The Yogic Studies Podcast

Yogic Studies
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In-depth explorations into the traditions of Yoga, Sanskrit, Indian Philosophy, and South Asian Religions. Featuring candid conversations and interviews with scholars and educators from around the world. Hosted by Seth Powell. 

  1. 2D AGO

    53. Giacomella Orofino | The Dawn of Physical Yoga: New Discoveries in Tibetan Haṭhayoga

    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 landmark study presents the first critical edition and annotated translation of a Tibetan yoga manual that Dr. Orofino identifies as one of the earliest known manuals of physical yoga in the Indo-Tibetan tradition. The text, attributed to the enigmatic mahāsiddha Amoghavajra, describes one hundred and eight dynamic physical exercises (yantra / 'khrul 'khor) designed to remove obstacles to the practice of the Amṛtasiddhi—itself regarded as the earliest Sanskrit source introducing foundational principles of haṭhayoga. We explore the complex transmission lineages of the Amṛtasiddhi corpus, the authorship of Amoghavajra, the relationship between Vajrayāna Buddhist tantric practices and the emergence of haṭhayoga, and the broader significance of this text for our understanding of yoga history in both India and Tibet. We also discuss the connections between these practices and the Six Yogas of Nāropā, internal alchemical traditions, and the thirty-six obstacles. We conclude by discussing Dr. Orofino's recent live course at Yogic Studies, YS 137 | The Dawn of Physical Yoga: New Discoveries in Tibetan Haṭhayoga, which she just completed teaching and which is now available for self-study enrollment. Speaker Bio Dr. Giacomella Orofino is a Full Professor at the University of Naples "L’Orientale", where she holds the Chair of Tibetan Language and Literature and the History and Cultures of Tibet and Himalayan Countries. Her research focuses on the history of Indo-Tibetan religious traditions, employing philology, textual criticism, and the history of religions as her primary methodological frameworks. A leading figure in the promotion of Tibetan studies in Italy, she is the co-founder and current President of AISTHiM (the Italian Association of Tibetan, Himalayan, and Mongolian Studies) and the founder and Director of the Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of Naples "L’Orientale". Her scholarly work is primarily dedicated to the study of the Kālacakratantra, the Chöd tradition, Dzogchen, and the Bön religion, with a recent focus on the origins of physical yoga. Her latest monograph, The Dawn of Physical Yoga: Dispelling the Hindrances to Immortality (UniorPress, 2025), explores the early historical development of physical yoga through the study and translation of primary textual sources. Links YS 137 | The Dawn of Physical Yoga: New Discoveries in Tibetan HaṭhayogaThe Dawn of Physical Yoga: Dispelling the Hindrances to Immortality (UniorPress, 2025) — available open accessAISTHiM — Italian Association of Tibetan, Himalayan, and Mongolian StudiesUniversità di Napoli L'Orientale — Centre for Buddhist Studies

    1h 7m

  2. JAN 27

    52. Tamara Cohen | Exploring the Mokṣopāya and Yogavāsiṣṭha

    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 conclude by discuss her live online course, YS 218 | The Yogavāsiṣṭha, which is currently available for enrollment. Speaker Bio Tamara is the Ludo and Rosane Rocher Foundation Fellow for 2024-2026 at the University of Virginia, where she works with John Nemec on the connections between the Mokṣopāya, a text from mid-10th century Kashmir, and nondual Tantric Śaivism. Tamara completed her PhD in 2023 at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Srilata Raman in Toronto and Jürgen Hanneder in Marburg, Germany. Tamara's research touches on the early history of Yoga, nondual philosophy in Hinduism and Buddhism, and Sanskrit literary traditions. Her book (in process) revises her dissertation, tracing the textual affiliations of the Mokṣopāya using the stories that depict the body and its transformations on the path to liberation. In the book, she shifts her focus from historical context to a study of the text’s Yoga system. Tamara has been a practitioner of Siddha Yoga Mediation since 1994 and she completed a 300 hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2018 at Ahimsa Yoga in Toronto. In 2022, Tamara became certified in Integrated Attachment Trauma coach, Gibson Method. Links YS 218 | The Yogavāsiṣṭha"Yoga in the Mokṣopāya." PhD dissertation, University of Toronto. 2023."Uddālaka’s Yoga in the Mokṣopāya." Religions. 2020.

    1h 10m

  3. 06/09/2025

    51. Sunila Kale and Christian Novetzke | The Yoga of Power

    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 ancient Rg Veda, Mahābhārata, and Bhagavadgītā, the mandala theory, yoga spies in the Arthaśāstra, yoga's political role within modern Indian independence movements including the writings of Tilak, Aurobindo, and Gandhi's famous Karma Yoga, and how the authors discovered what is potentially the earliest video footage of sūryanamaskār! We close by discussing the upcoming course, YS 134 | Yoga, Power, and Politics. Speaker Bio Dr. Sunila S. Kalé is a Professor in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle. Dr. Kalé has a BA from the University of Chicago and PhD from the University of Texas, Austin. Her teaching and research are in the fields of politics, development, political economy, energy studies, and yoga studies. She is author of many essays and articles and the books Electrifying India (Stanford 2014) and Mapping Power (Oxford 2018). Her first book was awarded a prize from the American Institute of Indian Studies, and her research has been supported by fellowships from AIIS and Fulbright. Dr. Christian Lee Novetzke is a Professor in the Jackson School of International Studies and the Comparative History of Ideas Department at the University of Washington, Seattle. Dr. Novetzke teaches and researches in the fields of religion, cultural history, and yoga studies. He has a BA from Macalester College and graduate degrees from Harvard University (MTS) and Columbia University (PhD). His books include Religion and Public Memory (Columbia 2008), The Quotidian Revolution (Columbia 2016), and Amar, Akbar, Anthony (Harvard 2016). His first book won a prize from the American Academy of Religion and his research has been supported by grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, AIIS, Fulbright, and the Guggenheim Foundation. Links https://www.yogicstudies.com/ys-134https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-yoga-of-power/9780231220019"Surya Namaskar 1928 by Raja of Aundh" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYcwS2ePkMw

    1h 12m

  4. 03/14/2025

    50. Anya Golovkova | Śrīvidyā, Tantra, and the Goddess

    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 Śrīvidyā traditions, and much more. We close by previewing her upcoming course, YS 133 | Śrīvidyā: Tantric Wisdom of the Goddess. Speaker Bio Anya Golovkova is a historian of Asian Religions and a Sanskritist. Prior to joining Lake Forest College as Assistant Professor of Religion, she was an A. W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Religion at Bowdoin College and a Visiting Scholar at Cornell University’s South Asia Program. Dr. Golovkova completed her Ph.D. in Asian Studies at Cornell University and holds a B.A. (with distinction) in Linguistics and Intercultural Communication from Moscow State Linguistics University, an M.A. in the Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University, and a Master of Studies (with distinction) in Oriental Studies from Oxford University. Dr. Golovkova has published articles in peer-reviewed journals and edited book chapters. She is the co-editor (with Hugh Urban and Hillary Langberg) of The Tantric World, forthcoming from Routledge. Her forthcoming monograph, A Goddess for the Second Millennium: The Making of Śrīvidyā, is the first comprehensive study of a Hindu Tantric (esoteric) tradition called Śrīvidyā. Dr. Golovkova serves as the Co-Chair of the Tantric Studies Unit of the American Academy of Religion, the largest scholarly society dedicated to the academic study of religion, with more than 8,000 members around the world. Links YS 133 | Śrīvidyā: Tantric Wisdom of the GoddessGolovkova, Anna A. “Śrīvidyā.” Edited by Knut A. Jacobsen, Helene Basu, and Angelika Malinar, Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism Vol. 4. 815–22. Leiden [etc.]: Brill, 2012.https://lakeforest.academia.edu/AnnaAAnyaGolovkova

    1 hr

  5. 11/20/2024

    49. Daniela Bevilacqua | From Tapas to Modern Yoga

    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 stories and details from her years of conducting research in India.  Speaker Bio Daniela Bevilacqua is an Indianist specialized in Hindu asceticism, investigated through an ethnographic and historical perspective. She received her PhD in Civilizations of Africa and Asia from Sapienza University of Rome and in Anthropology from the University of Paris Nanterre. She worked as a post-doc research fellow at SOAS, for the ERC- funded Haṭha Yoga Project (2015–2020). She is currently a researcher at CRIA (ISCTE-IUL) in Lisbon as PI of the project “Performing the Sacred: Ethnographies of Transgender Activism in the Kinnar Akhara”. She authored Modern Hindu Traditionalism in Contemporary India (Routledge 2018), From Tapas to Modern Yoga. Sādhus’ Understanding of Embodied Practices (Equinox 2024), edited volumes, and written several articles and book chapters on topics related to Hindu religious tradition, gender, and embodied practices. Links From Tapas to Modern Yoga: Sādhus’ Understanding of Embodied Practices (2024)YS 103 | Yoga and Hindu Asceticsm, Past and PresentYSP 2. Daniela Bevilacqua | Hindu Asceticism and Haṭha Yoga

    1h 15m

  6. 10/21/2024

    48. Brian Dana Akers | The Yoga Manifesto and the World of Yoga Publishing

    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, and why the Kāmasūtra may not have sold as many copies as the Śivasaṃhitā. We conclude by discussing Brian's latest book, The Yoga Manifesto, a short 60-page tract that traces some of yoga's history and looks critically though optimistically at yoga's present and future in modern society.  Speaker Bio Brian Dana Akers is a publisher, editor and translator (Sanskrit-English bilingual editions of the yoga classics), and also an author (science fiction and fantasy). He began practicing yoga at age twelve, learning Sanskrit at seventeen, and working in publishing at twenty-three. Brian grew up in Kalamazoo and spent his teenage years building telescopes, reading science fiction, and practicing Yoga. He started six years at the University of Michigan in 1975, with his senior year abroad in India. His studies included Sanskrit and Indian history. After graduate school, he left for the Bay Area and worked as a typographer and network manager. In 1991, he met his wife Loretta, moved to New York, wrote a little science fiction, and founded YogaVidya.com.  Links YogaVidya.comBrianDanaAkers.com

    52 min

  7. 09/19/2024

    47. Zoë Slatoff | Yoga, Vedānta, and Ashtanga Yoga

    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 Awareness of the Self." We discuss the history of the Aparokṣānubhūti, whether or not it is actually written by the great Advaita Vedānta philosopher Śaṅkara, the differences between the dualism of Sāṅkhya-Yoga and the non-dualism of Advaita Vedānta, how Vedānta views yoga philosophy and practice, and more. We conclude by previewing Zoë's upcoming online course, YS 215 | Yoga and Vedānta: The Aparokṣānubhūti. Speaker Bio Zoë Slatoff has a Ph.D. in Religion and Philosophy from Lancaster University in the U.K. and an M.A. and B.A. in Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University. She is the Clinical Professor of Sanskrit at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where she teaches Sanskrit and Yoga Philosophy courses in the Yoga Studies M.A. program, as well as undergraduate courses through the Theology department. Her Ph.D. dissertation—which she is working on turning into a  book—was an exploration of the intersection of Yoga and Advaita over time, centering around a  translation of the Aparokṣānubhūti and its commentaries. Zoë is also the author of Yogāvatāraṇam: The Translation of Yoga, a Sanskrit textbook based on classic yoga texts, which integrates  traditional and academic methods of learning, from which she teaches. Links https://www.yogicstudies.com/ys-215Yogāvatāraṇam: The Translation of Yoga, (North Point Press, 2015)

    1h 2m

  8. 09/02/2024

    46. Kunsang | From Buddhist Nun to Tibetan Translator

    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 translator for HH the Dalai Lama, among others. We then discuss the differences between classical and modern Tibetan, the relationship between Tibetan and Sanskrit, and pedagogies for teaching Tibetan. We conclude by previewing Kunsang's upcoming online course, TIBET 101 | Elementary Tibetan I. Speaker Bio Kunsang studied Letters and Philosophy at the Central University of Venezuela and attended a two-year residential Buddhist Philosophy program in Italy, where she became ordained in the Tibetan Tradition in 2006. After this, she moved to India and joined Thosamling Nunnery and Institute in Dharamsala. There she completed both Basic and Advanced Tibetan Language programs. She also completed the Traditional Buddhist Philosophy Studies in Tibetan, which correspond to a Lobön (slob dpon) degree in Buddhist Studies in the Tibetan Tradition. She has been teaching Tibetan language, translating Buddhist texts and interpreting for numerous masters for over 16 years. Currently, as a lay teacher, she offers various courses online aiming to transmit and preserve the study method of philosophical debate derived from the ancient Nalanda University. She believes that a direct, accurate translation from Tibetan into Western languages is essential to better understand the Dharma through the study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism. Links https://www.yogicstudies.com/tibet-101https://pdkunsang.wixsite.com/proyectodespertar

    1h 24m
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About

In-depth explorations into the traditions of Yoga, Sanskrit, Indian Philosophy, and South Asian Religions. Featuring candid conversations and interviews with scholars and educators from around the world. Hosted by Seth Powell. 

Information

  • Creator
    Yogic Studies
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    54
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Yogic Studies Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Yogic Studies Podcast

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