About Gidi

Dr Gidi Ifergan is an author and a researcher of Indian philosophy and Tibetan Buddhism at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) on negation and liberation in the Dzogchen teachings of Longchenpa, the 14th century Tibetan illustrious scholar and teacher, and wrote his Master (MA) thesis on The Practical Dimension in Śankara’s Vedānta, the 8th-century Indian eminent scholar and teacher. Gidi’s current area of research focus is the position of yoga philosophy on language within the context of contemplative studies.

He is a qualified yoga and meditation teacher who teaches in different frameworks, such as beginner and advanced teacher training programs and workshops in Australia and Israel, home-studio classes, and E-VAM Institute’s Buddhist summer schools.

Gidi has spent studying the traditional teachings of Indian and Tibetan yogas. He has undertaken extensive studies of Dzogchen teachings in Tibetan Buddhism; participated in retreats with Dzogchen master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu in Australia, Israel and Italy since 1992; studied classic forms of Indian yoga with Master Shri Brahma Gopal Bhaduri and his senior disciple Shri Shiv Shankar Tripathi from 1994 to 2003, including visits to Varanasi, India, Tibet and Bhutan. In addition, he had Extensive studies of the yoga of chakras and gongs with Mrs Noah Blass from 1992 to 2000.

Publications

Gidi has published a variety of academic works on Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy and the Psychology of Yoga:

Forthcoming

  • ‘Vivekānanda on Vedānta and Buddhism’. To be published by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) as a proceeding of the 2015 conference on SWĀMI VIVEKĀNANDA: Assessing the Man & His Contributions, Melbourne.
  • Ifergan, G 2023, The light and the Mirror: The Discerning Clear Gaze of Yoga

Qualifications and Experience

Gidi’s experience includes:

  • Yoga teacher, Melbourne, 2005-2010, 2014 – present
  • Yoga Teacher Training teacher (Beginners and Advanced), Victorian Institute for Yoga Education and Teacher Training (VIYETT), 2016 – present
  • Diploma in Yoga Teaching, VIYETT, 2015
  • PhD, The Man from Samyé: Longchenpa on Praxis, its Negation and Liberation, Monash University, 2012
  • Master of Arts, The Practical Dimension in Śankara’s Vedānta, Tel Aviv University, 2003
  • Yoga teacher, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1997 – 2002
  • Extensive studies of Dzogchen, including participating in retreats with Chogyal Namkhai Norbu in Australia and Italy, 1992 – 2018
  • Extensive studies of classic forms of Indian yoga with Shri Brahma Gopal Bhaduri and Shri Shiv Shankar Tripathi including travels to Varansi, 1994 – 2003
  • Extensive studies of the yoga of chakras and gongs with Mrs Noah Blass, 1992 – 2000

Gidi is wholeheartedly grateful to the teachers who have supported and inspired him in his explorations of yoga.