This past weekend we held the first-ever Yogic Studies online conference, Yogavidyā. This three-day event featured the latest research on Yoga Studies from 28 of the world's leading yoga scholars from the fields of Indology, Anthropology, Religious Studies, Art History, and more.
There were three full days of talks, including a keynote lecture to kick off the themes of each day. At the start of the conference, Dr. Philipp Maas presented his latest findings on the roots of the Pātañjalayogaśāstra. On the second day, Dr. James Mallinson gave an update on his pioneering research on Haṭhayoga and discussed new reflections on the nature of samādhi and siddhis. On the third day, Dr. Sunila Kalé and Dr. Christian Lee Novetzke gave a captivating introduction to their forthcoming book about yoga as political thought and practice in India.
In contrast to most academic conferences, Yogavidyā was held online on Zoom and was free for attendees. Over 2,000 people signed up for the event, which speaks to the incredible enthusiasm and interest in academic research on yoga.
The panels across the first two days focused on the early history as well as medieval and early modern developments of yoga in India. The panels on the final day were dedicated to Modern Yoga Studies, addressing issues relevant to many contemporary students such as the "scholar-practitioner" label, the relationship between academia and practitioners of yoga, yoga and politics, and decolonization.
Throughout the weekend participants joined from all over the globe, asking fantastic questions during the Q&A sessions following each presentation. Overall the event was a great success and gave us an excellent blueprint for hosting future online conferences and workshops.
If you were unable to attend the live conference, an on-demand version of the conference is now available for purchase, featuring recordings of the entire three-day event. If you're already a Yogic Studies member, you'll find the recordings in your course library.
