Description

SOAS BWY SUMMIT

Yoga in the Age of Overload

In today’s Age of Overload, we are drowning in data – hyperconnected yet experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. As we strive for health, balance and longevity in a rapidly changing world, we ask: can the ancient traditions of yoga and Ayurveda meaningfully support modern minds?

This year’s summit will explore precisely this question through the theme: Yoga in the Age of Overload.

The event brings together academic researchers, yoga practitioners and advocates to engage in critical dialogue across a series of curated panels. Our aim is to create a day of learning, reflection and thought-provoking discussion on pressing issues in Yoga Studies.

Together, we will examine how yoga and Ayurveda may offer tools to navigate the pressures of modern life—helping to alleviate stress, recover from burnout and depletion, and support wellbeing.

The programme blends intellectually rich panels with experiential sessions, including two guided yoga practices led by senior BWY teachers within the auditorium.

The SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies and the British Wheel of Yoga are delighted to co-host this unique collaborative event for the second year running. We look forward to welcoming you for a day that informs, inspires and uplifts.

Please join us in London (or online) on Saturday, 1 November 2025, for this year's SOAS BWY Summit: Yoga in the Age of Overload.

Host: Prof. Ulrich Pagel, Chair of the SOAS Centre of Yoga Studies

Moderator: Dr Suzanne Newcombe, Senior Lecturer at Open University

Keynote speaker (opening): Julia Hobsbawm OBE, Founder and CEO of corporate consultancy network, Workathon, award-winning writer and speaker.

Keynote speaker (closing): Professor Finnian M. Gerety, University of Oxford, Principal Investigator of MANTRAMS Project

Speakers:

• Amarjeet S Bhamra, Lecturer and practitioner of Indian Traditional Sciences
• Dr Theo Wildcroft, Author and lecturer at Open University
• Emeritus Prof. Dominik Wujastyk, Singhmar Chair in Classical Indian Society and Polity (2015-2024)

Practice Teachers:

• Rajesh David
• Judy Hirsh Sampath

Questions for speakers: each session will end with questions to the speakers, taken from attendees in the auditorium and on Zoom; we will take as many questions as time permits. If you would like to submit a question in advance, please send it to events@bwy.org.uk by close of play on 30 October.

Important Notes:

1. To book tickets, you will need to be registered on the website either as a BWY member or with a free user account (click here to create a free user account if you do not already have one)

2. Once logged in, please search for 'SOAS BWY' in Yoga Search and you will be able to purchase tickets.

3. Early bird tickets are available until 31 August, thereafter full price tickets will be available.

4. 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. If you attend online and would like to have the points added to your profile, please contact events@bwy.org.uk.

5. The event will be recorded and all ticket holders will be able to access the recording via the BWY website/My Resources/My Events within 72 hours of the event closing (although it is often sooner than this).

 

Additional Information

 Timetable:

Please note that the timetable is subject to change on the day.

09.00	Registration in reception at SOAS Gallery
09.15	Auditorium opens
09.30	Welcome and introductions
09.50	KEYNOTE  Opening speaker: Julia Hobsbawm OBE  The body of work: a decade of change in workplace wellbeing – and what lies ahead
10.10	Q&A with the speaker
10:20	Speaker 2: Theo Wildcroft PhD How can yoga ethically compete in the attention economy?
10.40	Q&A with the speakers
11.00	YOGA PRACTICE: Judy Hirsh Sampath
11:30	Morning refreshments provided. Speaker’s Lunch in BG01
13.15	Speaker 3: Emeritus Prof. Dominik Wujastyk The yoga teachings on love, compassion, joy and detachment as antidotes to overload.
13.35	Speaker 4: Amarjeet S Bharma  Yoga, burnout and the nervous system: expanding the brain’s capacity for resilience
13.55	Q&A with the speakers
14.15	YOGA PRACTICE: Rajesh David
14.45	Afternoon refreshments provided
16.00	KEYNOTE  Closing Speaker: Professor Finnian Gerety How OṂ became OṂ: historical insights for yoga in the age of overload
16.25	Q&A with the speaker
16.40	Closing address: Professor Ulrich Pagel and Peter Tyldesley CEO of BWY
17.00	Close

 

Meet the experts 

Click on the links to access their bios

Julia Hobsbawm OBE - https://www.bwy.org.uk/content/uploads/2025/09/Julia-Hobsbawm.pdf 

Dr Theo Wildcroft - https://www.bwy.org.uk/content/uploads/2025/09/Theo-Wildcroft.pdf 

Dr Suzanne Newcombe - https://www.bwy.org.uk/content/uploads/2025/09/Suzanne-Newcombe-Biography.pdf

Amarjeet S Bhamra - https://www.bwy.org.uk/content/uploads/2025/09/Amarjeet-S-Bhamra.pdf 

Professor Finnian Gerety - https://www.bwy.org.uk/content/uploads/2025/09/Finnian-Gerety.pdf 

Professor Ulrich Pagel - https://www.bwy.org.uk/content/uploads/2025/09/Ulrich-Pagel.pdf 

Emeritus Prof. Dominik Wujastyk - https://www.bwy.org.uk/content/uploads/2025/09/Dominik-Wujastyk.pdf 

Judy Hirsh Sampath - https://www.bwy.org.uk/content/uploads/2025/09/Judy-Hirsh-Sampath-Biography-1.pdf

Rajesh David - https://www.bwy.org.uk/content/uploads/2025/09/Rajesh-David.pdf 

 

Practices

Rajesh David will lead us from sound to silence as he explores a simple practice of Nada Yoga, using sound, mantra and music. Nada Yoga techniques lead to an increasingly refined tuning of our perception. The resonance produced by our vocal sounds have the potential not only to energise our body and mind, but also to heighten our awareness of the chakras. Working with sound is an effective way of accessing the inner realms of our being. Our journey leads us from audible sound to deeper realms of being, just as the chanting of the mantra Om, that perfect symbol of Nada, is followed by the silence from which the manifest universe emanates.

Judy Hirsh Sampath invites us to take a 30-minute pause and reconnect with the most reliable source of wisdom: our own body, both human and divine. In her practice, What is untouched by the material world within you?, we will call upon the vagus nerve to help us choose the right nervous system response when faced with overwhelm or overload. Together, we’ll rediscover the hidden gems already known to us unconsciously, bring them into awareness, and take practical steps to release the energy of overload. Through repetition, these tools become easier to access whenever we need them.

What to Bring

• Note taking equipment
• Water
• There will be university food outlets open or you may bring your own food.
• The practice sessions will be done seated or standing in the auditorium so there is no need to bring mats or props.