Yoga History Lecture

Date: December 6
Time: 14:00
Duration: 90 min
Location: Elizabetes 31a, Rīga
Language: Latvian
Entry: 25 €

Lunarbloom welcomes everyone with an interest in the roots of yoga — not only practitioners or those working in the field. Whether you’re curious about the history, looking for deeper understanding, or exploring new perspectives, this lecture is open to all.

This session offers a focused look at ancient yogic and ascetic traditions with Dr. Valters Negribs (DPhil, University of Oxford) — a specialist in Sanskrit and the early history of Indian religious thought.

Dr. Negribs is the founder of sanskrits.lv and holds a doctorate in Classical Indology from the University of Oxford. His main research areas are the history of ancient Indian asceticism and yoga. He also holds a BA in Religious Studies and Social Anthropology, and an MA in Yoga Studies from SOAS, University of London.

Since 2017, he has taught private and group Sanskrit classes, including courses for Oxford University students. He is also one of the organisers of the Pāli language reading group in Oxford.

Dr. Negribs has delivered lectures at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, the University of Latvia’s Centre for Indian Studies and Culture, and independent yoga studios.

He works as a Sanskrit proofreader and editor for a book series published by the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies in collaboration with Mandala Publishing.

His academic publications include:
• “The ‘Dialogue between a Cat and a Mouse’ in Mahābhārata 12.136 and narratives about escape (mokṣa) in Ancient Indian literature)” — Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.
• “Ascetics as Royal Advisors in the Mahābhārata” — a chapter in Science and Society in the Sanskrit World (Brill).

In 2022, he was a visiting researcher at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Since 2023, he has been part of the Indian Studies research group in Paris as a Leverhulme Trust research fellow.