Resources for a better understanding.
With more and more academic research about yoga being published, finding good sources of information online is increasingly important. A group of scholars looking at yoga and based in the social sciences and humanities have therefore got together to develop a web-based resource for those interested in this field.
This initiative is run by a group of established scholars who conduct research on yoga which formed at the Yoga Darśana, Yoga Sādhana international yoga conference in Kraków, Poland in May 2022. Their aim is to develop a website that offers information about the best quality yoga-related research in the humanities and social sciences.
Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana:
Tracing the threads of yoga
8-10 August 2025
Online conference
The 2025 Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana conference at Arihanta Institute (YDYS@AI) is a three-day, online, public-facing event bringing the latest scholarship in yoga studies to the global yoga public.
Each day features a keynote speaker followed by two panels moderated by a scholar familiar with the particular area of focus who will guide the Q&A and discussion.
For more details, visit 2025ydys.arihantainstitute.org/.
The 4th International Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana conference:
Authenticity, Authority and Adaptation
27-29 May 2026 – Paris, France
Call for papers
The 4th International Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana conference will take place from Wednesday 27th midday to the evening of Friday 29th of May 2026 in collaboration with the Center for South Asian and Himalayan Studies (CESAH) at the School for Higher Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris. The theme will be “authenticity, authority and adaptation.”
Call for papers and full details are on our YDYS Paris 2026 page.
Latest Reflection
Embodied Reception: South Asian Spiritualities in Contemporary Contexts
Edited by Henriette Hanky, Knut A. Jacobsen, and István Keul, this comprehensive work brings together contributions from renowned scholars in yoga studies and related fields. The book’s innovative approach introduces the concept of embodied reception, offering a fresh perspective on how practitioners’ bodies engage with and shape spiritual practices as they traverse cultural boundaries.
Yoga Research Mailing List
list@yogaresearch.org is a new email discussion group providing a forum for academic discussion among professional scholars of Yoga Studies.
Membership of the list is mainly open to scholars with an advanced degree and whose primary field is yoga studies. Sending a short academic CV is a requirement for approval.
Featured Researcher Profile
Prof. James Mallinson
James Mallinson is Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit and Classical and Indian Studies at SOAS, University of London. Between September 2015-2020, Mallinson was the Principle Investigator of The Haṭha Yoga Project (HYP), a five-year 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. From January 2021, Mallison will be the lead on three year project entitled “Light on Hatha Yoga: A critical edition and translation of the Haṭhapradīpikā, the most important premodern text on physical yoga” funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the German Research Foundation Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).