Description

What is the subtle or "energy" body in Yoga, and what relevance does it have for contemporary practice? 

Modern Yoga is often presented as a secular practice focused on physical postures, but many Yoga traditions describe subtle, non-physical dimensions of the body. This year’s theme examines how these ideas persist, change, or reappear in contemporary contexts.

We will explore how embodied experience can be understood through the framework of the subtle body, and how such experiences, being subjective and not directly accessible to measurement, can be approached in study and discussion.

This summit brings together historians, scholars, researchers, and experienced practitioners to explore what might be called Yoga's unseen dimension: its energetic frameworks of prāṇa, cakra, and kuṇḍalinī, alongside the practices of breath, sound, and meditation that seek to transform and open new modes of embodied experience.

The summit asks: What is the subtle or "energy" body? How has it been understood across Yoga's history? How does it work and can it be measured?

Through panel discussions, guided practice sessions, and a keynote lecture, participants will examine the history and philosophy of the energy body, the roles of prāṇa, cakras, and kuṇḍalinī, and the relationship between embodied experience and contemporary research. 

Bringing together leading scholars and practitioners from around the world, the summit offers a unique opportunity to engage in dialogue across disciplines and traditions, exploring how Yoga's subtle dimensions continue to shape both scholarship and practice.

Speaker / tutor line up: 

Keynote speaker: Prof Shaman Hatley from the University of Massachusetts - The Wheel, the Lotus and the Snake: Towards a History of the Tantric Body

Dr Marleen Thaler from the University of Vienna - When the Serpent Starts to Tremble: Challenges Associated with the Awakening of Kundalini 

Dr Ruth Westoby, OCHS and SOAS University of London - 

Swami Saradananda, yoga teacher mentor, SOAS alumni and author of Chakra Meditation - leading an experiential session on chakra meditation

Dr Magdalena Kraler from the University of Vienna, author of Yoga Breath - Prāṇāyāma in Relation to Other Aṅgas of Yoga 

Dr Marissa Clarke, Associate Lecturer in Contemporary Yoga Studies, SOAS - Making Oceano Respiração: Philosophy, Method, Performance 

BWY tutor Sarah O'Connor - leading a practical session to help attendees understand the energy body through Tsa Lung practice

Moderator: Dr Suzanne Newcombe,  Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the Open University.

Additional Information

Full details on the talks and speakers can be found on our dedicated webpage: https://bwy.org.uk/about-bwy/yogasummit/ 

What to Bring

Notebook and pen, you may like to bring your yoga mat and practice wear for the optional lunctime yoga sessions. 

Bring something for lunch with you, either from home or local shops, so you can enjoy the lunchtime practices or have your own discussions about the talks.