Ancient Futures
Episodes
Kuṇḍalinī Experiences – Sravana Borkataky-Varma + Anya Foxen
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What exactly is Kuṇḍalinī? It depends... What began as an energetic metaphor has morphed into a framework for transcending trauma, and much else ...
Practical Wisdom – Jessica Böhme
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if change had more to do with relationships than miracle solutions? Which priorities help them work better? How does one take meaningful action w...
Breath Cultivation – Lena Kraler
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What distinguishes contemporary breath-control from earlier prāṇāyāma? 💨To what extent have external influences shaped Indian practices? How h...
Le Carré in Action – Michela Wrong
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What distinguishes fiction from facts? John le Carré is renowned for Cold War spy thrillers, yet over half his books were published after 1990 and...
Transformative Stories – Lily Dunn
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What was the impact of the Osho / Rajneesh cult on the families of members? Why might some people struggle to heal old wounds? To what extent is abuse...
Studying Yoga – Theo Wildcroft + Barbora Sojkova
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What might scholars learn from yoga practitioners, as well as vice versa? To what extent do their worldviews differ? Are their methods of inquiry comp...
Embodied Resistance – Anjali Rao
10 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What might we learn from the marginalised stories of women in yogic traditions? 🧘♀️Although female practitioners are prevalent today, ancien...
Natural Harmony? – Daniel Simpson
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to be well in yogic terms? How far does this involve integration with natural surroundings? 🌳Many early teachings prioritise the ...
Shall All Be Well? – Hannah Lucas
13 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat can we learn from a medieval hermit about how to live? A...
Evolving Traditions – Richard Davis
30 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comTo what extent has yoga been influenced by socio-political fo...
Moulding Minds – Jessica Frazier
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat does it mean to have mental plasticity? ♳Unless the mi...
Harm Reduction – JS Rafaeli
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat might the world look like if heroin was provided on pres...
Embracing Uncertainty – Daniel Simpson
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comTo what extent is knowledge an obstacle? Is ignorance bliss? ...
Awake Like Blake – Mark Vernon
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWere the all-embracing visions of William Blake shaped by Ind...
Sacred Geography – Yeshe Palmo
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat does it mean to inhabit a world that’s alive with deit...
Nature Spirits – Sushma Jansari
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat inspired the creation of Indian sacred images? They play...
Psychedelic Yoga? – Stuart Sarbacker
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comDo yogic practices and psychoactive substances lead somewhere...
Identity Crises – Michael Holden
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comLife can be both physically and mentally fragile – as Micha...
Spiritual Cannabliss? – Karan Madhok
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat makes it holy to get really stoned? This is an unavoidab...
Yoga for Adults – Paul Bramadat
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat if the most important yogic posture was curiosity? That’...
The Rest is Poetry – Lindsey Hilsum
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comAre there limits to what can be said in factual prose? Might ...
Political Yoga – Sunila Kalé and Christian Lee Novetzke
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comHow closely connected are yoga and politics? Many people toda...
Historical Prediction – Michelle Pfeffer
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comHow do people cope with uncertainty? What differentiates ways...
Catastrophe Ethics – Travis Rieder
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comHow can we address global problems – such as catastrophic c...
Who Am I? – Robert Rowland Smith
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat does it mean to be human, and how can one access one’s...
Slowing Down – Elliot Cohen
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.com"What are we doing wrong that requires us all to be so resili...
Why History Matters – Philipp Maas
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comN.B. for more on this topic, see this article.What if the tex...
Lost in Translation – Dorothy Figueira
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat do Heinrich Himmler and Mohandas Gandhi have in common? ...
Disaster Nationalism – Richard Seymour
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comA shift in focus for the podcast this week to discuss a new b...
Life and Breath – Isabel Tew
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comIs prāṇāyāma the same thing as breath-work? Both labels ...
Yogic Flashbacks – Daniel Simpson
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comThis is a different sort of podcast, featuring interviews I d...
From Me to We – Thomas Legrand
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat might it look like to live in a world that combines anci...
Dark Sides of Light – Mariana Alessandri
11 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhy is “light” used as a metaphor for “good”, while “...
Gurus Go West – Mick Brown
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comHow did Westerners first get involved with Eastern teachers, ...
Recovery Dharma – Matthew Hahn
14 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comHow does someone heal an addictive mind? Matthew Hahn is a co...
Asian Inspiration – Chris Harding
31 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat can we learn from over 2,000 years of fascination with t...
Union or Duality? – Zoë Slatoff
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comDoes yoga really mean union? As Zoë Slatoff explains in this...
Into the Unknown – Kamalashila
03 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWho are we really, beyond our ideas about ourselves and the w...
Higher Truths – Hari-kirtana das
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat makes people wary of getting immersed in the Bhagavad Gī...
Timeless Tongues – Suhas Mahesh
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat makes for good translations from an old language? For Su...
Sacred Values – Elizabeth Oldfield
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhich qualities might help us to thrive In a turbulent world?...
Becoming Immortal – Jason Birch
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat was haṭha yoga before it meant postures?As the scholar...
Aligned with Life – Amy Landry
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat does it mean to “study” yoga, rather than “practis...
Who Are We? – Francesca Ferrando
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhen John Donne wrote “no man is an island”, his alternat...
Compassion in Action – Panel Discussion
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comA different sort of podcast this week – the recording of a ...
Collective Detox – Matthew Green
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comYoga philosophy deals with three kinds of pain. These relate ...
Heartfulness – Oren Jay Sofer
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat’s love got to do with a world in crisis? Everything, s...
Beyond Burnout – Anna Schaffner
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhy do so many of us feel so exhausted these days? What can w...
Teaching Accessibly – Jivana Heyman
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat does it mean to make yoga accessible? Jivana Heyman firs...
Dharmic Drama – Miriam Fernandes
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat can we learn from an ancient text about war and peace, a...
Relational Yoga – Ranju Roy + Dave Charlton
03 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comHow do we relate to the problem of suffering? Does the body r...
Why Study Yoga? – Graham Burns
20 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat are the benefits of studying yoga academically? Is criti...
Yoga Beyond Poses – Mary Richards
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat might yoga look like if it we weren't making shapes? As ...
Doing Less Harm – Christopher Miller
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comYogic traditions often highlight non-harming (ahiṃsā), but...
Yoga and Psychology – Isabel Dziobek
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat might yoga philosophy look like if it was shaped by cont...
A Pilgrim's Progress – Ranju Roy
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat’s the purpose of yoga and where does it lead? 🤔In h...
Yoga for Life – Alex Medin
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat does it mean to live a yogic life in the twenty-first ce...
Ecstatic Integration – Jules Evans
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat helps people to cope with traumatic events that can some...
Method or Madness? – Ade Belcham
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comAde Belcham used to think it was obvious that yoga was good f...
Embracing Adversity – Peter Sterios
30 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comPeter Sterios, who founded the yoga mat company Manduka, keep...
Healing the Past – Dean Yates
16 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat helps someone heal from traumatic experiences? How impor...
The Limits to Yoga – Carol Horton
02 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comHow far can yoga heal “a deeply troubled society”? When C...
Philosophy by Numbers – Richard Rosen
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comIt’s now six months since I launched Ancient Futures. Back ...
How Healing is Yoga? – Daniel Simpson
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comInstead of an interview, this week I'm sharing a talk I gave ...
Is This Yoga? – Anya Foxen + Christa Kuberry
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comCan anything be yoga? Or does everything crumble to dust if i...
Talking Yoga with J. Brown
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat does it take to keep a podcast going, year after year? J...
Embodying Philosophy – Laura von Ostrowski
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comLaura von Ostrowski is a scholar, and also a yoga teacher. As...
How Yoga Works – Eddie Stern
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comEddie Stern teaches yoga at the Broome Street Ganesha Temple ...
Role Reversal with VikramJeet Singh
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat does it mean to practise yoga authentically when so much...
Mindfulness and Yoga – Frank Jude Boccio
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhich ideas keep traditions alive in the 21st century? Modern...
Evolving Traditions – Mike De Masi
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comIt’s often said that yoga is timeless, but many modern meth...
What is Kundalini? – Simon Atkinson
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comTraditionally, physical yoga aims to raise vital energy. This...
Intelligent Life with Peter Blackaby
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit ancientfutures.substack.comWhat happens if we think for ourselves, instead of taking thi...