Dr Matthew Clark
Yoga History & Philosophy Teacher Trainer · Lead Faculty 200 hourA scholar, storyteller and lifelong traveller, Matthew has spent five decades walking a yogic path, from the libraries of SOAS to the foothills of the Himalayas. He carries an extraordinary breadth of learning lightly, drawing students into the long, living history of the practice with humour, clarity and a quiet sense of wonder.
A lifetime walking with yoga
Approach
Matthew teaches yoga philosophy the way a great traveller tells stories – vividly, generously, and always tethered to his lived experience. He brings the same rigour to a Vedic ritual or a tantric text as he does to a question from a trainee, and his lectures have a way of making ideas thousands of years old feel suddenly close and relevant. His commitment is to free practitioners from dogma and inherited habits, so that yoga can be encountered freshly and as a way of inquiring into one's own life
Yoga is the science of experimentation on oneself, the cultivation of our own spirit of understanding, a way to free ourselves of dogma and habits… Dr Matthew Clark
Early years
Matthew first came into contact with yoga in the mid–1970s and made his first journey to India in 1977. This was the beginning of a relationship with the subcontinent that has now spanned half a century. Those early years of walking, reading and questioning laid the foundations for everything that followed: a way of approaching yoga as inseparable from history, geography, language and the long lineage of seekers who came before.
Training & influences
Matthew's scholarship was forged at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), where he taught Hinduism for several years before becoming a Research Associate, a position he has held since 2004. But the deeper schooling has happened on foot: a thousand pilgrimage sites visited, two thousand miles trekked in the Himalayas, decades of conversation with sādhus, scholars and practitioners across India and beyond. Since 1990 he has practiced Ashtanga regularly, and since 2002 he has been lecturing on yoga across four continents, bringing the academy and the ashram into one continuous inquiry.
Teaching today
Matthew has been teaching philosophy on the Shala School of Yoga's 200–hour and 300–hour programmes since 2018. He also lectures internationally at yoga retreats, workshops and teacher trainings, having so far taught for twenty–five different yoga teachers and organisations across the UK, Europe, Israel, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the USA.
Regular breathing, combined with concentration and bodily exercise is perhaps the most direct and effective way to regulate "fluctuations of the mind Dr Matthew Clark
Specialisms
Yoga History & Philosophy · Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali · Bhagavad Gītā · Upaniṣads & Vedānta · Sāṃkhya · Tantra & the Subtle Body · Sādhus & Renunciate Traditions · Modern Yoga (1890s–present) · Sanskrit Pronunciation & Devanāgarī
What Dr Matthew Clark's students say
“Matthew is a magnificent storyteller and teacher with an immense amount of knowledge and passion for the history of yogic practices. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I was in awe of the vastness of his appreciation and experience of India, yoga and history, and his ability to jump along the timeline, painting a picture of the context of that time in contrast to our present thinking and environment.”
Yoga Philosophy Foundations student“I would defy anyone not to be drawn into Matthew's flowing recitals of knowledge from the ancient history of eastern culture and practices. I was with him hook, line and sinker.”
JW“Matthew has a wealth of knowledge, and he imparts it in a very interesting way. I could listen to his lectures for hours.”
US“Really enjoyed this module. Matthew is amazing – very knowledgeable and passionate about his work.”
SG“I found it really useful how Matthew has explored the meaning and purpose of these practices, and that they still apply to our spiritual, existential and political questions today. The lectures covered so much ground and were hugely interesting, with lots of great suggestions for further reading.”
Yoga Philosophy Foundations student“Matthew is obviously knowledgeable about the history of yoga and is very talented in passing his knowledge on to students. I loved how he seemed to have witnessed the events he related – he is so passionate and excited about sharing.”
Yoga Philosophy Foundations studentInterested in training with Dr Matthew Clark?
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