On Ayurveda and Yoga
As part of the India Today/Copenhagen Tomorrow programme, and to celebrate the new study programme on Modern India and South Asian Studies - ADI and ToRS invite you to a series of late afternoon double-lectures this autumn. Tea will be served.
The first double lecture is by Associate Professor Ken Zysk and Anusuya Kumar and will touch upon Āyurveda and Yoga.
Āyurveda: What it is and what it isn’t
Associate Professor Kenneth Zysk
Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen
Many have heard that Āyurveda is the new and fast-growing alternative form of therapy. However, few know beforehand what Āyurveda really is and how it works. After over 30 years study and investigation of Āyurveda, I will in this short lecture try to present the background, history, and principles of the traditional system of Indian medicine, known as Āyurveda. Time permitting, we shall try to understand these principles in practice. Time will be left for questions and answers.
A Chaste Fire: Yoga in Denmark from 1907-1980
Anusuya Kumar
Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen
The increasing popularity of Yoga world-wide in recent decades and diversity of trends and practices currently associated with it has become a subject of critical examination and inquiry. Studies like Mark Singleton’s Yoga Body (2001) and Elizabeth De Michelis’ A History of Modern Yoga (2004) have contributed towards broadening our perspectives on so-called ‘classical yoga traditions’ and the ‘roots’ of yoga in the Indian subcontinent.
In this presentation, I will look at yoga and meditation practices in Denmark from the beginnings of the 20th c. to the post-2nd world war years. This period is of some interest for its emergence of esoteric movements like Anthroposophy, Theosophy, and independent circles around the ‘Society of Psychical Research’ in Copenhagen. The role of yoga and meditation practices in the context of such developments is of particular interest for the light it helps to shed on a larger, diffuse, and cross-cultural context.
India Today/Copenhagen Tomorrow
India Today/Copenhagen Tomorrow is a Danish/Indian project initiated by the Danish Holck-Larsen Foundation. The foundation was established by Henning Holck-Larsen, co-founder of the Indian company Larsen & Toubro in India.
The purpose of the project is to link the people of India and Denmark by promoting the exchange of culture, science and trade between the two countries. India Today/Copenhagen Tomorrow includes contemporary art exhibitions, film festivals, music, dance and literature events, as well as conferences and academic lectures.
Under the umbrella of
