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Light on Yoga and MeditationAll forms of higher yoga Author: Dr Swami Shankardev Saraswati & Jayne Stevenson
Big Shaktis podcast covers all forms of higher yoga, including Indian philosophy, Samkhya, raja yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, yoga tantra, mantra and yantra, chakras and kundalini, Sri Vidya, Eastern and Western psychology, which includes yoga psychology and the analytical psychology of Carl Jung, dreams and imagination, karma, Indian astrology, Jyotish. Published by www.bigshakti.com Language: en Genres: Alternative Health, Health & Fitness, Mental Health Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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#25 - Dr Swami Shankardev The Yoga-Informed Therapist Interview
Episode 25
Thursday, 14 May, 2026
Swami Shankardev was recently interviewed by Dr. Lauren Tober as part of The Yoga-Informed Therapist Interviews—a series that brought together therapists and yoga teachers who are integrating these two worlds with care, depth, and ethical rigor. The series covered the scope of practice, nervous system regulation, trauma sensitivity, and the training pathways that allow this kind of integration to be done responsibly.In this interview, Swami Shankardev traces a fifty-year journey that began with medical training at Sydney University in 1976 and ten years of immersive study at the Bihar School of Yoga in India — a dual formation that has shaped everything since.He describes how he integrates yoga not as an add-on to conventional care but as a complete parallel system: Sāmkhya philosophy as the theoretical foundation, pranayama, mantra therapy, chakra work, and Jungian depth psychology as the practical tools, all applied to the individual's specific constitution, temperament, and stage of development.Central to his approach is the principle that foundation comes before depth — a stable, resilient ego must be built before deeper meditative or kuṇḍalinī work is introduced — and that both yogic and Jungian frameworks insist on treating the person in front of you rather than applying a formula.He addresses the ethical dimensions of this integration directly: cultural integrity, scope of practice, and the amplified responsibility that comes with holding both the doctor-patient and teacher-student relationship simultaneously.His vision for the future is clear and unambiguous — yoga in healthcare needs to move well beyond stretching and stress reduction toward a genuine recognition of yoga psychology as a rigorous clinical science, with mantra and pranayama as legitimate therapeutic tools and the deep inner work of the tantric and Jungian traditions understood as fundamental to healing.This interview with Swami Shankardev Saraswati and Dr Lauren Tober was created by the Yoga Psychology Institute for the Yoga-informed Therapist series.📩 Subscribe to our Newsletter🎙️ Big Shakti Podcast🎧 Big Shakti Meditations🌿️ Big Shakti’s Yoga and Meditation Courses🧘🏻♀️️Jayne Stevenson’s intuitive healing and dream therapy practice🧘 Dr. Swami Shankardev’s medical and psychotherapy practice📹 Big Shakti’s YouTube Channel
