Foundations of Jain Yoga Studies provides students with the historical and philosophical foundations for engaging in the study of Jain yoga. Students will learn about the history of yoga broadly, while also learning core methodologies used to study yoga in the field of Yoga Studies. With this new knowledge and skillset, students will learn how to study Jain yoga and see how it emerged in engagement with other yoga traditions since ancient times and into the present.  Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:Understand the foundational history and philosophies of yoga.Perform research using core methodologies used in the field of Yoga Studies.See how Jain Yoga emerged in engagement with other traditions using an Engaged Jain Studies methodology.Present their research on Jain Yoga. To enroll in this course, please email: study@arihantainstitute.org.

Jain Yoga considers Jain yoga from ancient sources to the present. We will study secondary scholarship analyzing Jain yoga from critical perspectives, while reading translations from Sanskrit and Prakrit primary sources describing Jain yoga. Students will also practice and reflect on their experience of various forms of Jain yoga and meditation, experimenting with what it means to embody Jain yoga principles and techniques in their everyday lives in contemporary society. No prior experience is necessary. Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:Understand the historical development of Jain Yoga in relationship to the broader historical and religio-philosophical milieus with which Jain authors were engaging.Identify key thinkers in Jain Yoga and understand the particulars of their unique Jain yoga systems.Demonstrate their ability to perform and present basic research and writing in relation to the field of Jain Yoga, Yoga Studies, and Jain Studies.Practice fundamental Jain yoga and meditation techniques and understand how these practices are relevant for their own lives in contemporary society. To enroll in this course, please email: study@arihantainstitute.org. Student Reviews"Fantastic course to learn about Jain Yoga and its development." — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “Dr. Miller's way of teaching is a wonderful way to learn, allowing the information to be relevant to each of the students in their course of study.”— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 "Excellent teaching, fantastic yoga demonstration videos, and group readings."— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 "It was very interactive and well-done. I believe that it was very effective the way that it was organized."— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 "All of the sūtra readings from the rare and no longer published books were most helpful."— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “Highlights of the course were the knowledge of the teacher and the students. It was a very powerful learning experience.”— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “Dr. Miller is doing excellent work!”— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024

Social Justice and Modern Yoga surveys the history and contemporary practice of modern yoga and its intersection with issues of social justice. Students will encounter both the major names and lineages in the history of transnational modern yoga as well as some of the lesser-known figures who have contributed to the development of transnational yoga into the present. The course is structured both historically and thematically, presenting topics including, but not limited to, yoga’s intersections with warrior asceticism, colonization, non-violent social justice movements, nationalism, Orientalism, the carceral system, racism, White supremacy, appropriation, gender, foodways, speciesism, pollution, necropolitics, biopolitics, neoliberal capitalism, and abuse. Students will be trained in the basic methods of writing yoga ethnography and social history and will complete an ethnographic research project on a topic of their choice related to the academic field of Modern Yoga Studies. Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:Understand central historical developments of transnational modern yoga.Understand how particular forms of modern yoga are entangled with particular issues of social justice.Perform and present the results of basic ethnographic fieldwork or social historical research pertaining to a contemporary yoga community with particular attention to an issue of social justice.Gain a working knowledge of some of the major issues and questions in the field of Modern Yoga Studies. To enroll in this course, please email: study@arihantainstitute.org. Student Reviews"Learning from Dr. Miller was an incredible gift. His wisdom and knowledge of these topics are so helpful." — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “Dr. Miller is a tremendous resource of information. His style of teaching is helpful, conversational, and inclusive. I appreciate how he asked the class questions and got us thinking in new ways. I would highly recommend this course.” — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 "The prerecorded lectures that Professor Miller shared before each class were very helpful. For a working professional like me this was a big relief!” — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024  “Dr. Miller's passion for the topics came through in all classes and lectures.” — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “It was great to have students from other institutes to learn with. Continuing this is important for global perspectives.” — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “Dr. Miller is a tremendous resource of information. His style of teaching is helpful, conversational, and inclusive. I appreciate how he asked the class questions and got us thinking in new ways. I would highly recommend this course.” — Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024

The “Haṭha Yoga and Jain Yoga” course carefully considers the development of the haṭha yoga tradition, the medieval forms of yoga that emerged after India’s classical period, and which are the predecessors of today’s forms of physical yoga. Students are offered the opportunity to undertake the postural, breathing, and meditation techniques found in medieval haṭha yoga texts as well as to see how these texts influenced, or were perhaps influenced by, the Jain yoga tradition in particular. Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:Understand the historical development and context of haṭha yoga traditions, including their medieval and modern Jain forms.Analyze intertextual engagements between haṭha yoga texts and Jain yoga texts.Engage in primary postural, breathing, and meditation techniques from medieval haṭha yoga texts.Undertake and present their research in the field of Yoga Studies and Engaged Jain Studies with a particular focus on haṭha yoga traditions. To enroll in this course, please email: study@arihantainstitute.org.

Sanskrit 1 will complete the first half of the Devavāṇīpraveśikā Sanskrit primer (Goldman and Goldman, 1980). In the process, students will learn to memorize, recognize, and recall all major paradigms of inflection (conjugations, declensions, indeclinable suffixes, prefixes, etc.). Students will gain the important research skills of basic philology such as etymology and syntactical analyses while translating modified excerpts from Sanskrit literature. Students will also memorize important Sanskrit verses designed to enhance basic vocabulary and impart familiarity with the cultural, philosophical, and linguistic landscape of Sanskrit literature. Learning Objectives Learn to read Sanskrit in Devanagari font.  Acquire basic Sanskrit vocabulary.  Learn to identify and understand the basic grammatical forms covered in class.Learn to understand key differences between Sanskrit and English syntaxes and to be able to convert Sanskrit syntax into English syntax.Learn basic skills for translation of Sanskrit primary sources for research  Become familiarized with other cultural and intellectual elements of the broader Sanskrit tradition.  To enroll in this course, please email: study@arihantainstitute.org. Student Reviews“I just completed a year of Sanskrit under Dr. Bohanec, who has devised an accessible approach to the language even the densest aspiring linguist (me) can utilize. He also, almost reflexively, situates the language in its broader dharmic settings, giving students a historical, cultural, and theological education in addition to the Sanskrit itself. Finally, he's just a righteous dude. I highly, highly recommend this [course].”— Reese L., Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 “Prof. Bohanec is an immense mind and I feel privileged to have had a course with him...[his] encouragement, kindness, sense of humor, and vast body of knowledge in South Asian studies, ethics, and exegesis are incredible. I also appreciated how encouraging he was at every stage...This is the most difficult course I've taken and Prof. Bohanec is to be commended for "data compressing" such difficult material, and providing such a positive and constructive environment.— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 There were so many helpful things about this course! In-class translation work with other students was wonderful. The best advice given by the instructor was to do what it took to enjoy the material itself. This “enjoyment” emphasis was often in direct conflict with class expectations (see next answer), but over the break I continue to study and emphasize finding enjoyment in those studies. This has ended up changing my entire outlook on the MA program in general, and Prof. Bohanec cannot be over-thanked for this suggestion; simple as it is, it has been very impactful.”— Graduate Student, Claremont School of Theology, 2024 

Sanskrit 2 will complete the second half of the Devavāṇīpraveśikā Sanskrit primer (Goldman and Goldman, 1980). In the process, students will learn to memorize, recognize, and recall all major paradigms of inflection (conjugations, declensions, indeclinable suffixes, prefixes, etc.). Students will gain the important research skills of basic philology such as etymology and syntactical analyses while translating modified excerpts from Sanskrit literature. Students will also memorize important Sanskrit verses designed to enhance basic vocabulary and impart familiarity with the cultural, philosophical, and linguistic landscape of Sanskrit literature. Learning ObjectivesLearn to read Sanskrit in Devanagari font.  Acquire basic Sanskrit vocabulary.  Learn to identify and understand the basic grammatical forms covered in class.Learn to understand key differences between Sanskrit and English syntaxes and to be able to convert Sanskrit syntax into English syntax.Learn basic skills for translation of Sanskrit primary sources for research  Become familiarized with other cultural and intellectual elements of the broader Sanskrit tradition. To enroll in this course, please email: study@arihantainstitute.org. Student Reviews"Dr. Bohanec is the rare breed of careful and diligent teacher who is also a determined and capable learning coach. One is Immediately caught up in his enthusiasm for the subject and his capacity to communicate it in ways that share that love. Indeed, as an instructor, this enables him also to be kind and generous in his teaching." — Jay T.H., United States, 2024

This course is designed for students who have completed an introductory first-year course in Sanskrit and who are familiarized with the content of the Devavāṇīpraveśikā or an equivalent primer. Students will engage in the reading and translation of an important source from the Jain canon, along with its commentary. This course aims to deepen students' understanding of Sanskrit language and literature, as well as introduce them to the commentarial style and tradition. We may select specific texts that are relevant to students’ research and thus help students with their research in terms of translating primary sources. Learning Objectives Develop advanced Sanskrit reading and translation skills.Analyze and interpret complex Sanskrit texts.Understand the commentarial style and tradition in Sanskrit literature with a particular focus on the Jain tradition, but also in conversation with Hindu and Buddhist traditions.Apply knowledge of Sanskrit grammar and syntax to translation.Discuss nuances of South Asian philosophy, theology, languages, literature, culture, etc.Assist and advise students regarding their research in terms of employment of translations of primary source texts. To enroll in this course, please email: study@arihantainstitute.org.