The project

Yoga has become one of the most prominent cultural phenomena at a global level. Not only would it be futile to deny its importance, but it is also necessary to dedicate greater efforts to studying this phenomenon from various academic disciplines to better understand both the factors for change in yoga, as well as the ways in which contemporary societies respond to the influence of religions in the world today. Although the classical studies on yoga have a long history, they have concentrated on philological and philosophical aspects as a general rule and are mostly related to ancient or classical issues. The latest and contemporary aspects of yoga are new and exciting lines of research; however, such studies have predominantly dealt with the Anglophone world.

We believe that the modalities of yoga in Latin America deserve to be properly and academically explored, studied, and analyzed, as they allow a better understanding of the networks and mechanisms of cultural transmission at a global level. In addition to this, they offer developments that are unique to the area.

The YoLA Project^® is a group comprising a network of specialists whose fundamental task is to contribute to this large field of research, broadening the geo-cultural areas of the usual analysis. For this purpose, academics that belong to various institutions and disciplines from different countries of Latin America have been brought together to constitute the Core members of the Project. Other contributors and assistants also cooperate with diverse material to The YoLA Project^®, such as preparing short essays and textual or audiovisual content for this site or disseminating surveys and data collection. In addition, the Project relies upon an Advisory Board, in charge of watching over, advising, and managing the research activities of the group. This Board is made up of internationally recognized authorities in the field of studies on yoga, languages, and/or religions of India.

In order to acquire a more exhaustive and comprehensive knowledge of our societies and cultures, the multidisciplinary foundation of the project brings together primarily methodologies and approaches from the History of Religions, Philosophy, Sociology, and Anthropology. For such purposes, the members of YoLA Project^® resort to various hemerographic archives, conduct interviews and fieldwork, visit practice centers, and will gather a significant amount of bibliographic material.