Login
Lecture, Barnard's Inn Hall, Monday, 5 Oct 2026 - 13:00
What is the Purpose of Yoga: Transcendence or Transformation?
Need help registering?
In this lecture, Jim Mallinson draws on texts, art history and fieldwork to trace the history of the role of the body in yoga over its 2,500-year history.
For its first 1,500 years the body is to be transcended; yoga’s aim is an almost death-like mental stillness equated with liberation. Then the body starts to be cultivated to attain power and immortality. While charting this transformation, Prof. Mallinson highlights parallels between yoga’s premodern goals and modern pursuits of longevity, perfection, and transcendence.
Support Gresham
Gresham College has offered an outstanding education to the public free of charge for over 400 years. Today, Gresham College plays an important role in fostering a love of learning and a greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Your donation will help to widen our reach and to broaden our audience, allowing more people to benefit from a high-quality education from some of the brightest minds.
