Yoga Philosophy with Greg Nardi

This online course is a mandatory requirement of the 300-Hour Advanced Yoga Training, but can also be booked as a standalone course.

Overview

This yoga philosophy online course explores yoga as a living South Asian tradition of inquiry rather than a fixed belief system. Guided by four essential questions – What is yoga? How do we know? What is a person? What is freedom and how should we live? – participants engage modern yoga history, Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras, anti-colonial thought, and the Bhagavad Gītā in thoughtful dialogue.

Through study, reflection, and discussion, the course invites intellectual clarity, cultural humility, and ethical awareness. Participants leave with a grounded understanding of yoga’s historical depth and a well-articulated personal philosophy rooted in tradition and lived experience.

For questions, contact Greg Nardi

Yoga Philosophy: History, Knowledge, Personhood & Freedom

Organized around four guiding questions, the course integrates history, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and political thought. Through study of The Path of Modern Yoga by Elliott Goldberg, Yoga: Anti-Colonial Philosophy and Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras by Shyam Ranganathan, and the Bhagavad Gītā as translated by Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor, students examine how yoga evolved, how knowledge and conditioning shape experience, and how different traditions understand selfhood and liberation.

Competing views from Yoga, Sāṃkhya, Vedānta, and Buddhism are presented in dialogue.

Emphasis is placed on cultural humility, non-appropriative engagement, moral responsibility, and the practical implications of philosophy for authority, autonomy, and ethical leadership.

Students leave with greater intellectual clarity, historical awareness, and a well-articulated personal philosophy grounded in yogic tradition.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this nine-session course, participants will be able to:

  • Describe yoga as a historically evolving South Asian philosophical tradition.
  • Identify key concepts in Yoga, Sāṃkhya, Vedānta, and Buddhist thought.
  • Explain pramāṇa and how knowledge and conditioning shape perception.
  • Compare major theories of selfhood and liberation across traditions.
  • Reflect on freedom, responsibility, and ethical living in personal and communal contexts.
  • Engage yoga philosophy with cultural humility and non-appropriative awareness.
  • Articulate a clear and thoughtful personal philosophical stance grounded in study and reflection.

Course Overview | Syllabus

This philosophy intensive explores yoga as a dynamic South Asian intellectual tradition with ancient roots and modern global expressions. Rather than treating yoga as a fixed belief system, we approach it as a method of inquiry into four enduring questions:

  • What is Yoga?
  • How do we know?
  • What is a person?
  • What is freedom and how should we live?

Through close study of modern yoga history, Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras, anti-colonial philosophy, and the Bhagavad Gītā, students engage in historical analysis, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy.

Required Reading Material:

Course Architecture

I. What Is Yoga? (Sessions 1–4)

  • Yoga as a South Asian philosophical tradition
  • Diversity of darśanas (Vedānta, Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Buddhism, Jainism)
  • Sūtra and commentarial traditions
  • Colonialism, nationalism, and globalization
  • The emergence of modern postural yoga
  • Cultural humility and non-appropriative engagement

Outcome: Understand yoga as historically evolving and philosophically debated.

II. How Do We Know? (Session 5)

  • Pramāṇa (means of valid knowledge)
  • Avidyā (ignorance) and misidentification
  • Conditioning (saṃskāra) and perception
  • Anti-colonial epistemology

Outcome: Recognize yoga as a discipline of clarity and critical inquiry.

III. What Is a Person? (Session 6)

  • Puruṣa, prakṛti, Brahman, anātman
  • Competing metaphysical models
  • Estrangement vs unity
  • Consciousness and will
  • Freedom from conditioning

Outcome: Compare major South Asian theories of selfhood and liberation.

IV. What Is Freedom? How Should We Live? (Sessions 7–8)

  • Karma and causality
  • Moral responsibility and value (axiology)
  • Yama/niyama as ethical and civic ideals
  • Power, labor, governance, and self-governance
  • Bhagavad Gītā and action in the world

Outcome: Articulate yoga as an ethical and political philosophy.

V. Integration & Personal Philosophy (Session 9)

  • Revisiting the four core questions
  • Clarifying personal metaphysical and ethical commitments
  • Yoga as lived philosophy
  • Authority, autonomy, and non-coercion
  • Articulating one’s own philosophical stance

Outcome: Students synthesize historical, epistemological, and ethical insights into a coherent personal philosophy.

Pedagogical Approach

  • Dialectical discussion and debate
  • Close textual analysis
  • Structured reflection
  • Application to lived experience and practice

This course cultivates intellectual rigor, cultural humility, and philosophical clarity — equipping participants to engage complexity with integrity and depth.

About Greg Nardi, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT

Greg began his yoga journey in 1996 when a friend invited him to “try” a class. From that first experience, he knew yoga was something he was meant to pursue. Yoga supported his healing from childhood illness, anxiety, and depression, while giving him a deep sense of meaning and purpose.

He completed multiple teacher trainings in the U.S. and Europe between 1997 and 2003, as well as a dozen extended study trips to Mysore, India (1999–2016), focusing on asana, philosophy, pranayama, meditation, and chanting. A graduate of the Kripalu School of Integrative Yoga Therapy, Greg has worked as a studio owner, international workshop presenter, and developer of a Yoga Alliance–registered school, while consistently advocating for trauma-informed, consent-driven, and person-centered approaches to yoga practice and education.

Greg currently serves as South Florida Program Director for Yoga 4 Change, delivering trauma-informed yoga services. He also consults with Live Your Best Life, mentors students at the Kripalu School of Yoga Therapy, and serves on the board of Chainless Change, supporting those impacted by the criminal legal system. With a lifelong dedication to yoga as both individual healing and social justice, Greg remains committed to making its transformative power accessible for all.

Are You Taking the 300-Hour Advanced Training?

This Yoga Philosophy course is a core component of the SJY Advanced 300-Hour Training and is required for program completion.

  • The course follows a fixed, linear format and must be completed as designed.
  • Sessions are attended weekly, from start to finish.
  • Attendance must be continuous; sessions cannot be attended at random.
  • This portion of the training is offered once per calendar year.
  • Missed sessions may affect eligibility for certification.

This structure supports cumulative inquiry, trust-building, and sustained reflection over time.

Please note: You’ll need to submit your completion certificate for this Yoga Philosophy course to us, in order to be awarded your certificate for the 300-Hour Advanced Yoga Training.

Important: Please ensure you submit this pretest for group analysis before starting the course:
SJY 300hr Philosophy Pre/Post Test

Further Details

CEUs

25 CEUs

Cost

$300

Location

Online via Zoom

Dates

  • 2026: April 22 | May 6, 13, 27 | June 3, 17, 24 | July 8, 15 (no longer bookable)
  • 2027: dates coming soon

Schedule

90 minutes on Wednesday evenings over nine sessions: 6pm-7:30pm

Book Now

A booking form will appear here when the 2027 course dates are finalized.