Join me online (Apr 29 – May 26) to get immersed in the Upanishads, exploring foundations of yoga philosophy as well as the earliest frameworks for practice. This engaging course relates timeless wisdom to modern priorities. Over four modules, we'll cover a selection of early Upanishads, tracing key themes in a series of videos. We’ll also look at links between the Vedas and Upanishads, as well as their influence on later traditions. Each module combines live discussion with pre-recorded lectures. You can also ask questions at any time via the course website.
Become your own guru of yoga philosophy! Join me online for a 30-hour course on putting philosophy into practice. Together, we'll explore the connections between modern yoga and earlier approaches – and in the process develop our own. Whether or not you're a teacher, the course will help you feel clearer about why you do what you do, and how that relates to traditional teachings. The overall aim is to find your own way – and to express it yourself in a final project. See this video for a taste of what to expect. The course runs from February 1 to March 16, 2024.
Calling all men – come and get empowered to share more of who you are by joining a supportive international community. Hosted on Zoom by Daniel Simpson and Matthew Green, this monthly men’s group explores what's going on for us at a deeper level, encouraging us all to get in touch with what matters. Each session has a theme, blending small group discussions with practical insights. We meet on Sundays for 90 minutes (from 7:00 – 8:00 pm, UK time), and our next session is on January 21, 2024.
Calling all men – come and get empowered to find deeper fulfilment in your relationships! Join Daniel Simpson and Matthew Green for a four-week immersion (November 5-26, 2023), in which we’ll explore how this process starts by improving our relationship with ourselves. We’ll develop our capacity to speak authentically, listen more deeply, and draw clear boundaries without shutting down. In the process, we’ll enhance our skills for relational life, whether that’s with a partner or anyone else. We meet online and there’ll be practical “homework” between live sessions.
Calling all Iyengar yoga teachers... and anyone else who might be interested! I'm running a six-part course on philosophy for the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Los Angeles, helping teachers to prepare for assessments. We will focus in particular on the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita, but also look more broadly at yogic traditions. All sessions are conducted on Zoom, and they’re open to anyone anywhere. They're held on Saturdays at 9.00 am Pacific time, which is 5.00 pm in the UK and 6.00 pm in most of continental Europe. The dates are August 5 and 12, September 9 and 16 and October 7 and 14. You can find out more about the syllabus here, where you can also book.
Join me "in L.A." (via Zoom) to discuss the Upanishads! We'll be drawing inspiration from the oldest texts that talk about yoga and freedom from suffering. Among other questions, we'll be asking "Who am I really?" as well as "What is my purpose?" and "How might philosophy guide me?" This interactive workshop brings philosophy to life – there will be plenty of time to ask questions, and the focus is on practical insights with everyday relevance. It’s hosted by the L.A. Iyengar Yoga Institute on Saturday, April 29 (11.30 am - 1.30 pm Pacific Time, which is 7.30 - 9.30pm in the UK).
This course is a comprehensive guide to contemporary yoga and its origins. Whether you’re a teacher, a curious practitioner or just interested in history, it’s an overview of all the most important themes with lots of fascinating details. We explore where postures come from, the role of female practitioners and other topics from politics to science. The course runs for almost two months, and it’s available to study on-demand, with an online forum for asking questions at any time. There are also some live Q&As on Zoom. You can find out more and sign up here.
Join our transformative men’s group to explore what really matters to you, and how to turn that into action. Our supportive community will help you get clearer about what you want and start making it happen. Find out what’s holding you back and begin to let go of unhelpful patterns. We often try to do this alone, but it’s easier with others. In this four-week immersion, you’ll discover the power of collective intention, empowering you to find your own way to whatever inspires you. We meet online from October 2 - 23, 2022. Tune in and commit!
Join me in June for an engaging guide to the Bhagavad Gita! It teaches yoga as a way to act wisely in everyday life, and unlike many other yogic texts, it says there's nothing to renounce except self-centred thinking. Over four weekly sessions, we'll look at key verses and discuss them together. Among other topics, we'll examine what it means to live life as an offering, reflect on definitions of social justice, and see why the divine that exists in all beings inspires ethical conduct. The format of the course is accessible and fun. Participate in person, online or via replay.
Join me to explore the evolution of physical practice. Yoga today is widely seen as sequenced postures. But when did it start to be taught this way and why? What came before? This free talk (recorded on Thursday, March 10, 2022) presents a brief history of hatha yoga, discussing the context in which it emerged and how it relates to contemporary practice. It lasts one hour, including questions – and you're welcome to ask follow-ups here. The recording is also on YouTube. For a deeper exploration, try this course on the Hatha Pradipika.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is often said to teach the theory behind modern practice. But what does it actually say, apart from listing eight things that include the word asana? Join me in Cheltenham (or via Zoom) for an in-depth exploration of this influential text. Over four weekly sessions, we'll study key sutras that explain its objectives, and consider how they might be applied in the twenty-first century. The format of the course is accessible and fun, with the aim of inspiring discussions on yoga philosophy and what makes it relevant to modern practitioners.
How do we interpret traditional texts in the twenty-first century? Priorities have changed since the earliest yogis renounced worldly life. Which teachings still speak to us clearly across the millennia, and how do they relate to the way we live now? This online workshop (Saturday, February 13) explores ideas from The Truth of Yoga, which is an accessible guide to the history of yoga, examining links between philosophy and practice. Drawing inspiration from ancient ideas, we will reflect on what it means to find freedom from suffering in everyday life.
It can feel daunting to study alone. We often have books that we’d like to explore, but don’t find time to sit and read. And even if we do, they might spark questions we struggle to answer. It helps to discuss ideas with someone else who offers structure and support. Whatever your priorities — from reading a text to a broader inquiry on how modern practice relates to tradition — we’ll focus clearly on your goals, devising a plan that helps achieve them. Online and in person (location permitting).
Daniel’s next online courses at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies start on April 21. They cover yoga philosophy, the roots of modern yoga, the Yoga Sutras and the Vedas and Upanishads. Each course includes video lectures, supplementary reading and online discussion forums – plus an optional written assignment with certification. The teaching lasts two months, plus an extra few weeks for the essay. Course materials are available for download, so you can revisit them at your convenience. See the links for more details.
Join us online on December 12 for a nourishing mixture of chanting and discussion to help us prepare for hibernation. With winter on the horizon, we will reflect on how to sustain ourselves with a balance of strength and ease. The Yoga Sutra says a posture should be sthira and sukha – steady and comfortable. We will explore what this stability means and how we can develop it in times of uncertainty. We will also consider how to use this support to find happiness and peace as we move toward the end of a challenging year, looking forward to a new one with inner contentment.
The Bhagavad Gita shows how to be calm in the midst of adversity. Its insights are particularly relevant to this year’s challenges. The text teaches yoga as a bridge between the self and the world as a whole, inspiring action with the aim of serving others. Each of its methods develops understanding of interconnection, encouraging detachment from personal gain. Exploring it together, we’ll discuss its main themes, and ways to put them into practice. Whether you’re reading it for the first time or the hundredth, the Gita is a timeless source of inspiration.
Join us online for an immersive and practical workshop. Sanskrit texts were traditionally taught through oral transmission. It was thought that through chanting and memorization, knowledge seeped into one’s consciousness on a level beyond the literal meaning of the words. There is a specific method to how verses are structured and categorized and this affects the intonation. Through both discussion and practice, we will explore how meter works, focusing on proper pronunciation and its effects. We will also look at some of the philosophy that verses convey.
What exactly is dharma? This complex word has a wide range of meanings, from the basis of natural order to social duties. Join us for an online retreat (August 22–23) to explore its implications in times of upheaval, with a focus on finding our purpose by acting with virtue. We will consider how to determine what is true, when it is right to resist injustice and by what means, and which underlying principles shape ethical conduct. There will be a mixture of study, discussion and practice, reflecting on how ancient teachings apply to modern challenges.
As we look forward to emerging from isolation, this weekend immersion (May 23-24) explores how yoga philosophy and Sanskrit can help us to nurture collective consciousness. We’ll be reading and chanting from texts, and discussing their practical relevance in challenging times. As taught in the Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutra, an important goal of yoga is to alleviate suffering. We will consider this in two different ways that are ultimately one: taking care of the self and the world as a whole. Newcomers to Sanskrit welcome!
Building on a recent book club — which read Roots of Yoga — we’ll be meeting on Sundays (from May 3 at 5:00 PM, UK time) to talk about themes from traditional texts with a practical focus. Each chapter in Roots of Yoga draws on multiple extracts to show how an aspect of practice developed. These sessions will do something similar, exploring ideas from a range of texts — both ancient and modern. A selection of readings will be shared in advance, then we’ll discuss them together, reflecting on ways of applying what they teach.
