We caught up with triyoga teacher Ryan Spielman to learn more about his new website Wise Studies, which offers educational courses in some of the world’s great contemplative traditions, including yoga, vedenta, Buddhism and tantra.
I’ve just launched Wise Studies with my friend and partner, Spencer Barron. I couldn’t find what I wanted online, so we decided to make it ourselves!
I love listening to audiobooks, podcasts and lectures. I get most of my information through audio sources. I’m always looking to deepen my study of yoga history and philosophy with scholarly teaching on the ancient texts.
Wise Studies aims to make high-quality audio educational courses to enrich the study of the world’s great contemplative traditions such as yoga, vedanta, buddhism, taoism, tantra, etc. We work with leading scholars, practitioners and experts in their field to produce quality education for serious students of contemplative study. We aim to produce courses that are engaging and informative with authentic, well-researched scholarship supporting the topics we present.
As a long time yoga teacher, I took advantage of my friendships with colleagues in the yoga community to start with three outstanding scholar/practitioners. Our first three courses focus on the Indian tradition. Karen O’Brien-Kop teaches a series on the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, triyoga teacher and scholar Graham Burns explores the teachings of the Upanishads, and Dr James Mallinson shares his life’s work studying the history and practices of traditional Hatha Yoga.
I think these first three courses are excellent. They are the perfect resource for serious yoga students who use audio for their continuing education. They are a great study companion for anyone on a yoga teacher training course. I have learned so much from them myself!
It is our hope to disseminate these courses to a broad audience and bridge the gap between the academic world and the general public. It is important for us to maintain the rigorous standards that scholars have for their research; yet, we also want to make this research available and digestible for non-academics.
We want to make a real contribution to the expansion of contemplative study in the modern world. Quality academic research is much needed in the spiritual marketplace. With the growing popularity of spiritual practice, there are many misunderstandings and misinterpretations that inevitably occur. Wise Studies courses can help clarify these confusions through a deeper understanding of the traditions, shining a light with up-to-date research, current translations and interpretations.
We are passionate about expanding our knowledge of the traditions that have brought so much wisdom and joy into our lives. We hope people soak in as much as they can from our courses. If you are like us, spiritual enthusiasts hungry for knowledge, we know you will love what we have to offer.
We hope to produce many more courses exploring other contemplative traditions. We are also on the lookout for more scholars to work with. If you or anyone you know might be interested, we would love to get in contact. Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and sign up to our newsletter on the Wise Studies website to stay updated when the next courses are released.
We’d love to hear from you, and we appreciate any feedback you might have. Enjoy!
Ryan has been teaching yoga and meditation since 1995 and teaching at triyoga since 2001. He runs regular workshops, retreats and teacher trainings internationally. In addition to his offerings as a yoga teacher, he also lead weekly groups and workshops dedicated to personal growth and awakening. He hosts the Lonely Guru podcast, dialoging with prominent figures in the world of yoga, which can be found on his website, iTunes or anywhere else you can find podcasts. Ryan also writes and performs spiritual comedy songs that you can find on his music website: www.ryantrue.com.
