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.
The 4th International Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana conference:
Authenticity, Authority and Adaptation
27-29 May 2026
Paris, France
Programme Announcement
The 4th International Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana conference will take place in Paris beginning Wednesday May 27 at 1:00 p.m. with official proceedings ending at 6:00 p.m. Friday evening May 29, 2026. The events are being organized in collaboration with the Center for South Asian and Himalayan Studies (CESAH) at the School for Advanced Social Sciences (EHESS – École de hautes études en sciences sociales) in Paris.
Latest Reflection
Interview with Suzanne Newcombe and Raphaël Voix
The 4th Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana Conference The 4th International Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana Conference convenes 27–29 May 2026 at EHESS Paris, organized by CESAH. Theme: Authenticity, Authority and Adaptation—examining how yoga traditions establish legitimacy, transmit knowledge, and negotiate transformation across time and place. Bridges philological and ethnographic approaches. Host: Raj Balkaran Guest: Suzanne Newcombe and Raphael Voix Date: 9th March 2026
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
Dr. Agi Wittich
Agi Wittich, Ph.D., is a scholar of religion and yoga studies whose work explores the intersections of gender, tradition, and innovation in modern yoga. She earned her doctorate in Comparative Religion from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with a dissertation on Her Yoga: Women-Oriented Iyengar Yoga – Between Innovation and Tradition (2021). Her research examines how yoga has been reshaped to accommodate women’s needs, with a particular focus on the global Iyengar Yoga tradition. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, including Asian Medicine, Religions of South Asia, and Journal of Yoga Studies. She is also co-editor of Remarkable Women in South Asian Religious Traditions (Routledge, 2024). Dr. Wittich’s current projects investigate knowledge transmission, women’s authority, and therapeutic practices in Iyengar Yoga. Forthcoming publications include chapters in the Brill Handbook of Contemporary Yoga and Bhartiya Knowledge Traditions. She has presented her work internationally, including invited lectures at Harvard Divinity School, SOAS University of London, the University of Heidelberg, Ghent University, and Kyoto University. In addition to her academic scholarship, Dr. Wittich is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher with two decades of teaching experience, as well as a trained clinical herbalist. Her combined expertise as scholar-practitioner informs her writing, teaching, and public engagement in the fields of yoga, Hinduism, and gender studies.