Straps, Mats, and Huts—A Visual and Material History of Yoga

The Department of Theology and Religious Studies: Summer Semester: Research in Religious Studies Seminar

Straps, Mats, and Huts—A Visual and Material History of Yoga Dr. Seth Powell

Much of the study of yoga’s history—like the study of religion in South Asia more broadly—has been carried out primarily through the investigation of key doctrines, philosophy, practices, and a history of ideas as understood from authoritative texts. There is also however a rich body of visual and material cultural evidence that not only complements the textual record, but offers the historian of religion alternative entry points for thinking about yoga’s past. In this talk I will focus on three historical yogic objects—straps, maps, and huts—as documented in Indian sculpture and paintings, which reveal various dimensions of lived yoga practice: material props as accoutrements to aid yogic praxis, physical dwellings, and an environment in close proximity to animals and the natural world. This material culture will be “read” alongside the archive of Sanskrit texts on yoga. While the relationship between the textual and visual material record is not always clear or linear, when read together, I believe this interdisciplinary approach can provide us with a more nuanced understanding of yoga’s past. The assessment of this material record of yoga practice is crucial for our understanding of the historical development and social history of yoga traditions in premodern India. 

Seth Powell is a scholar of Indian religions, Sanskrit, and yoga traditions, who earned his PhD in South Asian Religions at Harvard University. His dissertation comprised a critical edition, translation, and detailed study of a 15th-century Sanskrit yoga text from south India known as the Śivayogapradīpikā—which uniquely combines yoga, ritual, and devotion. He also works on the visual and material culture of yoga in premodern India, uncovering yoga's past through temple sculptures, with a special focus on the Deccan region. Seth is the founder and director of the online educational platform, Yogic Studies, which provides extensive courses and training in Yoga and South Asian Studies to students worldwide.

Image: Legendary Pāśupata founder Lakulīśa, with the identifying features of a club and a yoga belt (yogapaṭṭa) around his legs.