYP)
is a five-year (2015-2020) research project funded by the European Research Council and based at SOAS, University of London which aims to chart the history of physical yoga practice by means of philology, i.e. the study of texts on yoga, and ethnography, i.e. fieldwork among practitioners of yoga. The project team consists of four researchers based at SOAS and two at the École française d’Extrême Orient, Pondicherry.
Entangled Histories of Yoga, Ayurveda and Alchemy in South Asia
The project examines the histories of yoga, ayurveda and rasaśāstra (Indian alchemy and iatrochemistry) from the tenth century to the present, focussing on the disciplines' health, rejuvenation and longevity practices. The goals of the project are to reveal the entanglements of these historical traditions, and to trace the trajectories of their evolution as components of today's global healthcare and personal development industries.
The five-year ERC-funded project is based at the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at Vienna University and at Inform at the London School of Economics.
For more information about Modern Yoga Research, the website below is a great portal for finding world-class scholars who work on various aspects of modern and traditional yoga, from deep historical and philological enquiries, to the more politically and anthropologically-focused projects.
Entangled Histories of Yoga, Ayurveda and Alchemy in South Asia
The project examines the histories of yoga, ayurveda and rasaśāstra (Indian alchemy and iatrochemistry) from the tenth century to the present, focussing on the disciplines' health, rejuvenation and longevity practices. The goals of the project are to reveal the entanglements of these historical traditions, and to trace the trajectories of their evolution as components of today's global healthcare and personal development industries.
The five-year ERC-funded project is based at the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at Vienna University and at Inform at the London School of Economics.
For more information about Modern Yoga Research, the website below is a great portal for finding world-class scholars who work on various aspects of modern and traditional yoga, from deep historical and philological enquiries, to the more politically and anthropologically-focused projects.
Yoga originated in Asia, but nowadays it is found almost everywhere: it has become a global, international phenomenon. However, accurate information about modern yoga studies and about yoga’s roots, history, culture and philosophy can be difficult to find. The research that exists on these topics could be described as being ‘locked up’ in university libraries and discussed only by academics.
This website aims to help you find out more about established and current research into modern yoga and, more generally, about some of the most informative research on earlier forms of yoga. These are different but overlapping fields, and we believe that it is when they come together that a deeper understanding of modern yoga can happen.
Yogic Studies was founded by Seth Powell in 2018 to provide continued educational services for the broader yoga community. Yogic Studies aims to bridge the gap between the yoga studio and the academy—seeking to make accessible the highest quality and most cutting-edge research on yoga for teachers and students.
We offer online courses and in-person trainings on yoga history, philosophy, and Sanskrit studies—seeking the balance between the highest standards in academic scholarship, yet readily accessible, affordable, and meaningful for the modern practitioner.
