Yoga: Health, harm, and healing

Join us in London (or online) on Saturday, 2 November 2024, for the inaugural SOAS – BWY Autumn Summit, entitled “Yoga: Health, Harm and Healing.”

This initiative marks a unique collaborative event between renowned scholars and leading yoga practitioners. Our aim is to provide a day of learning, reflection, and thought-provoking discussion on contemporary themes in Yoga Studies. This year’s summit is delighted to welcome six speakers, who will explore yoga and its relationship with health, harm, and healing.

The full-day programme is divided into three themed panels, featuring prominent researchers from fields such as medicine, criminology, neuroscience and religious studies. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with the speakers via Q&A sessions. Additionally, the intellectually stimulating panels will be interspersed with two yoga practice sessions led by senior teachers within the auditorium.

What we will ask 

Does yoga contribute to health? Can it cause harm? Does it foster healing?

Together, we will consider the latest scientific research on yoga’s applications, examining specific techniques such as yogic sleep (Skt: yoganidrā). We will reflect upon the efficacy of yoga in certain contexts, such as prisons. We will explore various perspectives and approaches to yoga and mental health. Importantly, we will allocate time to calibrate our bodies and minds through embodied practices as we engage with this enriching material.

The day promises to be an opportunity to forge new connections and rekindle old ones, while fostering a warm and collegial environment.

The Autumn Summit is proudly presented by the British Wheel of Yoga (BWY) and SOAS University of London – Centre of Yoga Studies (SOAS CYS).

Programme

• Host: Prof. Ulrich Pagel, Chair of SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies
• Moderator: Tina Cartwright, Reader of Social Sciences, University of Westminster

About the speakers

• Prof. Rosie Meek, Royal Holloway
• Prof. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Harvard Medical School
• Rose Parkes
• Carola Chiarpenello
• Uma Dinsmore-Tuli
• Ranju Roy
• Jo Bogacz

Tickets

• £60 In person ticket (early bird until 2 August)
• £30 Online ticket (early bird until 2 August)

Booking

You will need a BWY account to book tickets to this event.

• register for a BWY Free Account
• once logged in, reserve your spot by booking a ticket to this event

CPD credits

BWY teachers may accrue 6 CPD points for this event, which will be added automatically to your profile after the event if you attend in person.