Meera Kachroo

• Ph.D. Religious Studies, McGill University
• M.A. Religious Studies, McGill University
• B.A. (Hon.), St. Thomas More College
• Certificate in Spoken Sanskrit, Heidelberg University

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS AND KEYNOTES

Invited Presenter. “Yoga Knowledge in Translation: Reflections on Indigenizing Medical Research. Visiting Community Presentation, Yoga-Well-Being. Sponsored by Ohio State University. Columbus, OH. September 2024.

Invited Presenter. “Indian Culture, Appropriation, and Yoga” Saskatchewan Indigenous Yoga Association Teacher Training. August 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

“What does the Yogasūtra have to do with Yoga?” Canadian Yoga Studies Scholars Network. Centre for the Study of Religion and Society, University of Victoria. June 28, 2022

Subject Specialist Presentation, “Death and Dying in Indian Culture.”  Saskatoon Health Region Chaplains’ Education Program. St. Paul’s Hospital, Saskatoon. January 21, 2016

Invited Presenter. “Culture, History, and Memory at Woodlawn Cemetery” Co-presented with Morgan Edwards, Saskatoon Funeral Home. Threads: A Virtual Cultural Symposium. Saskatoon Open Door Society. Pre-recorded for online event. January 2022

Invited Presenter. “Death and Dying across Cultures.” Co-presented with Dr. Brian Chartier. Threads: A Virtual Cultural Symposium. Saskatoon Open Door Society. Pre-recorded for online event. January 2021 

 

SELECTED ACADEMIC CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Kachroo, Meera, C. Karunanayake, P. Pahwa. “Nēhiyaw Yoga: Biomedical intervention in on-reserve Indigenous communities”. 3rd International Academic Conference: Yoga Darśana, Yoga Sādhana. Hamburg, Germany. May 2024.

Kachroo, Meera. “Projected Values: Teaching Religion and Culture through Bollywood Film.” Teaching Against Islamophobia Seminar. American Academy of Religion (AAR) Annual Meeting, San Antonio TX. November 2023.

Kachroo, Meera. “Beyond Insider/Outsider: Theorizing Practitioners, Scholars, and Critical Methodologies.” Panelist / Presenter. American Academy of Religion (AAR) Annual Meeting, San Antonio TX. November 2023.

Kachroo, Meera. “Hermeneutics and Healing in Contemporary Śrīvidyā.” American Academy of Religion (AAR) Annual Meeting, Denver CO. November 21, 2022.

Kachroo, Meera, and Dawn Deguire. “De-Indianizing Yoga, Indigenizing Yoga: Cultural Continuities in Canadian Yoga.” International Conference on Yoga Studies: Yoga Darśana, Yoga Sādhana: Methods, Migrations, and Mediations. Kraków, Poland. Hybrid meeting; presented remotely. May 19, 2022.

Kachroo, Meera. “A Mid-Century Mantra for the Guhānanda Maṇḍalī: Cidānandanātha’s Śrīvidyā.” Canadian Society for the Study of South Asia (CSASA-ACESA) at Congress Annual Meeting (virtual meeting). May 12, 2022.

 

ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS

Kachroo, Meera Jo. 2025. “Śrīcakra and its Publics: The Social Life of a Tantric Icon in Contemporary Chennai.” Journal of Dharma Studies. DOI: 10.1007/s42240-025-00214-2

Karunanayake, Chandima P., Charlene Thompson, Meera J. Kachroo, Donna C. Rennie, Warren Seesequasis, Jeremy Seeseequasis, James A. Dosman, Mark Fenton, Vivian R. Ramsden, Malcolm King, et al. 2025. "Sleep Patterns, Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, and Sleep Disturbance Among First Nations Children in Saskatchewan" Clocks & Sleep 7, no. 2: 21. https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep7020021

Karunanayake CP, Dosman JA, Ayas N, Fenton M, Seeseequasis J, Lindain R, Seesequasis W, McMullin K, Kachroo MJ, Ramsden VR, King M. Association of Insomnia with Functional Outcomes Relevant to Daily Behaviors and Sleep-Related Quality of Life among First Nations People in Two Communities in Saskatchewan, Canada. Clocks & Sleep. 2024 Oct 12;6(4):578-88. https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep6040039

Kachroo, Meera Jo, and Dawn Deguire. 2024. “Braiding Indigenous Yoga: Worldview, Culture, and Reconciliation in Treaty 6 Territory”. Indigenous Religious Traditions 2.1 (2024), 27–46. https://doi.org/10.1558/irt.27583

Kachroo, Meera. Review of Living Mantra: Mantra, Deity, and Visionary Experience Today. By Mani Rao. International Journal of Hindu Studies. Issue 25.3, January 2022 p. 319

 

COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION

Publications

Kachroo, Meera and P. Pahwa. 2024.  miyo-nipâwin: yoga for a good sleep. 22p booklet for accessible yoga practice for on-reserve members of three Treaty 6 First Nations, including Indigenous prayer and guidance for yoga poses for a better sleep.

Video Production and Media

Kachroo, Meera, C. Karunanayake, and P.Pahwa. 2025. Grounding Meditation in nēhiyawewin (Cree) and English. 12min guided meditation featuring Indigenous yoga teachers and Elder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLZzgwKXGvc

Kachroo, Meera, C. Karunanayake, and P. Pahwa. 2024. miyo-nipâwin: yoga for a good sleep. 28min instructional yoga video featuring Indigenous yoga teachers and demonstrators. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX14KXWAe5c

Courses at STM:

• RLST 111: Asian Religions
• RLST 211: Introduction to Hinduism
• RLST 214: Introduction to the Philosophies of India
• RLST 215: Indian Yoga Heritage
• RLST 217: Buddhist Traditions
• RLST 218: Buddhist Philosophy
• RLST 258: Religion and Culture in Bollywood Film
• RLST 282: Religious Perspectives on Death and Dying
• RLST 284: Religions and Non-Violence