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
Prof. Karl Baier
Karl Baier is Associate Professor Emeritus at the University of Vienna (Institute for the Study of Religions) and has a long standing interest in the history and modernisation of yoga and meditation, as well as in the study of spirituality in Christianity and other religions. His Habilitation, submitted in 2008, was on the topic of Meditation and Modernity, for more details see below. There is more extensive information on Prof. Baier’s work and background via the University of Vienna website. Publications 2018. With Phillip A. Maas and Karin Preisendanz, eds. Yoga in Transformation: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 2013. With Regina Polak and Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger, eds. Text und Mystik: Zum Verhältnis von Schriftauslegung und kontemplativer Praxis [Text and Mysticism: About the relation between exegesis and contemplation]. Göttingen: V&R Unipress. 2012: Modern Yoga Research: Insights and Questions. 2011: Modern Yoga Studies. Ergebnisse und Problemzonen einer jungen Disziplin. In: Bernd Jochen Hilberath, Clemens Mendonca (Hrsg.): Begegnen statt importieren. Zum Verhältnis von Religion und Kultur. Festschrift für Francis D´Sa. Grünewald: Ostfildern, 214-239. 2009: Meditation und Moderne. Zur Genese eines Kernbereichs moderner Spiritualität in der Wechselwirkung von Zur Genese eines Kernbereichs moderner Spiritualität in der Wechselwirkung zwischen Westeuropa, Nordamerika und Asien [Meditation and Modernity: On the emergence of a core area of modern spirituality from the interaction between Western Europe, USA and Asia], Königshausen und Neumann: Würzburg. The table of contents and parts of this book are now available via Google books. 1998: Yoga auf dem Weg nach Westen. Beiträge zur Rezeptionsgeschichte, Königshausen und Neumann: Würzburg. Download a summary of this book. See further information on Karl Baier’s publications.