Science of Yoga Project
WELCOME to the Tibet House US/Menla Center Science of Yoga Project.
Tibet House and Menla have been associated with high-level science and scholarship spanning several decades, since their original establishment by co-founder and current President Professor Robert Thurman and Patron, His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Both Professor Thurman and the Dalai Lama have devoted considerable time and energy to the pursuit of integrative “East-West” science and scholarship for many years (and see the Tributes to these two historic pioneers in Section IV, below); and more recently an official Director for the Science of Yoga Project of Tibet HouseUS/Menla Center has been appointed, Dr William Bushell, a biological/medical anthropologist affiliated with MIT.
The Science of Yoga Project presently has three major interdependent subject areas of investigation and exploration,(not necessarily listed in order of importance):
I. The Universe (i.e., in Western scientific terms, physics and cosmology)
II. Consciousness
III. Longevity, Health, and Optimal Functioning
The program of the Science of Yoga Project is to understand how the practice of yoga and meditation can lead to the achievement of health, longevity and optimal functioning, and to a high-level understanding of the nature of consciousness and the universe. This basic idea is based on the fact that the practice of yoga and meditation are central to the highest levels of Buddhism: the Buddha himself, after-all, was an extremely advanced meditator, and achieved enlightenment in meditation.
The site consists of materials which are devoted primarily to these subject areas, and includes scientific, scholarly, and popular materials, all of which are accessible to the understanding of the general public. The materials include publications (journal articles, book chapters, etc), course materials (power point presentations, etc), web materials (from Tibet House and Menla conferences), multimedia materials (videos etc), other online resources, and numerous links to the actual publications and materials, as well as to relevant sites maintained by other researchers. There is also a fourth section (IV), which consists of General Information about the Science of Yoga Project (history, more detailed descriptions, etc). Tibet House members and site visitors are invited to explore all the sections of this site, and are encouraged to participate in interactive programs which are soon to be launched, including in a major initiative which will actually offer the interested public the opportunity to be a part of a cutting-edge integrative scientific/scholarly/practice-oriented project which involves all three of the subject areas listed above.
