Ben & Jo of Yoga Nature warmly invite you to join us for the first in an exciting new series of FREE satsangs, taking place online on Saturday 19 September.

Ben has intentionally entitled this series 'The Yoga of Philosophy' instead of the more typical 'Philosophy of Yoga' because we believe that the pursuit of rational and critical inquiry into reality is in itself a form of yoga. Through it, we stretch the mind in the same way that postural yoga stretches our bodies!

We will be covering a broad landscape, examining the various Indic but also Western philosophical traditions and comparing what they have to say about a range of important topics. The essence of philosophy is reasoned debate. You certainly do not have to be a yoga practitioner to join in with these satsangs, and it doesn’t matter if you identify as a materialist or an idealist, a believer or an atheist, or if you don’t know what kind of “ist” you are but simply want to learn more… you are all very much invited to the party!

In the first session we will be going back to the very basics and looking at the following topics:

• What is Philosophy?
• Philosophy East and West
• Basic philosophical terms and concepts
• The philosophical schools of ancient India
• The rules of debate in ancient India
• What are the sources of valid knowledge?
• What’s the relevance to today's world?
• A preview of future sessions.

Future sessions in the series will include the following topics:

• Ontology (What exists?)
• Epistemology (How do we know?)
• Ethics (How should we live?)
• The lowdown on Dualism and Nondualism
• What is the nature of Consciousness?
• A critical look at Karma and Rebirth
• Other topics based on what YOU are interested in!

In this age of soundbites and fake news, opportunities for thoughtful and reasoned debate are more important than every before, and we can learn a lot from the ancient Indians and Greeks (and other cultures of course) in this respect. I do hope you will join us for this unique and fascinating satsang series, which is something of a trial-run for what will ultimately be a fully-fledged course. In future this course will come with a fee, so why not take this opportunity to deepen your philosophical understanding of yoga for FREE!

Interested? To book, find out more, or express interest contact Ben and closer to the date you will get an email with a link to the live-stream. You will also receive updates on dates of future sessions. Recordings of sessions will also be made available.

About the teacher: Dr. Benjamin Major has followed a varied academic path. He completed a BA in The History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds in 2004. Later he completed an MA in Social and Cultural Geographies at the University of Sheffield. Next he completed a further MRes and PhD in Educational Research at the University of London’s Institute of Education. His yoga teacher training took place over two years at Mandala Ashram in Wales. He has spent the last decade reading and watching anything and everything to do with the history and philosophy of yoga, tantra and other related traditions.