Hello subscribers. I finally got round to creating a website for IntoYoga https://www.intoyoga.co.uk/. Let me know what you think and if you have any requests for yoga events.

Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana 2026: conference reflections and videos

Last time I wrote to you all I shared details of the 2026 Yoga Darśana Yoga Sādhana conference in Paris, which turned out to be one of the best yet. Absolutely fascinating range of talks and, this time, exhibitions and presentations from the MANTRAMS team to go with it. Most of the talks sadly do not get recorded, but you can watch two of the keynotes talks here https://yso.soas.ac.uk/product/ydys-paris-2026-live-stream-of-the-keynote-speakers/.

I was part of a roundtable on “Products and Pedagogies”, where we explored the challenges of sharing yoga teachings within and without academia. Ruth McNeil and I were there to represent our work examining the impact of doing an MA in yoga studies on practitioners who take the course, especially considering what responsibility course leaders might have for the resulting “destabilisation” of practice and personal philosophy that can ensue. No conclusions on that yet, but it was an interesting discussion.

Theo Wildcroft has a more detailed summary on her (always interesting) newsletter here.

What is the Purpose of Yoga: Transcendence or Transformation?

A recent talk on the history of yoga by Oxford Professor of Sanskrit and top yoga studies scholar Jim Mallison is available on YouTube https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/yoga-purpose. It’s quite an accessible overview of his research showing the way that the physical practices of yoga have moved from a sort of mortification (“tapas”) to something more “body-positive”, as he puts it, at some point in the early second Millenium CE.

SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies - four events coming up

The autumn programme for the SOAS CYS has some juicy stuff going on, with remote access so you can watch online. See all future and past events here https://yso.soas.ac.uk/

Next Monday 12th: “Exploring Rāmacandra’s Tattvayogabindu: Implications for Late Medieval and Pre-Modern Yoga Research”. This one might be a little obscure, but I’m intrigued by the suggestion that it will explore this text’s “significance for the study of late medieval and pre-modern yoga.”

19th October: “Religion, Science and Truth” with Karen O'Brien-Kop and Suzanne Newcombe. “a discussion about the ways of knowing and the nature of knowledge in religious and yogic traditions.” Karen is my PhD supervisor and is always fascinating to listen to as is Suzanne.

31st October: “The Energy Body: Yoga between Evidence and Experience”. This summit in collaboration with the British Wheel of Yoga has some great speakers on it.

16th November: "Yoga Breath" Open-Access Book Launch | Magdalena Kraler. Billed as “the first comprehensive history of modern prāṇa and prāṇāyāma” and available to all via open access, here more about it at the launch.

Happy studies! Don’t forget you can read the archives here. And there have been a few new SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies events since the last email so worth checking out their YouTube Channel.

As ever, please do encourage others to subscribe if you think they would be interested in the world of yoga scholarship. And if you are keen to be part of a workshop on any aspect of this subject, let me know and I will see if it is something I can arrange (especially on the Isle of Wight).

Best wishes, Martha @ IntoYoga

www.intoyoga.co.uk