YOGA PHILOSOPHY WORKSHOPS with Carlos Pomeda (Copy)

Yoga philosophy workshops online with Carlos Pomeda, a series of Sunday sessions on the wisdom traditions of yoga. Each workshop takes up one teaching, text or theme, from karma and dharma to Tantra and Kashmir Śaivism. You can take the full series or choose a single topic. The workshops suit yoga teachers and trainees from any tradition, and practitioners who simply want to understand their practice more deeply.

What to Expect

Yoga here is approached as a vast and evolving tradition, not only a physical practice. The sessions draw directly on the ancient texts and ask the questions yoga has long explored: who we are, what consciousness is, how our actions shape our lives, and what freedom and awakening mean. The series begins with the practical foundations of meditation and the questions of karma and dharma, then moves through Vedānta and Haṭha Yoga before entering Tantra and Kashmir Śaivism. Taken in sequence, each teaching illuminates the next, and participants see how yoga philosophy developed over time. Contemplative tools for daily life come along with the study.

Sessions run on Sundays from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM Pacific Time, so check the time zone against your own. The nine workshops are:

- The Goddesses of Yoga
- The Mystery of Karma and the Journey of the Soul
- Dharma: The Yoga of Living with Purpose and Integrity
- Shiva and Shakti: Consciousness and the Power of Life
- The Radiant Manifestations of Yoga: Devas, Archetypes, and Human Potential
- The Kularṇava Tantra: Living the Tantric Path
- The Śiva Sūtras: The Supreme Awakening
- Spanda: The Pulsation of Life
- Pratyabhijñā: Recognition and the Return to Our Deepest Nature

The goddess workshop looks at archetypal energies as dimensions of our own awakened nature. The karma session covers destiny, death, reincarnation and the journey of consciousness. The dharma session turns to responsibility, ethical dilemmas, relationships and difficult choices. Later sessions explore Śiva and Śakti, stillness and dynamism, then the yoga devas as symbols of courage, wisdom, compassion and devotion. The Kularṇava Tantra session covers initiation, mantra, meditation, and the body and senses. The Śiva Sūtras session introduces a foundational text of Kashmir Śaivism. Spanda looks at the subtle pulsation of consciousness in breath, thought and perception. The final workshop, on recognition, invites awakening to our deepest nature within ordinary life.

About Carlos Pomeda

Originally from Madrid, Spain, Carlos Pomeda has studied and practiced yoga for more than 40 years. He spent 18 of those years as a monk of the Saraswati order under the name Swami Gītānanda, including nine years of traditional training and practice in India, and became one of the order's senior monks. In that time he taught meditation and philosophy to tens of thousands of students around the world.

He pairs this training with academic work: a Master's degree in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley, where he has taught, and a Master's in Religious Studies from U.C. Santa Barbara. He is currently writing a book on karma and the journey of the soul, an updated history of yoga, and a new translation of the Śivasūtra. Carlos is known for the breadth of his knowledge, his clarity and his humor, and for making deep scriptural teachings accessible and applicable.

Before You Go

No prior study is required beyond an interest in deepening your understanding of yoga. Recordings of each session are available for 12 months afterward through a course library, which helps if you cannot attend live or want to revisit a teaching. You can register for the whole series or for one workshop, and payment is by PayPal or debit or credit card. If you have trouble registering in Safari, try another browser.