Join me for two events in London (on April 9 and 10) exploring “Pole Yoga”. Better known as mallakhamb, this Indian discipline was used by wrestlers to cultivate strength and flexibility. To what extent do yoga and wrestling overlap? As we’ll discuss, techniques such as sun salutations probably came from a similar place. Both events explore a new film called The Wrestler’s Cane by Philippa Frisby, which highlights the work of Uday Deshpande, who’ll also be attending – and if you want to try “pole yoga” yourself, he’s offering workshops while he’s in London…
Join me for a fun conversation about yoga history and philosophy – plus many other topics of contemporary interest, from gender imbalances to misappropriation… The Q&A was hosted by Radiant Spirit Yoga as part of their 300-hour teacher training, and they kindly agreed to me sharing the recording. It’s great to have the chance to exchange ideas in an open forum. I hope it might inspire others to include something similar in courses and trainings! Thanks to the all the participants – particularly Pam Wilson and Melissa Cohn of Radiant Spirit.
I recently launched a new site to share writing and interviews. It’s called Ancient Futures and it’s hosted on Substack, where you can subscribe to get updates by email, as well as share comments. I’ll be adding new material regularly, and my aim is to spark conversations inspiring new writing… For now, read on for an introductory post that describes some ideas I intend to explore. Explaining the title, it starts: “My aim is to explore how ancient wisdom – particularly from yoga and similar traditions – might offer us guidance for facing the future…”
I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Laura von Ostrowski (video included). Her new book explores how modern practitioners use Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, focusing particularly on Ashtanga Vinyasa. As we discuss in our chat, this raises lots of broader questions. To start with, what exactly is the philosophy of yoga? Has it changed over time? Are there many different yogas? How do today’s theories relate to the past, as well as to practice and everyday life? And if we reinterpret texts to suit modern priorities, might it better to write new ones ourselves?
What makes yoga yogic instead of something else? Join me for a chat with J. Brown about the evolution of physical practice and what connects modern yoga to ancient tradition.... To quote J.'s show notes, we "discuss the tendency of historical figures to invent things but still present them as being very old,” along with “influences that led to a modern postural approach,” and other topics from Tantra to the Hatha Pradipika. We also cover philosophical distinctions – including duality and non-duality – and whether yoga is more about how and why than it is about what.
Join me online for a 90-minute talk – with Q&A – on pranayama (Sunday, Nov 21). For most of the history of yoga, control of the breath was the main technique of physical practice. Exploring it in terms of philosophy, we'll look at the significance of subtle anatomy, and see how it works to transform the practitioner. We'll also reflect on themes that shape yoga's development over the centuries. The aim is to share ideas and inspiration – it's not a guided practice session. The workshop is hosted by the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Los Angeles, and everyone is welcome.
This was a fun conversation with Julie Smerdon about my book – I hope you enjoy it! To quote the show notes: "From his days as a foreign correspondent for the New York Times to his current scholarly work, Daniel has been a fierce advocate for exposing the truth, both in journalism and in yoga. Daniel has a no-nonsense, fact-based approach to the history of yoga philosophy that I really appreciate. In this episode, we chat about his background, his scholarly work, and the truth about what we know about the origins of the way we practice today."
I'm looking forward to presenting a session on the history of yoga at this year’s World Yoga Festival. Held upriver from London at the end of July, it’s billed as: "Four rejuvenating days incorporating yoga asana from many different lineages, pranayama, meditation, non-duality, Ayurveda, chanting, kirtan, wisdom talks and music concerts in a series of large, decorated and carpeted marquees set in a country park beside the river Thames.” The vibe is "somewhere between retreat and festival," the organisers add. You can find out more and book tickets here.
Join me for a live conversation that’s shaped by your questions. We can focus on any dimension of yoga – ancient or modern. Perhaps you’re confused about what comes from where, or how different teachings relate to each other. Or maybe there’s something specific you’d like to ask about my book, The Truth of Yoga, which is a comprehensive guide to yoga history and philosophy. Whatever your question, it’s welcome! The session is hosted on Zoom, on Monday June 28 at 7.00 pm UK time (for other locations, use this calculator).
I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion with Laurent Roure for The Penny Drops podcast. Laurent runs courses on pranayama, and trains teachers to teach it. Our chat was wide-ranging, inspired by an article I wrote about breathing techniques. We focused on what scholars know about the origins of pranayama, how practice has changed – from something ascetic to something transformative – and how teachers present it today, albeit with caution. As the show notes put it: “A fun episode about serious themes and subjects!”
Join me online (Wednesday May 19, 7.00 PM UK time) for a free discussion about yoga’s development over the centuries. We’ll explore what inspired it originally, and when it evolved into what it is now – as well as how that relates to modern practice. There’ll be time to ask questions about any aspect of yoga’s history and philosophy. The overall aim is to see the big picture of what comes from where, as well as considering why things change. The talk expands on ideas from The Truth of Yoga, which is available both as a book and an online course.
This was a really fun discussion about links between yoga and other approaches. Andrew Rosenstock and Nikki Olsen asked lots of great questions that got us exploring all sorts of connections. They’re both rolfers who incorporate yoga with other forms of bodywork, and their Touching Into Presence podcast explores the diversity of methods of healing “the body, mind and beyond". We also talked about my book, The Truth of Yoga, and how it strikes a balance between scholarly knowledge and making this accessible to modern practitioners.
A heartfelt conversation with Jivana Heyman of Accessible Yoga. We discuss my book, The Truth of Yoga, and broader questions of how to teach yoga philosophy more accessibly. We also explore whether ancient texts promote social engagement, and reflect on the importance of defining objectives. The show notes sum it up well: “Do we want a relationship with tradition in the first place? And if we do, what are we actually trying to achieve with yoga?” The ultimate choice is to become more consciously involved in the world, as opposed to retreating from it.
I enjoyed this conversation with Stuart Sarbacker, a professor at Oregon State University. Like me, Stuart has recently published a book about yoga history, and he’s also a teacher and longstanding practitioner. We talked about some of the main themes of The Truth of Yoga, and more broadly about contemporary issues. There were also some good questions about the distinctions between yoga scholarship and practice, which yielded interesting exchanges. The event was hosted by Grass Roots Books (in Corvallis, Oregon), on Sunday, March 14.
It was an honour to be invited to speak at the Jaipur Literature Festival. My conversation with Ranju Roy about The Truth of Yoga was streamed on Friday, February 26. It’s now available to watch on the festival’s Facebook and YouTube pages, and also embedded in this post. Ranju and I talked about the past, the present and the future of yoga, while discussing the nature of truth on multiple levels, from the practical to the philosophical – and even the political. It would have been nice to be in Jaipur itself for the conversation, but hopefully another time soon!
This is a prize draw for a copy of The Truth of Yoga by Daniel Simpson. To enter, please follow @truthofyoga, like the competition post and tag two friends who you think would be interested. There is no purchase necessary to enter. Five winners will be selected at random from the entries received in accordance with these terms. The decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. The prize draw opens at 12:00 pm GMT on 24/02/2021 and closes at 11:59 pm GMT on 27/02/2021. Any entries received outside these times and dates will not be eligible.
I enjoyed this chat with Ron Purser. As he puts it: “Our conversation dives deep into the complex and patchy history of yoga, swimming through early, classical and hatha yoga – along with some interesting observations on modern yoga, including whether Silent Disco Yoga is a thing! Kidding aside, this is a serious conversation – and I learned a great deal, especially just how fertile the soil was when the yogic traditions were taking hold – and the creative cross-fertilization between classical yoga traditions and the Buddhists at the time.”
Join me in Mystic – via the recording of an online talk about The Truth of Yoga, including questions on yoga history and philosophy from local practitioners. This free event (held on Saturday, January 30 at 2:00 PM EST) was co-hosted by Bank Square Books and the Mystic Yoga Shala in Connecticut. I presented a short summary of the book, including some examples of modern misconceptions, then focused on how yoga can help reduce suffering. The discussion was part of the bookshop’s Self Improvement Series.
How do we know what’s true? Strap yourself in for a 20-year flashback as I talk to J. Brown about the "war on terror", and how working as a journalist blew my mind and got me focused on yoga... To quote J.'s show notes, we "discuss Daniel's experience of writing for the NY Times after 9/11, why he decided to leave behind a career in journalism and pursue yoga scholarship, what we actually know about the origins of yoga, and making clear distinctions between what texts say and what we choose to do with them.”
This is a great conversation! I've known Scott Johnson since 2014, but we'd never sat down for a really long chat – and when we did, a lot of fun things happened. From yoga to the media, psychedelia and beyond... Here's Scott's summary: "Daniel is a breath of fresh air. His knowledge on the philosophy and history of yoga is so deep yet he is able to share it in a beautifully open, simple and understandable way." Thank you, Scott – I enjoyed it too! Even if you pushed me to give an opinion about what yoga means… :) See the show notes for more.
