What Exactly is Yoga?

A talk at the IYN conference

I was invited to give a presentation to the Independent Yoga Network conference in 2019. All speakers were asked the same question: “What is Yoga?”

My response, based on traditional texts, suggested that yoga means self-inquiry. Therefore, conclusions can only be drawn from direct experience. As a result, attempts to police others’ practice and declare it “not yoga” are themselves “unyogic”.

A longer essay based on the talk was later published in the journal Spirituality Studies. Entitled “Yoga Police? No Thanks!” it’s available here. A downloadable audio file is posted beneath the video.