Yoga

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the umbrella term yoga which includes religion, philosophy, and
practices. For one of the six Hindu philosophy schools, see Yoga (philosophy). For the
popular yoga that explains and emphasizes the physical practices or disciplines, see Hatha
yoga. For other uses, see Yoga (disambiguation).

Male and female yogis from 17th- and 18th-century India

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Yoga (/ˈjoʊɡə/;[1] Sanskrit, ययय Listen) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual
practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. There is a broad variety of Yoga
schools, practices, and goals[2] in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.[3][4][5] Among the most
well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga.[6]

The origins of yoga have been speculated to date back to pre-Vedic Indian traditions, it is
mentioned in the Rigveda,[note 1] but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries
BCE, in ancient India's ascetic and śramaṇa movements.[8][note 2] The chronology of earliest
texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu Upanishads[9] and
Buddhist Pāli Canon,[10] probably of third century BCE or later. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
date from the first half of the 1st millennium CE,[11][12] but only gained prominence in the
West in the 20th century.[13] Hatha yoga texts emerged around the 11th century with origins
in tantra.[14][15]

Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west,[16] following the success of Swami
Vivekananda in the late 19th and early 20th century.[16] In the 1980s, yoga became popular as
a system of physical exercise across the Western world.[15] Yoga in Indian traditions,
however, is more than physical exercise; it has a meditative and spiritual core.[17] One of the
six major orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called Yoga, which has its own epistemology
and metaphysics, and is closely related to Hindu Samkhya philosophy.[18]

Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary

intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma, and heart disease.[19][20] The results of these
studies have been mixed and inconclusive, with cancer studies suggesting none to unclear
effectiveness, and others suggesting yoga may reduce risk factors and aid in a patient's
psychological healing process.[19][20] On December 1, 2016, Yoga was listed as UNESCO’s
Intangible cultural heritage.[21]

Contents
 1 Etymology
 2 Goals
 3 Schools
 o 3.1 Hinduism
 3.1.1 Classical yoga
 3.1.2 Ashtanga yoga
 3.1.3 Hatha yoga
 3.1.4 Shaivism
o 3.2 Buddhism
o 3.3 Jainism
o 3.4 Tantra
 4 History
o 4.1 Pre-Vedic India
o 4.2 Vedic period (1700–500 BCE)
 4.2.1 Textual references
 4.2.2 Vedic ascetic practices
o 4.3 Preclassical era (500–200 BCE)
 4.3.1 Upanishads
 4.3.2 Sutras of Hindu philosophies
 4.3.3 Macedonian historical texts
 4.3.4 Early Buddhist texts
 4.3.5 Uncertainty with chronology
 4.3.6 Bhagavad Gita
 4.3.7 Mahabharata
o 4.4 Classical era (200 BCE – 500 CE)
 4.4.1 Classical yoga
 4.4.1.1 Samkhya
 4.4.1.2 Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
 4.4.1.3 Yoga and Vedanta
 4.4.2 Yoga Yajnavalkya
 4.4.3 Jainism
 4.4.4 Yogacara school
o 4.5 Middle Ages (500–1500 CE)
 4.5.1 Bhakti movement
 4.5.2 Tantra
 4.5.2.1 Vajrayana Buddhism
 4.5.3 Hatha Yoga
 4.5.4 Sikhism
o 4.6 Modern history
 4.6.1 Reception in the West
 4.6.2 Exercise and health applications
 4.6.2.1 Potential benefits for adults
 4.6.2.2 Physical injuries
 4.6.2.3 Pediatrics
 5 Physiology
 6 Yoga and specialized meditation
o 6.1 Zen Buddhism
o 6.2 Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism
 7 Reception in other religions
o 7.1 Christianity
o 7.2 Islam
 8 International Day of Yoga
 9 See also
  10 Notes
 11 References
o 11.1 Sources
 12 Further reading
 13 External links

Etymology

Statue of Shiva in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, performing yogic meditation in the

Padmasana posture.

In Vedic Sanskrit, yoga (from the root yuj) means "to add", "to join", "to unite", or "to attach"
in its most common literal sense. By figurative extension from the yoking or harnessing of
oxen or horses, the word took on broader meanings such as "employment, use, application,
performance" (compare the figurative uses of "to harness" as in "to put something to some
use"). All further developments of the sense of this word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods
such as "exertion", "endeavour", "zeal", and "diligence" are also found in Indian epic
poetry.[22]

There are very many compound words containing yoga in Sanskrit. Yoga can take on
meanings such as "connection", "contact", "union", "method", "application", "addition" and
"performance". In simpler words, Yoga also means "combined". For example, guṇáyoga
means "contact with a cord"; chakráyoga has a medical sense of "applying a splint or similar
instrument by means of pulleys (in case of dislocation of the thigh)"; chandráyoga has the
astronomical sense of "conjunction of the moon with a constellation"; puṃyoga is a
grammatical term expressing "connection or relation with a man", etc. Thus, bhaktiyoga
means "devoted attachment" in the monotheistic Bhakti movement. The term kriyāyoga has a
grammatical sense, meaning "connection with a verb". But the same compound is also given
a technical meaning in the Yoga Sutras (2.1), designating the "practical" aspects of the
philosophy, i.e. the "union with the supreme" due to performance of duties in everyday life[23]

According to Pāṇini, a 6th-century BCE Sanskrit grammarian, the term yoga can be derived
from either of two roots, yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau (to concentrate).[24] In the
context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samādhau (to concentrate) is considered
by traditional commentators as the correct etymology.[25] In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasa
who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras,[26] states that yoga means samādhi
(concentration).[27]
According to Dasgupta, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga (to
yoke) or yuj samādhau (to concentrate).[24] Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga
philosophy with a high level of commitment is called a yogi (may be applied to a man or a
woman) or yogini (traditionally denoting a woman).[28]

Goals
The ultimate goal of Yoga is moksha (liberation), although the exact definition of what form
this takes depends on the philosophical or theological system with which it is conjugated.

According to Jacobsen, "Yoga has five principal meanings:[29]

1. Yoga, as a disciplined method for attaining a goal;

2. Yoga, as techniques of controlling the body and the mind;
3. Yoga, as a name of one of the schools or systems of philosophy (darśana);
4. Yoga, in connection with other words, such as "hatha-, mantra-, and laya-," referring
to traditions specialising in particular techniques of yoga;
5. Yoga, as the goal of Yoga practice."[29]

According to David Gordon White, from the 5th century CE onward, the core principles of
"yoga" were more or less in place, and variations of these principles developed in various
forms over time:[30]

1. Yoga, is a meditative means of discovering dysfunctional perception and cognition, as

well as overcoming it for release from suffering, inner peace and salvation;
illustration of this principle is found in Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and
Yogasutras, in a number of Buddhist Mahāyāna works, as well as Jain texts;[31]
2. Yoga, as the raising and expansion of consciousness from oneself to being
coextensive with everyone and everything; these are discussed in sources such as in
Hinduism Vedic literature and its Epic Mahābhārata, Jainism Praśamaratiprakarana,
and Buddhist Nikaya texts;[32]
3. Yoga, as a path to omniscience and enlightened consciousness enabling one to
comprehend the impermanent (illusive, delusive) and permanent (true, transcendent)
reality; examples are found in Hinduism Nyaya and Vaisesika school texts as well as
Buddhism Mādhyamaka texts, but in different ways;[33]
4. Yoga, as a technique for entering into other bodies, generating multiple bodies, and
the attainment of other supernatural accomplishments; these are, states White,
described in Tantric literature of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the Buddhist
Sāmaññaphalasutta;[34] James Mallinson, however, disagrees and suggests that such
fringe practices are far removed from the mainstream Yoga's goal as meditation-
driven means to liberation in Indian religions.[35]

White clarifies that the last principle relates to legendary goals of "yogi practice", different
from practical goals of "yoga practice," as they are viewed in South Asian thought and
practice since the beginning of the Common Era, in the various Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain
philosophical schools.[36]

Schools
The term "yoga" has been applied to a variety of practices and methods, including Jain and
Buddhist practices. In Hinduism these include Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Laya
Yoga and Hatha Yoga.

The so-called Raja Yoga refers to Ashtanga Yoga, the eight limbs to be practiced to attain
samadhi, as described in the Yoga Sutras of Pantajali.[37] The term raja yoga originally
referred to the ultimate goal of yoga, which is usually samadhi,[38] but was popularised by
Vivekananda as the common name for Ashtanga Yoga.[39]

Hinduism

Classical yoga

Yoga is considered as a philosophical school in Hinduism.[40] Yoga, in this context, is one of

the six āstika schools of Hinduism (those which accept the Vedas as source of
knowledge).[41][42]

Due to the influence of Vivekananda, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are nowadays considered
as the foundational scripture of classical yoga, a status which it only acquired in the 20th
century.[39] Before the twentieth century, other works were considered as the most central
works, such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Vasistha,[39] while Tantric Yoga and Hatha
Yoga prevailed over Ashtanga Yoga.[39]

Ashtanga yoga

Main articles: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Rāja yoga

Swami Vivekananda equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[43]

Yoga as described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali refers to Ashtanga yoga.[39] The Yoga
Sutras of Patanjali is considered as a central text of the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy,[44]
It is often called "Rāja yoga", "yoga of the kings," a term which originally referred to the
ultimate, royal goal of yoga, which is usually samadhi,[38] but was popularised by
Vivekananda as the common name for Ashtanga Yoga.[39]

Ashtanga yoga incorporates epistemology, metaphysics, ethical practices, systematic

exercises and self-development techniques for body, mind and spirit.[45] Its epistemology
(pramanas) is same as the Samkhya school. Both accept three reliable means to knowledge –
perception (pratyākṣa, direct sensory observations), inference (anumāna) and testimony of
trustworthy experts (sabda, agama). Both these orthodox schools are also strongly dualistic.
Unlike the Sāṃkhya school of Hinduism, which pursues a non-theistic/atheistic rationalist
approach,[46][47] the Yoga school of Hinduism accepts the concept of a "personal, yet
essentially inactive, deity" or "personal god".[48][49] Along with its epistemology and
metaphysical foundations, the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy incorporates ethical precepts
(yamas and niyamas) and an introspective way of life focused on perfecting one's self
physically, mentally and spiritually, with the ultimate goal being kaivalya (liberated, unified,
content state of existence).[45][50][51]

Hatha yoga

Main article: Hatha yoga

A sculpture of Gorakshanath, a celebrated 11th century yogi of Nath tradition and a major
proponent of Hatha yoga.[52]

Hatha yoga, also called hatha vidyā, is a kind of yoga focusing on physical and mental
strength building exercises and postures described primarily in three texts of
Hinduism:[53][54][55]

1. Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Svātmārāma (15th century)

2. Shiva Samhita, author unknown (1500[56] or late 17th century)
3. Gheranda Samhita by Gheranda (late 17th century)

Many scholars also include the preceding Goraksha Samhita authored by Gorakshanath of
the 11th century in the above list.[53] Gorakshanath is widely considered to have been
responsible for popularizing hatha yoga as we know it today.[57][58][59]

Vajrayana Buddhism, founded by the Indian Mahasiddhas,[60] has a series of asanas and
pranayamas, such as tummo (Sanskrit caṇḍālī)[61] and trul khor which parallel hatha yoga.

Shaivism

Main articles: Shaivism, Shaiva Siddhanta, and Nath

In Shaivism, yoga is used to unite kundalini with Shiva.[62] See also 'tantra' below.
Buddhism

Main articles: Buddhist meditation, Dhyāna in Buddhism, Yogacara, and Vajrayana

16th century Buddhist artwork in Yoga posture.

Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of meditation techniques that aim to develop

mindfulness, concentration, supramundane powers, tranquility, and insight.

Core techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and
diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the
path toward Enlightenment and Nirvana.[note 3] The closest words for meditation in the
classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā[note 4] and jhāna/dhyāna.[note 5]

Jainism

Main article: Jain meditation

Jain meditation has been the central practice of spirituality in Jainism along with the Three
Jewels.[63] Meditation in Jainism aims at realizing the self, attain salvation, take the soul to
complete freedom.[64] It aims to reach and to remain in the pure state of soul which is
believed to be pure conscious, beyond any attachment or aversion. The practitioner strives to
be just a knower-seer (Gyata-Drashta). Jain meditation can be broadly categorized to the
auspicious Dharmya Dhyana and Shukla Dhyana and inauspicious Artta and Raudra
Dhyana.[citation needed]

Tantra

Main articles: Tantra, Yogi, and Siddhi

Samuel states that Tantrism is a contested concept.[65] Tantra yoga may be described,
according to Samuel, as practices in 9th to 10th century Buddhist and Hindu (Saiva, Shakti)
texts, which included yogic practices with elaborate deity visualizations using geometrical
arrays and drawings (mandala), fierce male and particularly female deities, transgressive life
stage related rituals, extensive use of chakras and mantras, and sexual techniques, all aimed
to help one's health, long life and liberation.[65][66]

History
The origins of yoga are a matter of debate.[67] There is no consensus on its chronology or
specific origin other than that yoga developed in ancient India. Suggested origins are the
Indus Valley Civilization (3300–1900 BCE)[68] and pre-Vedic Eastern states of India,[69] the
Vedic period (1500–500 BCE), and the śramaṇa movement.[70] According to Gavin Flood,
continuities may exist between those various traditions:

[T]his dichotomization is too simplistic, for continuities can undoubtedly be found between
renunciation and vedic Brahmanism, while elements from non-Brahmanical, Sramana
traditions also played an important part in the formation of the renunciate ideal.[71][note 6]

Pre-philosophical speculations of yoga begin to emerge in the texts of c. 500–200 BCE.

Between 200 BCE–500 CE philosophical schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were
taking form and a coherent philosophical system of yoga began to emerge.[73] The Middle
Ages saw the development of many satellite traditions of yoga. Yoga came to the attention of
an educated western public in the mid 19th century along with other topics of Indian
philosophy.

Pre-Vedic India

Main article: Indus Valley Civilization

Yoga may have pre-Vedic elements.[68][69] Some state yoga originated in the Indus Valley
Civilization.[74] Marshall,[75] Eliade[9] and other scholars suggest that the Pashupati seal
discovered in Indus Valley Civilization sites depict figures in positions resembling a common
yoga or meditation pose. This interpretation is considered speculative and uncertain by more
recent analysis of Srinivasan[9] and may be a case of projecting "later practices into
archeological findings".[76]

Vedic period (1700–500 BCE)

Main article: Vedic period

According to Crangle, Indian researchers have generally favoured a linear theory, which
attempts "to interpret the origin and early development of Indian contemplative practices as a
sequential growth from an Aryan genesis",[77][note 7] just like traditional Hinduism regards the
Vedas to be the source of all spiritual knowledge.[78][note 8]

Ascetic practices, concentration and bodily postures described in the Vedas may have been
precursors to yoga.[81][82] According to Geoffrey Samuel, "Our best evidence to date suggests
that [yogic] practices developed in the same ascetic circles as the early sramana movements
(Buddhists, Jainas and Ajivikas), probably in around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE."[8]

According to Zimmer, Yoga philosophy is reckoned to be part of the non-Vedic system,

which also includes the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy, Jainism and Buddhism:[69]
"[Jainism] does not derive from Brahman-Aryan sources, but reflects the cosmology and
anthropology of a much older pre-Aryan upper class of northeastern India [Bihar] – being
rooted in the same subsoil of archaic metaphysical speculation as Yoga, Sankhya, and
Buddhism, the other non-Vedic Indian systems."[83][note 9]

Textual references
The first use of the root of word "yoga" is in hymn 5.81.1 of the Rig Veda, a dedication to
rising Sun-god in the morning (Savitri), where it has been interpreted as "yoke" or "yogically
control".[86][87][note 10]

The earliest evidence of Yogis and Yoga tradition is found in the Keśin hymn 10.136 of the
Rigveda, states Karel Werner.[7]

The Yogis of Vedic times left little evidence of their existence, practices and achievements.
And such evidence as has survived in the Vedas is scanty and indirect. Nevertheless, the
existence of accomplished Yogis in Vedic times cannot be doubted.

— Karel Werner, Yoga and the Ṛg Veda[7]

Rigveda, however, does not describe yoga and there is little evidence as to what the practices
were.[7] Early references to practices that later became part of yoga, are made in
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the earliest Hindu Upanishad.[note 11] For example, the practice of
pranayama (consciously regulating breath) is mentioned in hymn 1.5.23 of Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad (c. ~ 900 BCE), and the practice of pratyahara (concentrating all of one's senses
on self) is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of Chandogya Upanishad (c. ~ 800–700 BCE).[90][note 12]

Vedic ascetic practices

Ascetic practices (tapas), concentration and bodily postures used by Vedic priests to conduct
yajna (sacrifice), might have been precursors to yoga.[note 13] Vratya, a group of ascetics
mentioned in the Atharvaveda, emphasized on bodily postures which may have evolved into
yogic asanas.[81] Early Samhitas also contain references to other group ascetics such as munis,
the keśin, and vratyas.[93] Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned
in the Brahmanas (texts of the Vedic corpus, c. 1000–800 BCE) and the Atharvaveda.[81][94]
Nasadiya Sukta of the Rig Veda suggests the presence of an early contemplative tradition.[note
14]

Preclassical era (500–200 BCE)

Yoga concepts begin to emerge in the texts of c. 500–200 BCE such as the Pali Canon, the
middle Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata.[97][note 15]

Upanishads

The first known appearance of the word "yoga", with the same meaning as the modern term,
is in the Katha Upanishad,[9][100] probably composed between the fifth and third century
BCE,[101][102] where it is defined as the steady control of the senses, which along with
cessation of mental activity, leading to a supreme state.[93][note 16] Katha Upanishad integrates
the monism of early Upanishads with concepts of samkhya and yoga. It defines various levels
of existence according to their proximity to the innermost being Ātman. Yoga is therefore
seen as a process of interiorization or ascent of consciousness.[104][105] It is the earliest literary
work that highlights the fundamentals of yoga. White states:

The earliest extant systematic account of yoga and a bridge from the earlier Vedic uses of the
term is found in the Hindu Katha Upanisad (Ku), a scripture dating from about the third
century BCE[…] [I]t describes the hierarchy of mind-body constituents—the senses, mind,
intellect, etc.—that comprise the foundational categories of Sāmkhya philosophy, whose
metaphysical system grounds the yoga of the Yogasutras, Bhagavad Gita, and other texts and
schools (Ku3.10–11; 6.7–8).[106]

The hymns in Book 2 of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, another late first millennium BCE
text, states a procedure in which the body is held in upright posture, the breath is restrained
and mind is meditatively focussed, preferably inside a cave or a place that is simple, plain, of
silence or gently flowing water, with no noises nor harsh winds.[107][105]

The Maitrayaniya Upanishad, likely composed in a later century than Katha and
Shvetashvatara Upanishads but before Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, mentions sixfold yoga method
– breath control (pranayama), introspective withdrawal of senses (pratyahara), meditation
(dhyana), mind concentration (dharana), philosophical inquiry/creative reasoning (tarka),
and absorption/intense spiritual union (samadhi).[9][105][108]

In addition to the Yoga discussion in above Principal Upanishads, twenty Yoga Upanishads
as well as related texts such as Yoga Vasistha, composed in 1st and 2nd millennium CE,
discuss Yoga methods.[109][110]

Sutras of Hindu philosophies

Yoga is discussed in the ancient foundational Sutras of Hindu philosophy. The Vaiśeṣika
Sūtra of the Vaisheshika school of Hinduism, dated to have been composed sometime
between 6th and 2nd century BCE discusses Yoga.[111][112][note 17] According to Johannes
Bronkhorst, an Indologist known for his studies on early Buddhism and Hinduism and a
professor at the University of Lausanne, Vaiśeṣika Sūtra describes Yoga as "a state where the
mind resides only in the soul and therefore not in the senses".[114] This is equivalent to
pratyahara or withdrawal of the senses, and the ancient Sutra asserts that this leads to an
absence of sukha (happiness) and dukkha (suffering), then describes additional yogic
meditation steps in the journey towards the state of spiritual liberation.[114]

Similarly, Brahma sutras – the foundational text of the Vedanta school of Hinduism,
discusses yoga in its sutra 2.1.3, 2.1.223 and others.[115] Brahma sutras are estimated to have
been complete in the surviving form sometime between 450 BCE to 200 CE,[116][117] and its
sutras assert that yoga is a means to gain "subtlety of body" and other powers.[115] The Nyaya
sutras – the foundational text of the Nyaya school, variously estimated to have been
composed between the 6th-century BCE and 2nd-century CE,[118][119] discusses yoga in sutras
4.2.38–50. This ancient text of the Nyaya school includes a discussion of yogic ethics,
dhyana (meditation), samadhi, and among other things remarks that debate and philosophy is
a form of yoga.[120][121][122]

Macedonian historical texts

Alexander the Great reached India in the 4th century BCE. Along with his army, he took
Greek academics with him who later wrote memoirs about geography, people and customs
they saw. One of Alexander's companion was Onesicritus, quoted in Book 15, Sections 63–
65 by Strabo, who describes yogins of India.[123] Onesicritus claims those Indian yogins
(Mandanis ) practiced aloofness and "different postures – standing or sitting or lying naked –
and motionless".[124]
Onesicritus also mentions his colleague Calanus trying to meet them, who is initially denied
audience, but later invited because he was sent by a "king curious of wisdom and
philosophy".[124] Onesicritus and Calanus learn that the yogins consider the best doctrine of
life as "rid the spirit of not only pain, but also pleasure", that "man trains the body for toil in
order that his opinions may be strengthened", that "there is no shame in life on frugal fare",
and that "the best place to inhabit is one with scantiest equipment or outfit".[123][124] These
principles are significant to the history of spiritual side of yoga.[123] These may reflect the
ancient roots of "undisturbed calmness" and "mindfulness through balance" in later works of
Hindu Patanjali and Buddhist Buddhaghosa respectively, states Charles Rockwell
Lanman;[123] as well as the principle of Aparigraha (non-possessiveness, non-craving, simple
living) and asceticism discussed in later Hinduism and Jainism.[citation needed]

Early Buddhist texts

Werner states, "The Buddha was the founder of his [Yoga] system, even though, admittedly,
he made use of some of the experiences he had previously gained under various Yoga
teachers of his time."[125] He notes:[10]

"But it is only with Buddhism itself as expounded in the Pali Canon that we can speak about
a systematic and comprehensive or even integral school of Yoga practice, which is thus the
first and oldest to have been preserved for us in its entirety."[10]

The chronology of completion of these yoga-related Pali Canons, however, is unclear, just
like ancient Hindu texts.[126][127] Early known Buddhist sources like the Majjhima Nikāya
mention meditation, while the Anguttara Nikāya describes Jhāyins (meditators) that resemble
early Hindu descriptions of Muni, Kesins and meditating ascetics,[128] but these meditation-
practices are not called yoga in these texts.[129] The earliest known specific discussion of yoga
in the Buddhist literature, as understood in modern context, is from the third- to fourth-
century CE scriptures of the Buddhist Yogācāra school and fourth- to fifth-century
Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa.[129]

A yoga system that predated the Buddhist school is Jain yoga. But since Jain sources postdate
Buddhist ones, it is difficult to distinguish between the nature of the early Jain school and
elements derived from other schools.[10] Most of the other contemporary yoga systems
alluded in the Upanishads and some Pali canons are lost to time.[130][131][note 18]

The early Buddhist texts describe meditative practices and states, some of which the Buddha
borrowed from the śramaṇa tradition.[133][134] The Pali canon contains three passages in which
the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate for the purposes of controlling
hunger or the mind, depending on the passage.[135] However, there is no mention of the
tongue being inserted into the nasopharynx as in true khecarī mudrā. The Buddha used a
posture where pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to even modern postures
used to stimulate Kundalini.[136]

Uncertainty with chronology

Alexander Wynne, author of The Origin of Buddhist Meditation, observes that formless
meditation and elemental meditation might have originated in the Upanishadic tradition.[137]
The earliest reference to meditation is in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, one of the oldest
Upanishads.[93] Chandogya Upanishad describes the five kinds of vital energies (prana).
Concepts used later in many yoga traditions such as internal sound and veins (nadis) are also
described in the Upanishad.[81] Taittiriya Upanishad defines yoga as the mastery of body and
senses.[138]

Bhagavad Gita

Krishna narrating the Gita to Arjuna.

Main article: Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita ('Song of the Lord'), uses the term "yoga" extensively in a variety of
ways. In addition to an entire chapter (ch. 6) dedicated to traditional yoga practice, including
meditation,[139] it introduces three prominent types of yoga:[140]

 Karma yoga: The yoga of action.[141]

 Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion.[141]
 Jnana yoga: The yoga of knowledge.[142][143]

The Gita consists of 18 chapters and 700 shlokas (verses),[144] with each chapter named as a
different yoga, thus delineating eighteen different yogas.[144][145] Some scholars divide the
Gita into three sections, with the first six chapters with 280 shlokas dealing with Karma yoga,
the middle six containing 209 shlokas with Bhakti yoga, and the last six chapters with 211
shlokas as Jnana yoga; however, this is rough because elements of karma, bhakti and jnana
are found in all chapters.[144]

Mahabharata

Description of an early form of yoga called nirodhayoga (yoga of cessation) is contained in

the Mokshadharma section of the 12th chapter (Shanti Parva) of the Mahabharata. The
verses of the section are dated to c. 300–200 BCE. Nirodhayoga emphasizes progressive
withdrawal from the contents of empirical consciousness such as thoughts, sensations etc.
until purusha (Self) is realized. Terms like vichara (subtle reflection), viveka (discrimination)
and others which are similar to Patanjali's terminology are mentioned, but not described.[146]
There is no uniform goal of yoga mentioned in the Mahabharata. Separation of self from
matter, perceiving Brahman everywhere, entering into Brahman etc. are all described as
goals of yoga. Samkhya and yoga are conflated together and some verses describe them as
being identical.[147] Mokshadharma also describes an early practice of elemental
meditation.[148]

Mahabharata defines the purpose of yoga as the experience of uniting the individual ātman
with the universal Brahman that pervades all things.[147]
Classical era (200 BCE – 500 CE)

This period witnessed many texts of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism discussing and
systematically compiling yoga methods and practices. Of these, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are
considered as a key work.

Classical yoga

During the period between the Mauryan and the Gupta eras (c. 200 BCE–500 CE)
philosophical schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking form and a coherent
philosophical system of yoga began to emerge.[73]

Yoga as a philosophy is mentioned in Sanskrit texts dated to be completed between 200

BCE–200 CE. Kauṭilya's Arthasastra in verse 1.2.10, for example, states that there are three
categories of anviksikis (philosophies) – Samkhya (nontheistic), Yoga (theistic) and Cārvāka
(atheistic materialism).[149][150]

Samkhya

Further information: Samkhya

Many traditions in India began to adopt systematic methodology by about first century CE.
Of these, Samkhya was probably one of the oldest philosophies to begin taking a systematic
form.[151] Patanjali systematized Yoga, building them on the foundational metaphysics of
Samkhya. In the early works, the Yoga principles appear together with the Samkhya ideas.
Vyasa's commentary on the Yoga Sutras, also called the Samkhyapravacanabhasya
(Commentary on the Exposition of the Sankhya Philosophy), describes the relation between
the two systems.[152] The two schools have some differences as well. Yoga accepted the
conception of "personal god", while Samkhya developed as a rationalist, non-theistic/atheistic
system of Hindu philosophy.[46][153][154] Sometimes Patanjali's system is referred to as
Seshvara Samkhya in contradistinction to Kapila's Nirivara Samkhya.[155]

The parallels between Yoga and Samkhya were so close that Max Müller says that "the two
philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and
Samkhya without a Lord."[156]

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Main articles: Raja Yoga and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Traditional Hindu depiction of Patanjali as an avatar of the divine serpent Shesha.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali[157]
Pada (Chapter) English meaning Sutras
Samadhi Pada On being absorbed in spirit 51
Sadhana Pada On being immersed in spirit 55
Vibhuti Pada On supernatural abilities and gifts 56
Kaivalya Pada On absolute freedom 34

In Hindu philosophy, yoga is the name of one of the six orthodox (which accept the
testimony of Vedas) philosophical schools.[158][159] Karel Werner, author of Yoga And Indian
Philosophy, believes that the process of systematization of yoga which began in the middle
and Yoga Upanishads culminated with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[note 19]

There are numerous parallels in the concepts in ancient Samkhya, Yoga and Abhidharma
Buddhist schools of thought, particularly from 2nd century BCE to 1st century AD, notes
Larson.[161] Patanjali's Yoga Sutras is a synthesis of these three traditions. From Samkhya,
Yoga Sutras adopt the "reflective discernment" (adhyavasaya) of prakrti and purusa
(dualism), its metaphysical rationalism, as well its three epistemic methods to gaining reliable
knowledge.[161] From Abhidharma Buddhism's idea of nirodhasamadhi, suggests Larson,
Yoga Sutras adopt the pursuit of altered state of awareness, but unlike Buddhist's concept of
no self nor soul, Yoga is physicalist and realist like Samkhya in believing that each individual
has a self and soul.[161] The third concept Yoga Sutras synthesize into its philosophy is the
ancient ascetic traditions of meditation and introspection, as well as the yoga ideas from
middle Upanishads such as Katha, Shvetashvatara and Maitri.[161]

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are widely regarded as the first compilation of the formal yoga
philosophy.[162] The verses of Yoga Sutras are terse. Many later Indian scholars studied them
and published their commentaries, such as the Vyasa Bhashya (c. 350–450 CE).[163]
Patanjali's yoga is also referred to as Raja yoga.[164] Patanjali defines the word "yoga" in his
second sutra:
ययय: ययययय-यययययय ययययय:
(yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ)
- Yoga Sutras 1.2

This terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms. I. K. Taimni translates it
as "Yoga is the inhibition (nirodhaḥ) of the modifications (vṛtti) of the mind (citta)".[165]
Swami Vivekananda translates the sutra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Citta) from
taking various forms (Vrittis)."[166] Edwin Bryant explains that, to Patanjali, "Yoga essentially
consists of meditative practices culminating in attaining a state of consciousness free from all
modes of active or discursive thought, and of eventually attaining a state where consciousness
is unaware of any object external to itself, that is, is only aware of its own nature as
consciousness unmixed with any other object."[45][167][168]

If the meaning of yoga is understood as the practice of nirodha (mental control), then its goal
is "the unqualified state of niruddha (the perfection of that process)",[169] according to Baba
Hari Dass. In that context, "yoga (union) implies duality (as in joining of two things or
principles); the result of yoga is the nondual state", and "as the union of the lower self and
higher Self. The nondual state is characterized by the absence of individuality; it can be
described as eternal peace, pure love, Self-realization, or liberation."[170]

Patanjali's writing also became the basis for a system referred to as "Ashtanga Yoga" ("Eight-
Limbed Yoga"). This eight-limbed concept is derived from the 29th Sutra of the Book 2 of
Yoga Sutras. They are:

1. Yama (The five "abstentions"): Ahimsa (Non-violence, non-harming other living

beings),[171] Satya (truthfulness, non-falsehood),[172] Asteya (non-stealing),[173]
Brahmacharya (celibacy, fidelity to one's partner),[173] and Aparigraha (non-avarice,
non-possessiveness).[172]
2. Niyama (The five "observances"): Śauca (purity, clearness of mind, speech and
body),[174] Santosha (contentment, acceptance of others and of one's
circumstances),[175] Tapas (persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity),[176]
Svādhyāya (study of self, self-reflection, study of Vedas),[177] and Ishvara-Pranidhana
(contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True Self).[175]
3. Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position
used for meditation.
4. Pranayama ("Suspending Breath"): Prāna, breath, "āyāma", to restrain or stop. Also
interpreted as control of the life force.
5. Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.
6. Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.
7. Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of
meditation.
8. Samadhi ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.

Yoga and Vedanta

Yoga and Vedanta are the two largest surviving schools of Hindu traditions. They share many
thematic principles, concepts and belief in self/soul, but diverge in degree, style and some of
their methods. Epistemologically, Yoga school accepts three means to reliable knowledge,
while Advaita Vedanta accepts six ways.[178] Yoga disputes the monism of Advaita
Vedanta.[179] Yoga school believes that in the state of moksha, each individual discovers the
blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as an independent identity; Advaita Vedanta, in
contrast, believes that in the state of moksha, each individual discovers the blissful, liberating
sense of himself or herself as part of Oneness with everything, everyone and the Universal
Self. They both hold that the free conscience is aloof yet transcendent, liberated and self-
aware. Further, Advaita Vedanta school enjoins the use of Patanjali's yoga practices and the
reading of Upanishads for those seeking the supreme good, ultimate freedom and
jivanmukti.[179]

Yoga Yajnavalkya

Main article: Yoga Yajnavalkya

यययययय ययय ययययययययय यययययययययययययययययय

saṁyogo yoga ityukto jīvātma-paramātmanoḥ॥
Yoga is union of the individual self (jivātma) with the supreme self (paramātma).

—Yoga Yajnavalkya[180]

The Yoga Yajnavalkya is a classical treatise on yoga attributed to the Vedic sage
Yajnavalkya. It takes the form of a dialogue between Yajnavalkya and Gargi, a renowned
philosopher.[181] The text contains 12 chapters and its origin has been traced to the period
between the second century BCE and fourth century CE.[182] Many yoga texts like the Hatha
Yoga Pradipika, the Yoga Kundalini and the Yoga Tattva Upanishads have borrowed verses
from or make frequent references to the Yoga Yajnavalkya.[183] The Yoga Yajnavalkya
discusses eight yoga Asanas – Swastika, Gomukha, Padma, Vira, Simha, Bhadra, Mukta and
Mayura,[184] numerous breathing exercises for body cleansing,[185] and meditation.[186]

Jainism

Main article: Jainism

Tirthankara Parsva in Yogic meditation in the Kayotsarga posture.

According to Tattvarthasutra, 2nd century CE Jain text, yoga is the sum of all the activities
of mind, speech and body.[5] Umasvati calls yoga the cause of "asrava" or karmic influx[187]
as well as one of the essentials—samyak caritra—in the path to liberation.[187] In his
Niyamasara, Acarya Kundakunda, describes yoga bhakti—devotion to the path to
liberation—as the highest form of devotion.[188] Acarya Haribhadra and Acarya Hemacandra
mention the five major vows of ascetics and 12 minor vows of laity under yoga. This has led
certain Indologists like Prof. Robert J. Zydenbos to call Jainism, essentially, a system of
yogic thinking that grew into a full-fledged religion.[189] The five yamas or the constraints of
the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali bear a resemblance to the five major vows of Jainism, indicating
a history of strong cross-fertilization between these traditions.[190][note 20]

Mainstream Hinduism's influence on Jain yoga is noticed as Haribhadra founded his eightfold
yoga and aligned it with Patanjali's eightfold yoga.[192]

Yogacara school

Main article: Yogacara

In the late phase of Indian antiquity, on the eve of the development of Classical Hinduism,
the Yogacara movement arises during the Gupta period (4th to 5th centuries). Yogacara
received the name as it provided a "yoga," a framework for engaging in the practices that lead
to the path of the bodhisattva.[193] The yogacara sect teaches "yoga" as a way to reach
enlightenment.[194]

Middle Ages (500–1500 CE)

Middle Ages saw the development of many satellite traditions of yoga. Hatha yoga emerged
in this period.[195]

Bhakti movement

Main article: Bhakti Yoga

The Bhakti movement was a development in medieval Hinduism which advocated the
concept of a personal God (or "Supreme Personality of Godhead"). The movement was
initiated by the Alvars of South India in the 6th to 9th centuries, and it started gaining
influence throughout India by the 12th to 15th centuries.[196] Shaiva and Vaishnava bhakti
traditions integrated aspects of Yoga Sutras, such as the practical meditative exercises, with
devotion.[197] Bhagavata Purana elucidates the practice of a form of yoga called viraha
(separation) bhakti. Viraha bhakti emphasizes one pointed concentration on Krishna.[198]

Tantra

Tantra is a genre of yoga that arose in India no later than the 5th century CE.[199][note 21]
George Samuel states, "Tantra" is a contested term, but may be considered as a school whose
practices appeared in mostly complete form in Buddhist and Hindu texts by about 10th
century CE.[65] Over its history, some ideas of Tantra school influenced the Hindu, Bon,
Buddhist, and Jain traditions. Elements of Tantric yoga rituals were adopted by and
influenced state functions in medieval Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in East and Southeast
Asia.[201][202]

By the turn of the first millennium, hatha yoga emerged from tantra.[14][15]

Vajrayana Buddhism

Main article: Vajrayana

Vajrayana is also known as Tantric Buddhism and Tantrayāna. Its texts were compiled
starting with 7th century and Tibetan translations were completed in 8th century CE. These
tantra yoga texts were the main source of Buddhist knowledge that was imported into
Tibet.[203] They were later translated into Chinese and other Asian languages, helping spread
ideas of Tantric Buddhism. The Buddhist text Hevajra Tantra and Caryāgiti introduced
hierarchies of chakras.[204] Yoga is a significant practice in Tantric Buddhism.[61][205][206]

Hatha Yoga

Main articles: Hatha yoga and Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The earliest references to hatha yoga are in Buddhist works dating from the eighth
century.[207] The earliest definition of hatha yoga is found in the 11th century Buddhist text
Vimalaprabha, which defines it in relation to the center channel, bindu etc.[208] Hatha yoga
synthesizes elements of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras with posture and breathing exercises.[209] It
marks the development of asanas (plural) into the full body 'postures' now in popular
usage[210] and, along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate
with the word yoga today.[211]
Sikhism

Various yogic groups had become prominent in Punjab in the 15th and 16th century, when
Sikhism was in its nascent stage. Compositions of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism,
describe many dialogues he had with Jogis, a Hindu community which practiced yoga.[212]
Guru Nanak rejected the austerities, rites and rituals connected with Hatha Yoga.[213] He
propounded the path of Sahaja yoga or Nama yoga (meditation on the name) instead.[214] The
Guru Granth Sahib states:

Listen "O Yogi, Nanak tells nothing but the truth. You must discipline your mind. The
devotee must meditate on the Word Divine. It is His grace which brings about the union. He
understands, he also sees. Good deeds help one merge into Divination."[215]

Modern history

Reception in the West

Various yoga asanas

Yoga came to the attention of an educated western public in the mid-19th century along with
other topics of Indian philosophy. In the context of this budding interest, N. C. Paul published
his Treatise on Yoga Philosophy in 1851.

The first Hindu teacher to actively advocate and disseminate aspects of yoga to a western
audience, Swami Vivekananda, toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s.[216] The
reception which Swami Vivekananda received built on the active interest of intellectuals, in
particular the New England Transcendentalists, among them R. W. Emerson (1803–1882),
who drew on German Romanticism and the interest of philosophers and scholars like G.W.F.
Hegel (1770–1831), the brothers August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845) and Karl Wilhelm
Friedrich Schlegel (1772–1829), Max Mueller (1823–1900), Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–
1860) and others who had (to varying degrees) interests in things Indian.[217]

Australia's Bette Calman is the oldest female yoga teacher at 83 years old. She teaches at the
Indian mental and physical discipline of yoga. [218]

Theosophists also had a large influence on the American public's view of Yoga.[219] Esoteric
views current at the end of the 19th century provided a further basis for the reception of
Vedanta and of Yoga with its theory and practice of correspondence between the spiritual and
the physical.[220] The reception of Yoga and of Vedanta thus entwined with each other and
with the (mostly Neoplatonism-based) currents of religious and philosophical reform and
transformation throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. M. Eliade, himself rooted in the
Romanian currents of these traditions,[citation needed] brought a new element into the reception of
Yoga with the strong emphasis on Tantric Yoga in his seminal book: Yoga: Immortality and
Freedom.[note 22] With the introduction of the Tantra traditions and philosophy of Yoga, the
conception of the "transcendent" to be attained by Yogic practice shifted from experiencing
the "transcendent" ("Atman-Brahman" in Advaitic theory) in the mind to the body itself.[221]

The American born yogi by the name of Pierre Arnold Bernard, after his travels through the
lands of Kashmir and Bengal, founded the Tantrik Order of America in 1905. His teachings
gave many westerners their first glimpse into the practices of yoga and tantra.[222]

The modern scientific study of yoga began with the works of N. C. Paul and Major D. Basu
in the late 19th century, and then continued in the 20th century with Sri Yogendra (1897–
1989) and Swami Kuvalayananda.[223] Western medical researchers came to Swami
Kuvalayananda's Kaivalyadhama Health and Yoga Research Center, starting in 1928, to
study Yoga as a science.[224]

The West,[clarification needed] in the early 21st century typically associates the term "yoga" with
Hatha yoga and its asanas (postures) or as a form of exercise.[225] During the 1910s and 1920s
in the USA, yoga suffered a period of bad publicity due largely to the backlash against
immigration, a rise in puritanical values, and a number of scandals.[examples needed] In the 1930s
and 1940s yoga began to gain more public acceptance as a result of celebrity
endorsement.[citation needed] In the 1950s the United States saw another period of paranoia
against yoga,[219] but by the 1960s, western interest in Hindu spirituality reached its peak,
giving rise to a great number of Neo-Hindu schools specifically advocated to a western
public. During this period, most of the influential Indian teachers of yoga came from two
lineages, those of Sivananda Saraswati (1887–1963) and of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya
(1888–1989).[226] Teachers of Hatha yoga who were active in the west in this period included
B.K.S. Iyengar (1918–2014), K. Pattabhi Jois (1915–2009), Swami Vishnu-devananda
(1927–1993), and Swami Satchidananda (1914–2002).[227][228][229] Yogi Bhajan brought
Kundalini Yoga to the United States in 1969.[230] Comprehensive, classical teachings of
Ashtanga Yoga, Samkhya, the subtle body theory, Fitness Asanas, and tantric elements were
included in the yoga teachers training by Baba Hari Dass (1923–), in the United States and
Canada.[231]

A second "yoga boom" followed in the 1980s, as Dean Ornish, a follower of Swami
Satchidananda, connected yoga to heart health, legitimizing yoga as a purely physical system
of health exercises outside of counter-culture or esotericism circles, and unconnected to any
religious denomination.[216] Numerous asanas seemed modern in origin, and strongly
overlapped with 19th and early-20th century Western exercise traditions.[232]

A group of people practicing yoga in 2012.

Since 2001, the popularity of yoga in the USA has risen constantly. The number of people
who practiced some form of yoga has grown from 4 million (in 2001) to 20 million (in 2011).
It has drawn support from world leaders such as Barack Obama who stated, "Yoga has
become a universal language of spiritual exercise in the United States, crossing many lines of
religion and cultures,... Every day, millions of people practice yoga to improve their health
and overall well-being. That's why we're encouraging everyone to take part in PALA
(Presidential Active Lifestyle Award), so show your support for yoga and answer the
challenge".[233]

The American College of Sports Medicine supports the integration of yoga into the exercise
regimens of healthy individuals as long as properly-trained professionals deliver instruction.
The College cites yoga's promotion of "profound mental, physical and spiritual awareness"
and its benefits as a form of stretching, and as an enhancer of breath control and of core
strength.[234]

Exercise and health applications

Main article: Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine

Yoga has been studied and is increasingly recommended to promote relaxation, reduce stress
and some medical conditions such as premenstrual syndrome in Europe as well as in the
United States.[235] According to Dupler and Frey, Yoga is a low-impact activity that can
provide the same benefits as "any well-designed exercise program, increasing general health
and stamina, reducing stress, and improving those conditions brought about by sedentary
lifestyles". It is particularly suited, add Dupler and Frey, as a physical therapy routine, and as
a regimen to strengthen and balance all parts of the body.[235] Yoga has also been used as a
complete exercise program and physical therapy routine.[235]

In 2015 the Australian Government's Department of Health published the results of a review
of alternative therapies that sought to determine if any were suitable for being covered by
health insurance; Yoga was one of 17 practices evaluated for which no clear evidence of
effectiveness was found, with the caveat that "Reviewers were limited in drawing definite
conclusions, not only due to a lack of studies for some clinical conditions, but also due to the
lack of information reported in the reviews and potentially in the primary studies."[236]

While the practice of yoga continues to rise in contemporary American culture, sufficient and
adequate knowledge of the practice's origins does not. According to Andrea R. Jain, Yoga is
being marketed as a supplement to a cardio routine with health benefits, but in Hinduism it is
more than exercise and incorporates meditation with spiritual benefits.[237]

Potential benefits for adults

While much of the medical community regards the results of yoga research as significant,
others point to many flaws which undermine results. Much of the research on yoga has taken
the form of preliminary studies or clinical trials of low methodological quality, including
small sample sizes, inadequate blinding, lack of randomization, and high risk of
bias.[238][239][240] Long-term yoga users in the United States have reported musculoskeletal and
mental health improvements, as well as reduced symptoms of asthma in asthmatics.[241] There
is evidence to suggest that regular yoga practice increases brain GABA levels, and yoga has
been shown to improve mood and anxiety more than some other metabolically-matched
exercises, such as walking.[242][243] The three main focuses of Hatha yoga (exercise, breathing,
and meditation) make it beneficial to those suffering from heart disease. Overall, studies of
the effects of yoga on heart disease suggest that yoga may reduce high blood-pressure,
improve symptoms of heart failure, enhance cardiac rehabilitation, and lower cardiovascular
risk factors.[244] For chronic low back pain, specialist Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs has
been found 30% more beneficial than usual care alone in a UK clinical trial.[245] Other smaller
studies support this finding.[246][247] The Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs programme is the
dominant treatment for society (both cheaper and more effective than usual care alone) due to
8.5 fewer days off work each year.[248] A research group from Boston University School of
Medicine also tested yoga's effects on lower-back pain. Over twelve weeks, one group of
volunteers practiced yoga while the control group continued with standard treatment for back
pain. The reported pain for yoga participants decreased by one third, while the standard
treatment group had only a five percent drop. Yoga participants also had a drop of 80% in the
use of pain medication.[249]

There has been an emergence of studies investigating yoga as a complementary intervention

for cancer patients. Yoga is used for treatment of cancer patients to decrease depression,
insomnia, pain, and fatigue and to increase anxiety control.[250] Mindfulness Based Stress
Reduction (MBSR) programs include yoga as a mind-body technique to reduce stress. A
study found that after seven weeks the group treated with yoga reported significantly less
mood disturbance and reduced stress compared to the control group. Another study found that
MBSR had showed positive effects on sleep anxiety, quality of life, and spiritual growth in
cancer patients.[251]

Yoga has also been studied as a treatment for schizophrenia.[252] Some encouraging, but
inconclusive, evidence suggests that yoga as a complementary treatment may help alleviate
symptoms of schizophrenia and improve health-related quality of life.[20]

Implementation of the Kundalini Yoga Lifestyle has shown to help substance abuse addicts
increase their quality of life according to psychological questionnaires like the Behavior and
Symptom Identification Scale and the Quality of Recovery Index.[253]

Yoga has been shown in a study to have some cognitive functioning (executive functioning,
including inhibitory control) acute benefit.[254]

A 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis found no evidence that yoga was effective for
metabolic syndrome.[255]
Physical injuries

See also: Sports injury

A small percentage of yoga practitioners each year suffer physical injuries analogous to
sports injuries;[256] therefore, caution and common sense are recommended.[257] Yoga has
been criticized for being potentially dangerous and being a cause for a range of serious
medical conditions including thoracic outlet syndrome, degenerative arthritis of the cervical
spine, spinal stenosis, retinal tears, damage to the common fibular nerve, "Yoga foot
drop,"[258] etc. An exposé of these problems by William Broad published in January, 2012 in
The New York Times Magazine[259] resulted in controversy within the international yoga
community. Broad, a science writer, yoga practitioner, and author of The Science of Yoga:
The Risks and the Rewards,[260] had suffered a back injury while performing a yoga
posture.[261] Torn muscles, knee injuries,[262] and headaches are common ailments which may
result from yoga practice.[263]

An extensive survey of yoga practitioners in Australia showed that about 20% had suffered
some physical injury while practicing yoga. In the previous 12 months 4.6% of the
respondents had suffered an injury producing prolonged pain or requiring medical treatment.
Headstands, shoulder stands, lotus and half lotus (seated cross-legged position), forward
bends, backward bends, and handstands produced the greatest number of injuries.[256]

Some yoga practitioners do not recommend certain yoga exercises for women during
menstruation, for pregnant women, or for nursing mothers. However, meditation, breathing
exercises, and certain postures which are safe and beneficial for women in these categories
are encouraged.[264]

Among the main reasons that experts cite for causing negative effects from yoga are
beginners' competitiveness and instructors' lack of qualification. As the demand for yoga
classes grows, many people get certified to become yoga instructors, often with relatively
little training. Not every newly certified instructor can evaluate the condition of every new
trainee in their class and recommend refraining from doing certain poses or using appropriate
props to avoid injuries. In turn, a beginning yoga student can overestimate the abilities of
their body and strive to do advanced poses before their body is flexible or strong enough to
perform them.[259][263]

Vertebral artery dissection, a tear in the arteries in the neck which provide blood to the brain
can result from rotation of the neck while the neck is extended. This can occur in a variety of
contexts, but is an event which could occur in some yoga practices. This is a very serious
condition which can result in a stroke.[265][266]

Acetabular labral tears, damage to the structure joining the femur and the hip, have been
reported to have resulted from yoga practice.[267]

Pediatrics

It is claimed that yoga can be an excellent training for children and adolescents, both as a
form of physical exercise and for breathing, focus, mindfulness, and stress relief: many
school districts have considered incorporating yoga into their P.E. programs. The Encinitas,
California school district gained a San Diego Superior Court Judge's approval to use yoga in
P.E., holding against the parents who claimed the practice was intrinsically religious and
hence should not be part of a state funded program.[268]

Physiology

Seven chakras of a yogin

Main article: Yoga physiology

Over time, an extended yoga physiology developed, especially within the tantric tradition and
hatha yoga. It pictures humans as composed of three bodies or five sheaths which cover the
atman. The three bodies are described within the Mandukya Upanishad, which adds a fourth
state, turiya, while the five sheaths (pancha-kosas) are described in the Taittiriya
Upanishad.[269] They are often integrated:

1. Sthula sarira, the Gross body, comprising the Annamaya Kosha[270]

2. Suksma sarira, the Subtle body, composed of;
1. the Pranamaya Kosha (Vital breath or Energy),
2. Manomaya Kosha (Mind)
3. the Vijnanamaya Kosha (Intellect)[270]
3. Karana sarira, the Causal body, comprising the Anandamaya Kosha (Bliss)[270]

Within the subtle body energy flows through the nadis or channels, and is concentrated
within the chakras.

Yoga and specialized meditation

Main articles: Dhyāna in Buddhism, Dhyana in Hinduism, and Samadhi

Zen Buddhism

Zen, the name of which derives from the Sanskrit "dhyāna" via the Chinese "ch'an"[note 23] is a
form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana school of Buddhism is noted for its proximity
with yoga.[272] In the west, Zen is often set alongside yoga; the two schools of meditation
display obvious family resemblances.[273] This segregation deserves attention because yogic
practices integrally exist within the Zen Buddhist school.[note 24] Certain essential elements of
yoga are important both for Buddhism in general and for Zen in particular.[274]

Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism

In the Nyingma tradition, the path of meditation practice is divided into nine yanas, or
vehicles, which are said to be increasingly profound.[275] The last six are described as "yoga
yanas": "Kriya yoga", "Upa yoga," "Yoga yana," "Mahā yoga," "Anu yoga" and the ultimate
practice, "Ati yoga."[276] The Sarma traditions also include Kriya, Upa (called "Charya"), and
Yoga, with the Anuttara yoga class substituting for Mahayoga and Atiyoga.[277]

Other tantra yoga practices include a system of 108 bodily postures practiced with breath and
heart rhythm. The Nyingma tradition also practices Yantra yoga (Tib. "Trul khor"), a
discipline that includes breath work (or pranayama), meditative contemplation and precise
dynamic movements to centre the practitioner.[278] The body postures of Tibetan ancient
yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama's summer temple of Lukhang. A semi-
popular account of Tibetan yoga by Chang (1993) refers to caṇḍalī (Tib. "tummo"), the
generation of heat in one's own body, as being "the very foundation of the whole of Tibetan
yoga."[279] Chang also claims that Tibetan yoga involves reconciliation of apparent polarities,
such as prana and mind, relating this to theoretical implications of tantrism.

Reception in other religions

Christianity

Main articles: Christian meditation, A Christian reflection on the New Age, and Aspects of
Christian meditation

Some Christians integrate yoga and other aspects of Eastern spirituality with prayer and
meditation. This has been attributed to a desire to experience God in a more complete
way.[280] In 2013, Monsignor Raffaello Martinelli, servicing Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith, having worked for over 23 years with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict
XVI),[281] said that for his Meditation, a Christian can learn from other religious traditions
(zen, yoga, controlled respiration, Mantra), quoting Aspects of Christian meditation: "Just as
"the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions," neither
should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the
contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer,
its logic and requirements are never obscured. It is within the context of all of this that these
bits and pieces should be taken up and expressed anew."[282] Previously, the Roman Catholic
Church, and some other Christian organizations have expressed concerns and disapproval
with respect to some eastern and New Age practices that include yoga and
meditation.[283][284][285]

In 1989 and 2003, the Vatican issued two documents: Aspects of Christian meditation and "A
Christian reflection on the New Age," that were mostly critical of eastern and New Age
practices. The 2003 document was published as a 90-page handbook detailing the Vatican's
position.[286] The Vatican warned that concentration on the physical aspects of meditation
"can degenerate into a cult of the body" and that equating bodily states with mysticism "could
also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations." Such has been compared
to the early days of Christianity, when the church opposed the gnostics' belief that salvation
came not through faith but through a mystical inner knowledge.[280] The letter also says, "one
can see if and how [prayer] might be enriched by meditation methods developed in other
religions and cultures"[287] but maintains the idea that "there must be some fit between the
nature of [other approaches to] prayer and Christian beliefs about ultimate reality."[280] Some
fundamentalist Christian organizations consider yoga to be incompatible with their religious
background, considering it a part of the New Age movement inconsistent with
Christianity.[288]

Another view holds that Christian meditation can lead to religious pluralism. This is held by
an interdenominational association of Christians that practice it. "The ritual simultaneously
operates as an anchor that maintains, enhances, and promotes denominational activity and a
sail that allows institutional boundaries to be crossed." [289]

Islam

In early 11th century, the Persian scholar Al Biruni visited India, lived with Hindus for 16
years, and with their help translated several significant Sanskrit works into Arabic and
Persian languages. One of these was Patanjali's Yogasutras.[290][291] Al Biruni's translation
preserved many of the core themes of Patañjali 's Yoga philosophy, but certain sutras and
analytical commentaries were restated making it more consistent with Islamic monotheistic
theology.[290][292] Al Biruni's version of Yoga Sutras reached Persia and Arabian peninsula by
about 1050 AD. Later, in the 16th century, the hath yoga text Amritakunda was translated
into Arabic and then Persian.[293] Yoga was, however, not accepted by mainstream Sunni and
Shia Islam. Minority Islamic sects such as the mystic Sufi movement, particularly in South
Asia, adopted Indian yoga practises, including postures and breath control.[294][295]
Muhammad Ghawth, a Shattari Sufi and one of the translators of yoga text in 16th century,
drew controversy for his interest in yoga and was persecuted for his Sufi beliefs.[296]

Malaysia's top Islamic body in 2008 passed a fatwa, prohibiting Muslims from practicing
yoga, saying it had elements of Hinduism and that its practice was blasphemy, therefore
haraam.[297] Some Muslims in Malaysia who had been practicing yoga for years, criticized the
decision as "insulting."[298] Sisters in Islam, a women's rights group in Malaysia, also
expressed disappointment and said yoga was just a form of exercise.[299] This fatwa is legally
enforceable.[300] However, Malaysia's prime minister clarified that yoga as physical exercise
is permissible, but the chanting of religious mantras is prohibited.[301]

In 2009, the Council of Ulemas, an Islamic body in Indonesia, passed a fatwa banning yoga
on the grounds that it contains Hindu elements.[302] These fatwas have, in turn, been criticized
by Darul Uloom Deoband, a Deobandi Islamic seminary in India.[303] Similar fatwas banning
yoga, for its link to Hinduism, were issued by the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa in Egypt in 2004,
and by Islamic clerics in Singapore earlier.[304]

In Iran, as of May 2014, according to its Yoga Association, there were approximately 200
yoga centres in the country, a quarter of them in the capital Tehran, where groups can often
be seen practising in parks. This has been met by opposition among conservatives.[305] In May
2009, Turkey's head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, Ali Bardakoğlu, discounted
personal development techniques such as reiki and yoga as commercial ventures that could
lead to extremism. His comments were made in the context of reiki and yoga possibly being a
form of proselytization at the expense of Islam.[306]

International Day of Yoga

On 11 December 2014, The 193-member United Nations General Assembly approved by
consensus, a resolution establishing 21 June as 'International Day of Yoga'.[307] The
declaration of this day came after the call for the adoption of 21 June as International Day of
Yoga by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to UN General Assembly
on 27 September 2014.[308][309][310][311][312] In suggesting 21 June, which is one of the two
solstices, as the International Day of Yoga, Narendra Modi had said that the date is the
longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and has special significance in many
parts of the world.[313]

The first International Day of Yoga was observed world over on 21 June 2015. About 35000
people, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a large number of dignitaries,
performed 21 Yoga asanas (yoga postures) for 35 minutes at Rajpath in New Delhi. The day
devoted to Yoga was observed by millions across the world.[314] The event at Rajpath
established two Guinness records – largest Yoga Class with 35985 people and the record for
the most nationalities participating in it- eighty four.[315]

See also

 Yoga portal

 Hinduism portal
 India portal

 Yoga physiology
 List of asanas
 List of yoga schools
 Yoga series
 Yogis

Notes
1.

 Karel Werner states that the existence of accomplished Yogis in Vedic times cannot be
doubted, citing the Kesin hymn of the Rigveda as evidence of a Yoga tradition in the Vedic
era.[7]
  Buddhists, Jainas and Ajivikas[8]
  For instance, Kamalashila (2003), p. 4, states that Buddhist meditation "includes any
method of meditation that has Enlightenment as its ultimate aim." Likewise, Bodhi (1999)
writes: "To arrive at the experiential realization of the truths it is necessary to take up the
practice of meditation.... At the climax of such contemplation the mental eye … shifts its
focus to the unconditioned state, Nibbana...." A similar although in some ways slightly
broader definition is provided by Fischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 142: "Meditation –
general term for a multitude of religious practices, often quite different in method, but all
having the same goal: to bring the consciousness of the practitioner to a state in which he can
come to an experience of 'awakening,' 'liberation,' 'enlightenment.'" Kamalashila (2003)
further allows that some Buddhist meditations are "of a more preparatory nature" (p. 4).
  The Pāli and Sanskrit word bhāvanā literally means "development" as in "mental
development." For the association of this term with "meditation," see Epstein (1995), p. 105;
and, Fischer-Schreiber et al. (1991), p. 20. As an example from a well-known discourse of
the Pali Canon, in "The Greater Exhortation to Rahula" (Maha-Rahulovada Sutta, MN 62),
Ven. Sariputta tells Ven. Rahula (in Pali, based on VRI, n.d.): ānāpānassatiṃ, rāhula,
bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi. Thanissaro (2006) translates this as: "Rahula, develop the meditation
[bhāvana] of mindfulness of in-&-out breathing." (Square-bracketed Pali word included
based on Thanissaro, 2006, end note.)
  See, for example, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), entry for "jhāna1"; Thanissaro
(1997); as well as, Kapleau (1989), p. 385, for the derivation of the word "zen" from Sanskrit
"dhyāna." PTS Secretary Dr. Rupert Gethin, in describing the activities of wandering ascetics
contemporaneous with the Buddha, wrote:
"...[T]here is the cultivation of meditative and contemplative techniques aimed at
producing what might, for the lack of a suitable technical term in English, be referred
to as 'altered states of consciousness'. In the technical vocabulary of Indian religious
texts such states come to be termed 'meditations' ([Skt.:] dhyāna / [Pali:] jhāna) or
'concentrations' (samādhi); the attainment of such states of consciousness was
generally regarded as bringing the practitioner to deeper knowledge and experience of
the nature of the world." (Gethin, 1998, p. 10.)
  Gavin Flood: "These renouncer traditions offered a new vision of the human condition
which became incorporated, to some degree, into the worldview of the Brahman householder.
The ideology of asceticism and renunciation seems, at first, discontinuous with the
brahmanical ideology of the affirmation of social obligations and the performance of public
and domestic rituals. Indeed, there has been some debate as to whether asceticism and its
ideas of retributive action, reincarnation and spiritual liberation, might not have originated
outside the orthodox vedic sphere, or even outside Aryan culture: that a divergent historical
origin might account for the apparent contradiction within 'Hinduism' between the world
affirmation of the householder and the world negation of the renouncer. However, this
dichotomization is too simplistic, for continuities can undoubtedly be found between
renunciation and vedic Brahmanism, while elements from non-Brahmanical, Sramana
traditions also played an important part in the formation of the renunciate ideal. Indeed there
are continuities between vedic Brahmanism and Buddhism, and it has been argued that the
Buddha sought to return to the ideals of a vedic society which he saw as being eroded in his
own day."[72]
  See also Gavin Flood (1996), Hinduism, p.87–90, on "The orthogenetic theory" and
"Non-Vedic origins of renunciation".[67]
  Post-classical traditions consider Hiranyagarbha as the originator of yoga.[79][80]
  Zimmer's point of view is supported by other scholars, such as Niniam Smart, in
Doctrine and argument in Indian Philosophy, 1964, p.27–32 & p.76,[84] and S.K. Belvakar &
Inchegeri Sampradaya in History of Indian philosophy, 1974 (1927), p.81 & p.303–409.[84]
See Crangle 1994 page 5–7.[85]
  Original Sanskrit: ययययययय यय यय ययययययय यययय यययययय
यययययययय ययययय यययययययययय यय यययययय ययय यययययययययय
यययययय यययययय यययययय ययययययययययययय[88]
Translation 1: Seers of the vast illumined seer yogically [ययययययय, yunjante] control
their minds and their intelligence... (…)[86]
Translation 2: The illumined yoke their mind and they yoke their thoughts to the
illuminating godhead, to the vast, to the luminous in consciousness;
the one knower of all manifestation of knowledge, he alone orders the things of the sacrifice.
Great is the praise of Savitri, the creating godhead.[87]
  Flood: "...which states that, having become calm and concentrated, one perceives the self
(atman), within oneself."[89]
  Original Sanskrit: यययययययययययययययय यययययययययययययययययययय
ययययययययययययययय ययययययययययययययययययययययययय
ययययययययययययय यययययययययय य ययययययय यययययययययययययययय
यययययययययययययययययययय य य ययययययययययय य य
यययययययययययय यय – Chandogya Upanishad, VIII.15[91]
Translation 1 by Max Muller, The Upanishads, The Sacred Books of the East – Part 1,
Oxford University Press: (He who engages in) self study, concentrates all his senses on the
Self, never giving pain to any creature, except at the tîrthas, he who behaves thus all his life,
reaches the world of Brahman, and does not return, yea, he does not return.
[92]

   Jacobsen writes that "Bodily postures are closely related to the tradition of tapas,
ascetic practices in the Vedic tradition. The use by Vedic priests of ascetic practices in
their preparations for the performance of the sacrifice might be precursor to Yoga."[81]
 Whicher believes that "the proto-Yoga of the Vedic rishis is an early form of
sacrificial mysticism and contains many elements characteristic of later Yoga that
include: concentration, meditative observation, ascetic forms of practice (tapas),
breath control..."[82]

  * Wynne states that "The Nasadiyasukta, one of the earliest and most important
cosmogonic tracts in the early Brahminic literature, contains evidence suggesting it was
closely related to a tradition of early Brahminic contemplation. A close reading of this text
suggests that it was closely related to a tradition of early Brahminic contemplation. The poem
may have been composed by contemplatives, but even if not, an argument can be made that it
marks the beginning of the contemplative/meditative trend in Indian thought."[95]

 Miller suggests that the composition of Nasadiya Sukta and Purusha Sukta arises
from "the subtlest meditative stage, called absorption in mind and heart" which
"involves enheightened experiences" through which seer "explores the mysterious
psychic and cosmic forces...".[96]
 Jacobsen writes that dhyana (meditation) is derived from Vedic term dhih which
refers to "visionary insight", "thought provoking vision".[96]

  Ancient Indian literature was transmitted and preserved through an oral tradition.[98] For
example, the earliest written Pali Canon text is dated to the later part of 1st century BCE,
many centuries after the Buddha's death.[99]
  For the date of this Upanishad see also Helmuth von Glasenapp, from the 1950
Proceedings of the "Akademie der Wissenschaften und Literatur"[103]
  The currently existing version of Vaiśeṣika Sūtra manuscript was likely finalized
sometime between 2nd century BCE and the start of the common era.[113] Wezler has
proposed that the Yoga related text may have been inserted into this Sutra later, among other
things; however, Bronkhorst finds much to disagree on with Wezler.[114]
  On the dates of the Pali canon, Gregory Schopen writes, "We know, and have known for
some time, that the Pali canon as we have it — and it is generally conceded to be our oldest
source — cannot be taken back further than the last quarter of the first century BCE, the date
of the Alu-vihara redaction, the earliest redaction we can have some knowledge of, and that
— for a critical history — it can serve, at the very most, only as a source for the Buddhism of
this period. But we also know that even this is problematic... In fact, it is not until the time of
the commentaries of Buddhaghosa, Dhammapala, and others — that is to say, the fifth to
sixth centuries CE — that we can know anything definite about the actual contents of [the
Pali] canon."[132]
  Werner writes, "The word Yoga appears here for the first time in its fully technical
meaning, namely as a systematic training, and it already received a more or less clear
formulation in some other middle Upanishads....Further process of the systematization of
Yoga as a path to the ultimate mystic goal is obvious in subsequent Yoga Upanishads and the
culmination of this endeavour is represented by Patanjali's codification of this path into a
system of the eightfold Yoga."[160]
  Worthington writes, "Yoga fully acknowledges its debt to Jainism, and Jainism
reciprocates by making the practice of yoga part and parcel of life."[191]
  The earliest documented use of the word "Tantra" is in the Rigveda (X.71.9).[200] The
context of use suggests the word tantra in Rigveda means "technique".
  Eliade, Mircea, Yoga – Immortality and Freedom, Princeton, 1958: Princeton Univ.Pr.
(original title: Le Yoga. Immortalité et Liberté, Paris, 1954: Libr. Payot)
  "The Meditation school, called 'Ch'an' in Chinese from the Sanskrit 'dhyāna,' is best
known in the West by the Japanese pronunciation 'Zen'"[271]

24.  Exact quote: "This phenomenon merits special attention since yogic roots are to be
found in the Zen Buddhist school of meditation."[274]

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  See Burley, page 73.
  See Introduction by Rosen, pp 1–2.
  See translation by Mallinson.
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  Samuel 2008, p. 9.
  Mukunda Stiles, Tantra Yoga Secrets, Weiser, ISBN 978-1-57863-503-0, pages 3–7
  Flood 1996, p. 87–90.
  Crangle 1994, p. 4–7.
  Zimmer 1951, p. 217, 314.
  Samuel 2010.
  Flood 1996, p. 77.
  Flood 1996, p. 76–77.
  Larson, p. 36.
  Samuel 2008, p. 2–3.
  Possehl (2003), pp. 144–145
  Samuel 2010, p. 2–10.
  Crangle 1994, p. 4.
  Crangle 1994, p. 5.
  Feuerstein, Georg (2001). The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and
Practice. Arizona, USA: Hohm Press. p. Kindle Locations 7299–7300. ISBN 978-1-890772-
18-5.
  Aranya, Swami Hariharananda (2000). "Introduction". Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali
with Bhasvati. Calcutta, India: University of Calcutta. p. xxiv. ISBN 81-87594-00-4.
  Jacobsen, p. 6.
  Whicher, p. 12.
  Zimmer 1951, p. 217.
  Crangle 1994, p. 7.
  Crangle 1994, p. 5–7.
  Burley, Mikel (2000). Hatha Yoga: Its Context, Theory and Practice. Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass. p. 25. ISBN 978-8120817067.
  Sri Aurobindo (1916, Reprinted 1995), A Hymn to Savitri V.81, in The Secret of Veda,
ISBN 978-0-914955-19-1, page 529
  Sanskrit:
Source: Rigveda Book 5, Chapter 81 Wikisource
  Flood 1996, p. 94–95.
  Mircea Eliade (2009), Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press,
ISBN 978-0-691-14203-6, pages 117–118
  wikisource, Chandogya Upanishad, यययययययययययययय ययययययय
यययययय
  Translation 2 by GN Jha: Chandogya Upanishad VIII.15, page 488
  Flood, p. 94–95.
  Whicher, p. 13.
  Wynne, p. 50.
  Whicher, p. 11.
  Larson, p. 34–35, 53.
  Wynne, Alexander (2004). "The Oral Transmission of the Early Buddhist Literature".
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. 27 (1): 97–128.
  Donald Lopez (2004). Buddhist Scriptures. Penguin Books. pp. xi–xv. ISBN 978-0-14-
190937-0
  Flood 1996, p. 95.
  Stephen Phillips (2009). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy.
Columbia University Press. pp. 28–30. ISBN 978-0-231-14485-8.
  Patrick Olivelle (1998). The Early Upanishads: Annotated Text and Translation. Oxford
University Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-19-512435-4.
  "Vedanta and Buddhism, A Comparative Study". Archived from the original on 4
February 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  Whicher, p. 18–19.
  Jacobsen, p. 8.
  White 2011, p. 4.
  See: Original Sanskrit: Shvetashvatara Upanishad Book 2, Hymns 8–14;
English Translation: Paul Deussen (German: 1897; English Translated by Bedekar & Palsule,
Reprint: 2010), Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-
8120814677, pages 309–310
Secondary Source Review: Mark Singleton (2010), Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern
Posture Practice, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-539534-1, page 26
  Feuerstein, Georg (January–February 1988). "Introducing Yoga's Great Literary
Heritage". Yoga Journal (78): 70–5.
  TRS Ayyangar (1938), The Yoga Upanishads The Adyar Library, Madras
  David Gordon White (2011), Yoga in Practice, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-
0691140865, pages 97–112
  Bimal Krishna Matilal 1977, pp. 56-59.
  Jeaneane D. Fowler 2002, pp. 98-99.
  Bimal Krishna Matilal 1977, p. 54.
  Johannes Bronkhorst (1993). The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India. Motilal
Banarsidass. p. 64. ISBN 978-81-208-1114-0.
  Stephen Phillips (2009). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy.
Columbia University Press. pp. 281 footnote 36. ISBN 978-0-231-14485-8.
  Andrew J. Nicholson (2013). Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian
Intellectual History. Columbia University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-231-14987-7., Quote:
"From a historical perspective, the Brahmasutras are best understood as a group of sutras
composed by multiple authors over the course of hundreds of years, most likely composed in
its current form between 400 and 450 BCE."
  NV Isaeva (1992), Shankara and Indian Philosophy, State University of New York
Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-1281-7, page 36, Quote: ""on the whole, scholars are rather
unanimous, considering the most probable date for Brahmasutra sometime between the 2nd-
century BCE and the 2nd-century CE"
  Jeaneane Fowler (2002), Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of
Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1898723943, page 129
  B. K. Matilal (1986), "Perception. An Essay on Classical Indian Theories of
Knowledge", Oxford University Press, p. xiv.
  Stephen Phillips (2009). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy.
Columbia University Press. pp. 281 footnote 40, 297. ISBN 978-0-231-14485-8.
  SC Vidyabhushana (1913, Translator), The Nyâya Sutras, The Sacred Book of the
Hindus, Volume VIII, Bhuvaneshvar Asrama Press, pages 137–139
  Karl Potter (2004), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Indian metaphysics and
epistemology, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120803091, page 237
  Charles R Lanman, The Hindu Yoga System, Harvard Theological Review, Volume XI,
Number 4, Harvard University Press, pages 355–359
  Strabo, Geography Book XV, Chapter 1, see Sections 63–65, Loeb Classical Library
edition, Harvard University Press, Translator: HL Jones, Archived by: University of Chicago
  Karel Werner (1998), Yoga and the Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-
8120816091, page 131
  Samuel 2008, pp. 31–32.
  Mark Singleton (2010), Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Oxford
University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-539534-1, Chapter 1
  Bronkhorst, Johannes (1993), The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India,
Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120816435, pages 1–24
  White 2011, pp. 5–6.
  Douglass, Laura (2011). "Thinking Through The Body: The Conceptualization Of Yoga
As Therapy For Individuals With Eating Disorders". Academic Search Premier: 83.
Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  Datta, Amaresh (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: devraj to jyoti. Sahitya
Akademi. p. 1809. ISBN 978-81-260-1194-0.
  Wynne, pp. 3–4.
  Richard Gombrich, "Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to
Modern Colombo." Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988, p. 44.
  Barbara Stoler Miller, "Yoga: Discipline of Freedom: the Yoga Sutra Attributed to
Patanjali; a Translation of the Text, with Commentary, Introduction, and Glossary of
Keywords." University of California Press, 1996, p. 8.
  Mallinson, James. 2007. The Khecarīvidyā of Adinathā. London: Routledge. pg.17–19.
  James Mallinson, "Sāktism and Hathayoga," 6 March 2012. PDF file [accessed 10 June
2012] pgs. 20–21 "The Buddha himself is said to have tried both pressing his tongue to the
back of his mouth, in a manner similar to that of the hathayogic khecarīmudrā, and
ukkutikappadhāna, a squatting posture which may be related to hathayogic techniques such as
mahāmudrā, mahābandha, mahāvedha, mūlabandha, and vajrāsana in which pressure is put
on the perineum with the heel, in order to force upwards the breath or Kundalinī."
  Wynne, pp. 44–45,58.
  Whicher, p. 17.
  Jacobsen, p. 10.
  Flood, p. 96.
  Jacobsen, p. 10–11.
  E. Easwaran, Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, Nilgiri Press, ISBN 978-1-58638-068-7,
pages 117–118
  Jack Hawley (2011), The Bhagavad Gita, ISBN 978-1-60868-014-6, pages 50, 130;
Arvind Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press,
ISBN 978-0-19-564441-8, pages 114–122
  Bibek Debroy (2005), The Bhagavad Gita, Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-400068-5,
Introduction, pages x–xi
  Jacobsen, p. 46.; Georg Feuerstein (2011), The Bhagavad Gita – A New Translation,
Shambhala, ISBN 978-1-59030-893-6
  Whicher, p. 25–26.
  Jacobsen, p. 9.
  Wynne, p. 33.
  Original Sanskrit: यययययययय यययय ययययययय य ययययययययययययययय
|
English Translation: Arthasastra Book 1, Chapter 2 Kautiliya, R Shamasastry (Translator),
page 9
  Olivelle, Patrick (2013), King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya's
Arthasastra, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-989182-5, see Introduction
  Larson, p. 38.
  Radhankrishnan, Indian Philosophy, London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971 edition,
Volume II, p. 342.
  Mike Burley (2012), Classical Samkhya and Yoga – An Indian Metaphysics of
Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-64887-5, pages 31–46
  For yoga acceptance of samkhya concepts, but with addition of a category for God, see:
Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 453.
  Radhankrishnan, Indian Philosophy, London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971 edition,
Volume II, p. 344.
  Müller (1899), Chapter 7, "Yoga Philosophy," p. 104.
  Stiles 2001, p. x.
  For an overview of the six orthodox schools, with detail on the grouping of schools, see:
Radhakrishnan and Moore, "Contents," and pp. 453–487.
  For a brief overview of the yoga school of philosophy see: Chatterjee and Datta, p. 43.
  Werner, p. 24.
  Larson, pp. 43–45
  For Patanjali as the founder of the philosophical system called yoga see: Chatterjee and
Datta, p. 42.
  Larson, p. 21–22.
  For "raja yoga" as a system for control of the mind and connection to Patanjali's Yoga
Sutras as a key work, see: Flood (1996), pp. 96–98.
  For text and word-by-word translation as "Yoga is the inhibition of the modifications of
the mind." See: Taimni, p. 6.
  Vivekanada, p. 115.
  Bryant 2009, p. 10.
  Bryant 2009, p. 457.
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Samadhi Pada; Translation and Commentary. Santa Cruz, Californnia: Sri Rama Publishing.
p. 5. ISBN 0-918100-20-8.
  Baba Hari Dass (1999)
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  Arti Dhand (2002), The dharma of ethics, the ethics of dharma: Quizzing the ideals of
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Divinity, ISBN 978-8126909025, page 168
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8171566785, page 19
  N Tummers (2009), Teaching Yoga for Life, ISBN 978-0-7360-7016-4, pages 16–17
  Kaelber, W. O. (1976). "Tapas", Birth, and Spiritual Rebirth in the Veda, History of
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  SA Bhagwat (2008), Yoga and Sustainability. Journal of Yoga, Fall/Winter 2008, 7(1):
1–14
  John A. Grimes, A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in
English, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-3067-5, page 238
  Phillips, Stephen H. (1995). Classical Indian Metaphysics: Refutations of Realism and
the Emergence of "New Logic". Open Court Publishing. pp. 12–13.
  Larson (2008), p. 478.
  Yoga Journal, Active Interest Media, Inc., 2006, p. 121, ISSN 0191-0965
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Royal Asiatic Society. p. 105.
  Mohan, A.G. (2010). Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings. Shambhala
Publications. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-59030-800-4.
  Larson (2008), p. 479.
  Larson (2008), pp. 481–484
  Larson (2008), pp. 485–486
  Tattvarthasutra [6.2]
  Niyamasara [134–40]
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  Zydenbos (2006) p.66
  Worthington, p. 35.
  P. 313 The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana: A Reconsideration of the Classical Yoga By
Ian Whicher
  Dan Lusthaus. Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara
Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun. Published 2002 (Routledge). ISBN 0-7007-1186-4.
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  Cutler, Norman (1987). Songs of Experience. Indiana University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-
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  Banerjee, S.C., 1988.
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particular restraining bindu, semen, and making the breath enter the central channel, are
similar to those mentioned in the earliest descriptions of the practices of hathayoga, to which
I now turn."
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agreed that this ancient India religious teachings, which involves physical and mental
exercises, are Hinduism in nature known as wahdat al-wujud philosophy (oneness of
existence; the realization of identity between the Self in man, Atman; and the Divine,
BRAHMAN: ‘Brahman is all, and Atman is Brahman'). It is prohibited (haram) for Muslims
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  UN Declared 21 June as International Day of Yoga
  UN should adopt an International Yoga Day: Modi
  India leader proposes International Yoga Day
  PM Modi asks world leaders to adopt International Yoga Day
  Narendra Modi asks world leaders to adopt International Yoga Day
  UN-declares-June-21-as-International-Day-of-Yoga/articleshow/45480636.cms UN
Adopts 21 June as International Yoga Day]
  UN declares 21 June as 'International Day of Yoga'
  Massive turnout

315.  "PM Modi Leads Yoga Session, India Sets Guinness Records: 10
Developments". NDTV. Retrieved 21 June 2015.

Sources

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p. 66

Further reading
 De Michelis, Elizabeth (2005). A History of Modern Yoga. Continuum.

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