Professor James Mallinson is Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit and Classical and Indian Studies at SOAS, University of London. His interest in yoga grew out of a fascination for India and Indian asceticism – he spent several years living with Indian ascetics and yogis, in particular Rāmānandī Tyāgīs, and in 2013 he was honored with the title of ‘mahant’ by the Ramanandi Sampradaya. He took his BA in Sanskrit and Old Iranian at the University of Oxford, followed by an MA in Area Studies (South Asia), with Ethnography as his main subject, at SOAS. His doctoral thesis, submitted to the University of Oxford, was a critical edition and annotated translation of the Khecarīvidyā, an early text of Haṭhayoga. Dr Mallinson has published eight books, all of which are editions and translations of Sanskrit yoga texts, epic tales and poetry. His recent book, written in collaboration with Professor Mark Singleton, is Roots of Yoga, a 500-page translation of a selection of the essential texts on yoga from India. Currently, Professor Mallinson is leading, with Professor Singleton, an ERC – funded research project on the history of Haṭhayoga which will result in ten critical editions and translations of key yoga texts, four monographs and two large conferences.
