lost ways of
knowing podcast
A Circle Yoga Shala Production
The “Lost Ways of Knowing” podcast teaches a basic history of the Indian traditions that feature centrally in modern yoga, focusing on the value of awakening or being liberated from ignorance. The ultimate aim is to establish a working definition of “Yoga as awakening” and initiate a dialogue about awakening as the systematic overcoming of self-deception, which leads to deeper intimacy with what is real.
S4E2 Transnational Anglophone Yoga
This episode focuses on modern, transnational, anglophone yoga, which has tended to emphasize the practice of asana over certain other techniques that were central to the Hatha tradition: e.g. shatkarmani, mudra, and etc. This emphasis is fueled by the influence of European systems of physical education, and the revival of the physical culture movement in India that they helped to spawn. T. Krishnamacharya (the Father of Modern Yoga) is a key influence on modern practice. His tenure at the Mysore palace was a time of great experimentation with regard to Yogasana, and his vision made its way to the west through many famous students. His imperative that Yoga is to be taught via an appropriate adaptation strategy relative to time, place, and culture remains a guiding principle here at the shala. (Vini-yoga)
S4E1 Vivekananda
This episode focuses on Swami Vivekananda, a key figure who brought Yoga to the West. His political and spiritual leanings show a strong influence from British colonialism, including: Western (Greek) notions of rationality and more universalist interpretations of Christian doctrine. His legacy left us a polarization between systems of yoga oriented by his definition of raja (“royal”, superior), and those oriented toward the more gross-physical (in his estimation) concerns of the Hatha Yogins. We see this value system at work today when, for instance, “gym yoga” is disparaged as “unspiritual”, or we hear “it’s not about the asana.” We should be careful with such ideas...
S3E5 Chakra & Kundalini
The last episode on Siddha based practice looks deeper into two famous aspects of the subtle body: the chakras and the Kundalini. We discover a dizzying array of teachings concerning these matters, not all in agreement with one another. We also find that our modern notions of the chakras and the kundalini as endowments with which we are born is only half of the story, for each must also be created, or “installed” via dedicated practice. This is a paradox necessitated by the nature of the enlightenment endeavor, or what we have already called qualitative transformation in previous episodes, and which is also the central subject of many future episodes.
S3E3 Immobilization
This episode focuses on the period that follows preparation and purification, which for Siddha based practices is known as immobilization. It turns out that the subtle sexual essences humans produce are also homologs of breath and mind. Breath, Mind, and Seed tend to evaporate and disperse quickly and must be caught and held in one place in order for the transformational process to proceed. The classic techniques of asana, pranayama, bandha, mudra etc are discussed as the means that drive this process.
S2E3 Heresy
This episode focuses on the life of the Buddha and the impact of his teaching in the Indian philosophical sphere. We tell a basic story of his life and journey to enlightenment, and detail the essence of his realization as the teaching of no-self (anatman), which represents a radical shift away from the atman based traditions that preceded him. We look at his concept of the Madhya-marga (“the middle way”), expressed in the four noble truths, and the eightfold path.
S1E4 Yoga & Samkhya
This episode considers some basics of what can be called the most influential philosophical system in the history of India, known as Samkhya. After providing a basic summary of the tenets of the philosophy, we look at how it influenced the idea of Yoga in the Mahabharata, the Gita, and the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali.
S1E3 Mystical Realization in the Upanishads
This episode focuses on a body of sacred literature known as the Upanishads, which represents a clear shift away from the traditional Vedic sacrificial rite, which becomes internalized within the individual human for the first time in Indian history. Internalization of the sacrifice ensues due to an elevation in the status of the human body as a worthy object of meditative inquiry, and the new place of mystical realization. Elevation in the status of the body leads to innovations in disciplines ranging from Ayurvedic physiology to Hatha Yoga. The Upanishads also show clear examples of practices that prefigure modern practices, particularly pranayama.
S1E2 Shunned
This episode focuses on a body of sacred literature from the late Vedic period known as the Brahmanas. This literature has been largely ignored by modern scholarship due to certain biases at work in what are now known as the “first wave Orientalists”. These biases have affected the way modern yoga is understood via interpretation of ideas like the self, and the soul, and through the selection of certain texts over others. We trace the evolution of the Vedic sacrificial triad in the Brahmanas, and interpret a story about Prajapati, the primal creator god, as an early foreshadowing of modern practice.
S1E1 The Ancient Vedic Matrix & the Sacrificial Context
In this episode, Matthew gives a historical timeline for the emergence of Vedas, defines the sacrificial triad that will become the throughline for future episodes in this series, and elucidates the nature of Vedic knowledge as being composed of rapture and truth. This foundational understanding of the central concerns of the Vedic world helps listeners understand modern yoga as an internalized and refined iteration of the Vedic sacrifice, still seeking knowledge and understanding of the existential problems inherent in human existence.
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A must listen for any yoga teacher!
“The synthesis of information in these podcasts is a real gift! Matt takes so much information and shares it in such a concise and relevant way for today’s yoga practitioner. I really feel if you’re a yoga teacher or serious practitioner you must give this a listen! Can’t wait for more.”
Jayme
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Amazing!
“I need to listen a second time with a paper and pen! So much amazing information I feel like could easily be in a university type setting that would cost thousands. Thank you for making this available. I’m excited to listen to more!”
Rachel