48. Brian Dana Akers | The Yoga Manifesto and the World of Yoga Publishing

In this episode we speak with Briana Dana Akers, who is a
publisher, editor, and translator, best known for his translation
of the Haṭhapradīpikā. We discuss his background discovering yoga
at a young age, learning Sanskrit in Michigan and in India, and
how he first began publishing Sanskrit works on yoga when he
founded YogaVidya at just 23 years old. Brian shares with us
insights into the world of independent publishing, Sanskrit
translation, working with scholars like Dr. James Mallinson, and
why the Kāmasūtra may not have sold as many copies as the
Śivasaṃhitā. We conclude by discussing Brian's latest book, The
Yoga Manifesto, a short 60-page tract that traces some of yoga's
history and looks critically though optimistically at yoga's
present and future in modern society. 



Speaker Bio
Brian Dana Akers is a publisher, editor and translator
(Sanskrit-English bilingual editions of the yoga classics), and
also an author (science fiction and fantasy). He began practicing
yoga at age twelve, learning Sanskrit at seventeen, and working
in publishing at twenty-three. Brian grew up in Kalamazoo and
spent his teenage years building telescopes, reading science
fiction, and practicing Yoga. He started six years at the
University of Michigan in 1975, with his senior year abroad in
India. His studies included Sanskrit and Indian history. After
graduate school, he left for the Bay Area and worked as a
typographer and network manager. In 1991, he met his wife
Loretta, moved to New York, wrote a little science fiction, and
founded YogaVidya.com. 



Links


YogaVidya.com

BrianDanaAkers.com