معرفی
Corinna May Lhoir is a Lecturer of Yoga History and a doctoral researcher in Indology at the University of Hamburg's Faculty of Humanities, specifically within the Culture and History of India and Tibet department. She is affiliated with the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (Cluster of Excellence "Understanding Written Artefacts") and serves as Program Coordinator for the Yoga Studies research focus.
Her educational background includes an M.A. in Oriental Languages and Cultures: India (Summa Cum Laude) from Ghent University (2023), an M.A. in Traditions of Yoga and Meditation (Distinction) from SOAS, University of London (2020), a B.A. in Languages and Cultures of India and Tibet from Universität Hamburg (2021), and an earlier M.A. in American, English and Slavonic Studies from Ruhr Universität Bochum (1997).
Dr. Lhoir's research centers on Jain Yoga, medieval Indian philosophy, and manuscript cultures across multiple linguistic traditions. Her current doctoral project explores the Yogapradīpa, a 15th-century Jain Yoga compendium, analyzing its reception through multilingual manuscript commentaries (ṭabos and bālāvabodhas). She investigates textual transmission, philosophical adaptation, and the vernacularization of Yoga knowledge in Jain traditions through extensive philological work and field experience in India and Europe.
Her publication record shows a clear progression from foundational studies on Yoga to increasingly specialized work on Jain Yoga texts. The recent articles (2024-2025) demonstrate deep engagement with specific Jain Yoga texts like the Yogapradīpa, Tattvārthasūtra, and works by Haribhadra and Hemacandra, while her upcoming 2026-2027 publications promise to make significant contributions to understanding Jain concepts of self and philosophical approaches to Yoga.
Dr. Lhoir has been actively involved in teaching and knowledge dissemination, designing courses on Introduction to Jain Philosophy and Jain Yoga, Indian Intellectual History, and Origins of Yoga at both undergraduate and continuing education levels. Her teaching often combines hybrid formats with close textual analysis and broader cultural framing. She has taught master classes at Ghent University and SOAS, and developed the blended-learning course "Light on the Dark Age of Jain Yoga" for the Arihanta Institute.
She maintains a strong public engagement presence through media interviews, expert commentary in national outlets like Deutschlandfunk, and participation in roundtables on topics including "Alternative Career Paths in Religious Studies" and "Social Responsibility as Yoga Teachers." Her Arihanta Institute blog series has been particularly influential in making academic research on Jain Yoga accessible to broader audiences.
