Yoga Psychology Workshop

20th to 22nd March 2025. (Offline)

A workshop on Yoga Psychology was organised at Ritambhara retreat, Bengaluru from 20th to 22nd March 2025. The participants were 13 students form the first and second year of Masters’ in Psychology program at Chanakya University. The workshop aimed at providing students with an opportunity to familiarise themselves with psychological concepts from the Indic thought and have a first-hand experience of some practices that are used in the discipline of Indian Psychology for wellbeing. The residential workshop in an ashram like environment allowed the students to interact with experts during sessions as well as beyond the classroom and experience practices like asana, bhajans, reflective practices, a bonfire and a temple visit. The workshop began on 20th with a session by Prof. Ashok H.S., Professor of Psychology, School of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, who introduced the participants with the idea of the Eastern and Western paradigms of psychology and how they have evolved as disciplines independently and interact with each other today. Contrasting the disciplines with each other brought out a unique understanding of how various cultural phenomena have deeply shaped how psychology has emerged across the world. The session provided deep insights into the orientation of Indian Psychology and how it can be highly effectively used in association with modern psychological practices. This was followed by two insightful sessions on the knowledge traditions in India and the ideas of the mind and the Self from the Upanishads by Dr. Vinayachandra Banavathy, Director, Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, Chanakya University. It covered subjects like the structure and subjects in the corpus of the Vedic literature and insights from Upanishads in context with the mind. On 21st, Three sessions were taken by Dr. Latha Satish, who has formerly been the Managing Trustee of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram from 2009 to 2014 and is also a Senior Consultant Therapist and mentor for a number of Indian Psychologists today. The sessions were largely focused on the understanding of the philosophical principles from classical yoga, drawing from the Patanajli Yoga Sutra and their understanding and practice in context with modern psychology. Dr. Latha’s simple, yet profound way of explaining yogic concepts and allowing students experience them, enabled them to develop an understanding of these principles and perceive a wider picture of the mind and emotions. The sessions involved activities that required them to identify various emotions through facial expressions, body language and other cues that the students found particularly engaging. Students brought up some important questions in context of how these principles could be applied in a clinical setup, for which Dr. Latha provided them with some practical tips to integrate this understanding in their practice of counselling. On the third day of the workshop, sessions were engaged by Dr. Vinayachandra Banavathy on integrating practices from Yoga in the modern psychology. Particularly, the three yogas – karma, jnana and bhakti, were discussed in context with the concept of kriyayoga – tapas, svadhyaya and Ishvara pranidhana as found in the Yoga Sutra. Dr. Banavathy provided insights into how these indicate three major kinds of temperaments based on which practices can be prescribed in order to have a more holistic effect on the wellbeing of individuals. An overview and look into the Panchakosha model of the being from the Taittareya Upanishad was also discussed during this session. The final session was dedicated to clarifying doubts and questions that students had regarding any concepts discussed during the course and collecting feedback. The questions and the feedback reflected the depth to which students had been able to develop an understanding of the deep concepts in a short span of time. All three days began at 5:30 with rigorous Yogasana practice conducted by Dr. Neha Racca, a renowned Yoga and wellness coach, who engaged the students in energetic and powerful asanas and exercises. Dr. Racca also help a special ‘trataka’ session for the students on the first evening of the camp. Mr. Anirudh Sharma, Research Assistant at the Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, Chanakya University coordinated the camp and conducted chanting and bhajan sessions during the mornings and evenings respectively. The students were asked to submit reports regarding practices they connected with and how they plan to engage with them during their practice of Psychology. Overall, the camp was successful in enabling the participants to engage with and experience the philosophy and practice of Yoga psychology