Yoga

2026-05-04T05:07:22Z

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{{Short description|Spiritual practices from ancient India}}
{{hatnote group|{{distinguish|Yoga as exercise|Yoga as therapy|Yoga (philosophy)}}{{other uses}}}}
{{Good article}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}
[[File:Shiva Bangalore .jpg |thumb |upright=1.2 |Statue of [[Shiva]] performing yoga in the [[lotus position]] ]]
{{Hinduism |schools}}
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}
'''Yoga'''{{efn|name="traditional_modern_yoga"}} (UK: {{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|ə|ʊ|g|ə}}, US: {{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|oʊ|g|ə}};{{sfn|OED|0000}} {{langx|sa|योग}} 'yoga' {{IPA|sa|joːɡɐ||audio=Yoga pronunciation.ogg}}; {{literally|yoke|union}}) is a group of [[Asana|physical]], mental, and [[Spirituality#Asian traditions|spiritual]] practices or disciplines that originated with [[Yoga (philosophy)|its own philosophy]] in [[History of India|ancient India]], aimed at controlling body and mind to attain liberation ([[moksha]]),{{sfn|Bowker|2000 |p=entry "Yoga"}}{{sfn|Keown|2004|p=entry "Yoga"}}{{sfn|Johnson|2009|p=entry "Yoga"}}{{efn|name="two_definitions"}} as practiced in the [[Hinduism|Hindu]], [[Jainism|Jain]], and [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] traditions.{{sfn|Carmody|Carmody|1996|p=68}}{{sfn|Sarbacker|2005|pp=1–2}} Modern forms of yoga are practiced worldwide,{{sfn|BBC|2017}} often mainly [[yoga as exercise|for exercise]] accompanied by other elements like relaxation.{{sfn|Burley|2000|pp=1–2}}{{sfn|De Michelis|2007}}

Yoga may have pre-[[Vedic period|Vedic]] origins,{{efn|Hindu-scholars have argued that Yoga has [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] Vedic origins and influenced Jainism and Buddhism.}} but it is first attested in the early first millennium BCE. It developed as various traditions in the eastern Ganges basin and drew from a common body of practices, including [[Vedas|Vedic]] elements.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|pp=1–6}}{{sfn|Crangle|1994|pp=103–138}} Yoga-like practices are mentioned in the ''[[Rigveda]]''{{sfn|Werner|1977}} and some early [[Upanishads]],{{sfn|Deussen|1997|p=556}}{{sfn|Ayyangar|1938|p=2}}{{sfn|Ruff|2011|pp=97–112}}{{efn|name="Katha_Upanishad"}} but systematic yoga concepts emerged during the fifth and sixth centuries BCE in ancient India's [[sannyasa|ascetic]] and [[Śramaṇa]] movements, including Jainism and Buddhism.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=8}} The ''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]]'', the classical text on Hindu yoga, [[samkhya]]-based but influenced by Buddhism, dates to the early centuries of the [[Common Era]].{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxxiv}}{{sfn|Desmarais|2008|p=16–17}}{{efn|name="YS_dating"}} [[Hatha yoga]] texts began to emerge between the ninth and 11th centuries, originating in [[Tantra]].{{efn|name="hatha_yoga_dating"}}

Much of the yoga in the Western world is a modern syncretised form consisting largely of [[asana]]s, derived from hatha yoga and western [[physical culture]];{{sfn|De Michelis|2007}}{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=4–8}} this differs from traditional yoga, which focuses on [[meditation]] and release from worldly attachments.{{sfn|King|1999|p=67}}{{sfn|Burley|2000|pp=1–2}}{{sfn|Jantos|2012|pp=362–363}}{{efn|name="traditional_modern_yoga"}} It was introduced by [[guru]]s from [[India]] after the success of [[Swami Vivekananda]]'s adaptation of yoga without asanas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.{{sfn|White|2011|p=xvi–xvii, 2}} Vivekananda introduced the ''Yoga Sutras'' to the West, and they became prominent after the 20th-century success of hatha yoga.{{sfn|White|2014|pp=xvi–xvii}} In 1925, [[Paramahansa Yogananda|Yogananda]] started a [[Kriya Yoga school|Kriya Yoga]] centre in [[Los Angeles]],<ref group=web name="Meares 2013"/> becoming one of the first yoga teachers in the United States.<ref group=web name ="TOI-Yogi-Param"/><ref group=web name="HF-Yogi 2012"/>

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== Etymology ==

[[File:Patanjali Statue.jpg |alt=Outdoor statue |thumb |A statue of [[Patanjali]], author of the ''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]]'', meditating in the [[lotus position]]]]

The [[Sanskrit]] noun {{lang|sa|योग}} ''{{IAST|yoga}}'' is derived from the root ''{{IAST|[[:wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/yewg-|yuj]]}}'' ({{lang|sa|युज्}}) "to attach, join, harness, yoke".{{sfn|Satyananda|2008|p=1}}{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=511}} According to Jones and Ryan, "The word yoga is derived from the root yuj, "to yoke", probably because the early practice concentrated on restraining or "yoking in" the senses. Later the name was also seen as a metaphor for "linking" or "yoking to" the divine."{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=511}}

Buswell and Lopez translate "yoga" as "'bond', 'restraint', and by extension "spiritual discipline."{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2014|p=entry "yoga"}} Flood refers to restraining the mind as yoking the mind.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=95}}

''Yoga'' is a [[cognate]] of the [[English language|English]] word "yoke," since both are derived from an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] root.{{sfn|White|2011|p=3}} According to [[Mikel Burley]], the first use of the root of the word "yoga" is in hymn 5.81.1 of the ''[[Rigveda]]'', a dedication to the rising Sun-god, where it has been interpreted as "yoke" or "control".{{sfn|Burley|2000|p=25}}{{sfn|Aurobindo|1995|p=529}}{{efn|Sanskrit: '''युञ्जते''' मन उत '''युञ्जते''' धियो विप्रा विप्रस्य बृहतो विपश्चितः। वि होत्रा दधे वयुनाविदेक इन्मही देवस्य सवितुः परिष्टुतिः॥१॥<ref>Sanskrit: [http://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_५.८१ Rigveda book 5, ch. 81]</ref> '''Translation 1''': Seers of the vast illumined seer yogically [युञ्जते, yunjante] control their minds and their intelligence... (…){{sfn|Burley|2000|p=25}} '''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.{{sfn|Aurobindo|1995|p=529}} }}

[[Pāṇini]] (4th c. BCE) wrote that the term ''yoga'' can be derived from either of two roots: ''yujir yoga'' (to yoke) or ''yuj samādhau'' ("to concentrate").{{sfn|Dasgupta|1975|p=226}} In the context of the ''Yoga Sutras'', the root ''yuj samādhau'' (to concentrate) is considered the correct etymology by traditional commentators.{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=5}} In accordance with Pāṇini, [[Vyasa]] (who wrote the first commentary on the ''Yoga Sutras''){{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxxix}} says that yoga means ''[[samadhi]]'' (concentration).{{sfn|Aranya|2000|p=1}} Larson notes that in the Vyāsa Bhāsy the term "samadhi" refers to "all levels of mental life" (sārvabhauma), that is, "all possible states of [[awareness]], whether ordinary or extraordinary".{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=29}}

A person who practices yoga, or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment, is called a [[yogi]]; a female yogi may also be known as a [[yogini]].<ref group=web name="AHD Yogi"/>

{{anchor|Definition in classic Indian texts}}

== Definition ==

=== In classical texts ===

The term "''yoga''" has been defined in different ways in Indian philosophical and religious traditions.

{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Source Text
!Approx. Date
!Definition of Yoga{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=17–23}}
|-
|''[[Maitrayaniya Upanishad]]''
| c. 4th century BCE
|"Because in this manner he joins the [[Prana]] (breath), the [[Om]], and this Universe in its manifold forms, or because they join themselves (to him), therefore this (process of meditation) is called Yoga (joining). The oneness of breath, mind, and senses, and then the surrendering of all conceptions, that is called Yoga"{{sfn|Müller|2013}}
|-
|[[Vaiśeṣika Sūtra|''Vaisesika sutra'']]
| c. 4th century BCE
|"Pleasure and suffering arise as a result of the drawing together of the sense organs, the mind and objects. When that does not happen because the mind is in the self, there is no pleasure or suffering for one who is embodied. That is yoga" (5.2.15–16)<ref>[[Vaiśeṣika Sūtra|''Vaisesika sutra'']], 5.2.15–16</ref>
|-
|''[[Katha Upanishad]]''
| last centuries BCE
|"When the five senses, along with the mind, remain still and the intellect is not active, that is known as the highest state. They consider yoga to be firm restraint of the senses. Then one becomes un-distracted for yoga is the arising and the passing away" (6.10–11)<ref>''[[Katha Upanishad]]'', 6.10–11</ref>
|-
|''[[Bhagavad Gita]]''
| c. 2nd century BCE
|"Be equal minded in both success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga" (2.48)
"Yoga is skill in action" (2.50)
"Know that which is called yoga to be separation from contact with suffering" (6.23)<ref>''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'', 2.48, 2.50, 6.23</ref>
|-
|''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]]''
|c. first centuries CE{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxxiv}}{{sfn|Desmarais|2008|p=16-17}}{{efn|name="YS_dating"}}
|1.2. ''yogas chitta vritti nirodhah'' – "Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of mind." 1.3. Then the [[Purusha|Seer]] is established in his own essential and fundamental nature. 1.4. In other states there is assimilation (of the Seer) with the modifications (of the mind).<ref>''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]]'', 1.2–4</ref>
|-
| ''Yogabhasya''
| same as ''Yoga Sutras''
| ''yoga samadhih'' - "samadhi is yoga,"{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=28}} referring to [[ekagrata]], one-pointedness, and ''niruddha'', that is, contentless [[samadhi]] (''asamprajnata-samadhi''){{sfn|Larson|2008|p=29}}
|-
|''[[Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra]] (Sravakabhumi)'', a [[Mahayana]] Buddhist [[Yogacara]] work
| 4th century CE
|"Yoga is fourfold: faith, aspiration, perseverance and means" (2.152)<ref>''[[Yogacarabhumi-sastra|Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra]] (Sravakabhumi)'', 2.152</ref>
|-
|Kaundinya's ''Pancarthabhasya'' on the ''[[Pashupata-sutra]]''
| 4th century CE
|"In this system, yoga is the union of the self and the Lord" (I.I.43)
|-
|''Yogaśataka'' a [[Jain]] work by [[Haribhadra Suri]]
| 6th century CE
|"With conviction, the lords of Yogins have in our doctrine defined yoga as the concurrence (''sambandhah'') of the three [correct knowledge (''sajjñana''), correct doctrine (''saddarsana'') and correct conduct (''saccaritra'')] beginning with correct knowledge, since [thereby arises] conjunction with [[Moksha|liberation]]....In common usage this [term] yoga also [denotes the Self's] contact with the causes of these [three], due to the common usage of the cause for the effect." (2, 4).<ref>''Yogaśataka'', 2, 4</ref>{{sfn|Vasudeva|p=241}}
|-
|''[[Linga Purana]]''
| {{nowrap|7th–10th century CE}}
|"By the word 'yoga' is meant [[nirvana]], the condition of [[Shiva]]." (I.8.5a)<ref>''[[Linga Purana]]'', I.8.5a</ref>
|-
|''[[Brahmasutra]]-bhasya'' of [[Adi Shankara]]
| c. 8th century CE
|"It is said in the treatises on yoga: 'Yoga is the means of perceiving reality' (''atha tattvadarsanabhyupāyo yogah'')" (2.1.3)<ref>''[[Brahmasutra]]-bhasya'', 2.1.3</ref>
|-
|''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra'', one of the primary authorities in non-dual [[Kashmir Shaivism]]
| 6th–10th century CE
|"Yoga is said to be the oneness of one entity with another." (4.4–8)<ref>''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra'', 4.4–8</ref>{{sfn|Vasudeva|pp=235–236}}
|-
|''Mrgendratantravrtti'', of the [[Shaiva Siddhanta]] scholar Narayanakantha
| 6th–10th century CE
|"To have self-mastery is to be a Yogin. The term Yogin means "one who is necessarily "conjoined with" the manifestation of his nature...the Siva-state (''sivatvam'')" (yp 2a)<ref>''Mrgendratantravrtti'', yp 2a</ref>{{sfn|Vasudeva|pp=235–236}}
|-
|''Śaradatilaka'' of Lakshmanadesikendra, a [[Shakta]] [[Tantra]] work
| 11th century CE
|"Yogic experts state that yoga is the oneness of the individual Self (jiva) with the [[Ātman (Hinduism)|atman]]. Others understand it to be the ascertainment of Siva and the Self as non-different. The scholars of the Agamas say that it is a Knowledge which is of the nature of Siva's Power. Other scholars say it is the knowledge of the primordial Self." (25.1–3b)<ref>''Śaradatilaka'', 25.1–3b</ref>{{sfn|Vasudeva|p=243}}
|-
|''Yogabija'', a [[Hatha yoga]] work
| 14th century CE
|"The union of [[Apana (prana)|apana]] and prana, one's own [[rajas]] and semen, the sun and moon, the individual Self and the supreme Self, and in the same way the union of all dualities, is called yoga. " (89)<ref>''Yogabija'', 89</ref>
|}

=== Scholarly ===

Due to its complicated historical development, and the broad array of definitions and usage in Indian religions, scholars have warned that yoga is hard, if not impossible, to define exactly.{{sfn|White|2011}} [[David Gordon White]] notes that "'Yoga' has a wider range of meanings than nearly any other word in the entire Sanskrit lexicon."{{sfn|White|2011}}

In its broadest sense, yoga is a generic term for techniques aimed at controlling body and mind and attaining a [[Soteriology|soteriological]] goal as specified by a specific tradition:
* Richard King (1999): "Yoga in the more traditional sense of the term has been practised throughout South Asia and beyond and involves a multitude of techniques leading to spiritual and ethical purification. Hindu and Buddhist traditions alike place a great deal of emphasis upon the practice of yoga as a means of attaining liberation from the world of rebirth and yogic practices have been aligned with a variety of philosophical theories and metaphysical positions."{{sfn|King|1999|p=67}}
* [[John Bowker (theologian)|John Bowker]] (2000): "The means or techniques for transforming [[consciousness]] and attaining liberation (mokṣa) from karma and rebirth (saṃsāra) in Indian religions."{{sfn|Bowker|2000 |p=entry "Yoga"}}
* [[Damien Keown]] (2004): "Any form of spiritual discipline aimed at gaining control over the mind with the ultimate aim of attaining liberation from rebirth."{{sfn|Keown|2004|p=entry "Yoga"}}
* W. J. Johnson (2009): "A generic term for a wide variety of religious practices [...] At its broadest, however, 'yoga' simply refers to a particular method or discipline for transforming the individual [...] A narrower reading makes the practice contingent on, or derived from, control of the body and the senses, as in haṭha-yoga, or control of the breath (prāṇāyāma) and through it the mind, as in Patañjali's rājayoga. At its most neutral, yoga is therefore simply a technique, or set of techniques, including what is usually termed 'meditation', for attaining whatever soteriological or soteriological-cum-physiological transformation a particular tradition specifies."{{sfn|Johnson|2009|p=entry "Yoga"}}

[[Knut A. Jacobsen]] writes that yoga has five principal meanings:{{sfn|Jacobsen|2018|p=4}}

# A disciplined method for attaining a goal
# Techniques of controlling the body and mind
# A name of [[Yoga (philosophy)|a school or system of philosophy]] (''{{IAST|darśana}}'')
# With prefixes such as [[hatha yoga|hatha-]], mantra-, and [[laya yoga|laya-]], traditions specialising in particular yoga techniques
# The goal of yoga practice{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=4}}

White writes that yoga's core principles were more or less in place in the 5th century CE, and variations of the principles developed over time:{{sfn|White|2011|p=6}}

# A meditative means of discovering dysfunctional perception and cognition, as well as overcoming it to release any suffering, find inner peace, and salvation. Illustration of this principle is found in Hindu texts such as the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' and ''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yogasutras]]'', in several Buddhist [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]] works, as well as Jain texts.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=6–8}}
# 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]]'', the Jain Praśamaratiprakarana, and Buddhist Nikaya texts.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=8–9}}
# A path to omniscience and enlightened consciousness enabling one to comprehend the impermanent (illusive, delusive) and permanent (true, transcendent) reality. Examples of this are found in Hinduism [[Nyaya]] and [[Vaisesika]] school texts as well as Buddhism Mādhyamaka texts, but in different ways.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=9–10}}
# A technique for entering into other bodies, generating multiple bodies, and the attainment of other supernatural accomplishments. These are, states White, described in [[Tantra|Tantric]] literature of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the Buddhist Sāmaññaphalasutta.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=10–12}}

According to White, the last principle relates to legendary goals of yoga practice; it differs from yoga's practical goals in South Asian thought and practice since the beginning of the Common Era in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophical schools.{{sfn|White|2011|p=11}} [[James Mallinson (author)|James Mallinson]] disagrees with the inclusion of supernatural accomplishments, and suggests that such fringe practices are far removed from mainstream Yoga's goal as meditation-driven means to liberation in Indian religions.{{sfn|Mallinson|2013|pp=165–180}}

A classic definition of yoga in Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras'' 1.2 and 1.3,{{sfn|King|1999|p=67}}{{sfn|White|2011|p=3}}{{sfn|Feuerstein|1998|p=4-5}}{{sfn|Olsson|2023|p=2}} defines yoga as "the stilling of the movements of the mind," and recognises Purusha, the witness-consciousness, as different from Prakriti, mind and matter.{{sfn|White|2011|p=3}}{{sfn|Feuerstein|1998|p=4-5}}{{sfn|Olsson|2023|p=2}}{{efn|name="Samuel_White|Vivekananda"|{{harvtxt|Samuel|2010|p=221}}, referring to White (2006), ''"Open" and "Closed" Models of the Human Body in Indian Medical and Yogic Traditions''. Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity 2: 1-13, notes that, according to White, a "frequent modern interpretation of yoga" is largely based on "Vivekananda's selective reading of the ''Yogasutra'', as 'a meditative practice through which the absolute was to be found by turning the mind and senses inwards, away from the world'."}} According to Larson, in the context of the ''Yoga Sutras'', yoga has two meanings. The first meaning is yoga "as a general term to be translated as "disciplined meditation" that focuses on any of the many levels of ordinary awareness."{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=30}} In the second meaning yoga is "that specific system of thought (sāstra) that has for its focus the analysis, understanding and cultivation of those altered states of awareness that lead one to the experience of spiritual liberation."{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=30}}

Another classic understanding{{sfn|King|1999|p=67}}{{sfn|White|2011|p=3}}{{sfn|Feuerstein|1998|p=4-5}}{{sfn|Olsson|2023|p=2}} sees yoga as union or connection with the highest Self (''paramatman''), Brahman,{{sfn|Feuerstein|1998|p=4-5}} or God, a "union, a linking of the individual to the divine."{{sfn|Olsson|2023|p=2}} This definition is based on the devotionalism ([[bhakti]]) of the ''Bhagavad Gita'', and the [[jnana yoga]] of [[Vedanta]].{{sfn|Olsson|2023|p=2}}{{sfn|Feuerstein|1998|p=4-5}}{{efn|name="Grimes"|See, for example, {{harvtxt|Grimes|1996|p=359}}, who states that yoga is a process (or discipline) leading to unity (''[[Aikyam]]'') with the divine (''[[Brahman]]'') or with one's self (''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|Ātman]]'').}}{{efn|name="union_AV"|This understanding of yoga as union with the divine is also informed by the mediaeval synthesis of Advaita Vedanta and yoga, with the Advaita Vedanta-tradition explicitly incorporating elements from the yogic tradition and texts like the ''[[Yoga Vasistha]]'' and the ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'',{{sfn|Madaio|2017|pp=4–5}} culminating in [[Swami Vivekananda]]'s full embrace and propagation of Yogic samadhi as an Advaita means of knowledge of the identity of the individual self (''jivataman'') and the highest self (''Brahman''), leading to liberation.{{sfn|Rambachan|1994}}{{sfn|Nicholson|2013}} }}

While yoga is often conflated with the "classical yoga" of Patanjali's [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|''Yoga Sutras'']], Karen O'Brien-Kop notes that "classical yoga" is informed by, and includes, Buddhist yoga.{{sfn|O'Brien-Kop|2021|p=1}} Regarding Buddhist yoga, James Buswell in his ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' treats yoga in his entry on meditation, stating that the aim of meditation is to attain samadhi, which serves as the foundation for ''vipasyana'', "discerning the real from the unreal," liberating insight into true reality.{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=520}} Buswell & Lopez state that "in Buddhism, [yoga is] a generic term for soteriological training or contemplative practice, including tantric practice."{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2014|p=entry "yoga"}}

O'Brien-Kop further notes that "classical yoga" is not an independent category, but "was informed by the European colonialist project."{{sfn|O'Brien-Kop|2021|p=1}}

==History==

There is no consensus on yoga's chronology or origins other than its development in ancient India. There are two broad theories explaining the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga has Vedic origins (as reflected in Vedic texts), and influenced Buddhism.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=1-6}} This model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=1-6}} According to the synthesis model, yoga is a synthesis of indigenous, non-Vedic practices with Vedic elements. This model is favoured in Western scholarship.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=103-138}}

The earliest yoga-practices may have appeared in the Jain tradition at ca. 900 BCE.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=511}} Speculations about yoga are documented in the early Upanishads of the first half of the first millennium BCE, with expositions also appearing in Jain and Buddhist texts {{circa|500|200 BCE}}. Between 200 BCE and 500 CE, traditions of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophy were taking shape; teachings were collected as [[sutra]]s, and a philosophical system of ''Patanjaliyogasastra'' began to emerge.{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=36}} The Middle Ages saw the development of a number of yoga satellite traditions. It and other aspects of Indian philosophy came to the attention of the educated Western public during the mid-19th century.

===Origins===

{{anchor|Synthetic model}}
==== Synthesis model ====

[[Heinrich Zimmer]] was an exponent of the synthesis model,{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=5}} arguing for non-Vedic [[East India|eastern states of India]].{{sfn|Zimmer|1969|p=217, 314}} According to Zimmer, yoga is part of a non-Vedic system which includes the [[Samkhya]] school of [[Hindu philosophy]], [[Jainism]] and [[Buddhism]]:{{sfn|Zimmer|1969|p=217, 314}} "[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, [[Samkhya|Sankhya]], and Buddhism, the other non-Vedic Indian systems."{{sfn|Zimmer|1969|p=217}}{{efn|Zimmer's point of view is supported by other scholars, such as Niniam Smart in ''Doctrine and argument in Indian Philosophy'', 1964, pp. 27–32, 76{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=7}} and S. K. Belvakar and [[Inchegeri Sampradaya]] in ''History of Indian philosophy'', 1974 (1927), pp. 81, 303–409.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|pp=5–7}}}} More recently, [[Richard Gombrich]]{{sfn|Gombrich|2007}} and [[Geoffrey Samuel]]{{sfn|Samuel|2008}} also argue that the ''[[śramaṇa]]'' movement originated in the non-Vedic eastern Ganges basin,{{sfn|Samuel|2008}} specifically [[Greater Magadha]].{{sfn|Gombrich|2007}}

[[Thomas McEvilley]] favors a composite model in which a pre-Aryan yoga prototype existed in the pre-Vedic period and was refined during the Vedic period.{{sfn|McEvilley|1981|p=51}} According to [[Gavin Flood]], the Upanishads differ fundamentally from the Vedic ritual tradition and indicate non-Vedic influences.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=78}} However, the traditions may be connected:

{{blockquote|[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.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=77}}{{efn|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."{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=76–77}} }} }}

The ascetic traditions of the eastern Ganges plain are thought to be drawn from a common body of practices and philosophies,{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxi}}{{sfn|Samuel|2008}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=233}} with proto-samkhya concepts of ''purusha'' and ''prakriti'' as a common denominator.{{sfn|Larson|2014}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=233}}

====Linear model====

According to Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, Hindu researchers have 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";{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=4}}{{efn|See also Gavin Flood (1996), ''Hinduism'', p.87–90, on "The orthogenetic theory" and "Non-Vedic origins of renunciation".{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=87–90}} }} traditional Hinduism regards the [[Vedas]] as the source of all spiritual knowledge.{{sfn|Crangle|1994|p=5}} Edwin Bryant wrote that authors who support [[Indigenous Aryanism]] also tend to support the linear model.{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xix-xx}}

====Indus Valley Civilisation====

[[File:Shiva Pashupati.jpg|thumb|The Pashupati seal from the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] (3300 BCE) shows a seated figure, surrounded by animals, in a posture that was thought by 20th century scholars to be [[Mulabandhasana]]. This is rejected by more recent scholars.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=1–14}}]]

The twentieth-century scholars [[Karel Werner]], [[Thomas McEvilley]], and [[Mircea Eliade]] believed that the central figure of the [[Pashupati seal]] is seated in the [[Mulabandhasana]] posture,{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=25–34}} and the roots of yoga are in the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]].{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=1–14}} This is rejected by more recent scholarship; for example, [[Geoffrey Samuel]], [[Andrea R. Jain]], and [[Wendy Doniger]] describe the identification as speculative; the meaning of the figure will remain unknown until [[Indus script |Harappan script]] is deciphered, and the roots of yoga cannot be linked to the IVC.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=1–14}}{{sfn|Doniger|2011|pp=485–508}}{{efn|Some scholars are now considering the image to be an instance of Lord of the Beasts found in Eurasian neolithic mythology or the widespread motif of the [[Master of Animals]] found in ancient [[Near East]]ern and Mediterranean art.{{sfn|Witzel|2008|pp=68–70, 90}}{{sfn|Kenoyer|2010|p=50}}}}

{{anchor|Earliest textual references (1000–500 BCE)}}

===Earliest references (1000–500 BCE)===

{{further|Vedic period}}

The [[Vedas]], the only texts preserved from the early Vedic period and codified between c. 1200 and 900 BCE, contain references to yogic practices primarily related to ascetics outside, or on the fringes of [[Historical Vedic religion#Brahmanism|Brahmanism]].{{sfn|Jacobsen|2018|p=6}}{{sfn|Werner|1977}} The earliest yoga-practices may have come from the Jain tradition at ca. 900 BCE.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2007|p=511}}

The ''Rigveda''{{'s}} [[Nasadiya Sukta]] suggests an early Brahmanic contemplative tradition.{{efn|* 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."{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=50}}
* 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...".{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=11}}
* Jacobsen writes that dhyana (meditation) is derived from the Vedic term dhih which refers to "visionary insight", "thought provoking vision".{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=11}}}} Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned in the ''Atharvaveda'' and in the [[Brahmana]]s (the second layer of the Vedas, composed c. 1000–800 BCE).{{sfn|Jacobsen|2018|p=6}}{{sfn|Lamb|2011|p=427}}{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=13}}

According to Flood, "The [[Samhita]]s [the mantras of the Vedas] contain some references ... to ascetics, namely the [[Muni (saint)|Munis]] or [[Keśin]]s and the Vratyas."{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=94–95}} Werner wrote in 1977 that the ''Rigveda'' does not describe yoga, and there is little evidence of practices.{{sfn|Werner|1977}} The earliest description of "an outsider who does not belong to the Brahminic establishment" is found in the [[Keśin]] hymn 10.136, the ''Rigveda''{{'s}} youngest book, which was codified around 1000 BCE.{{sfn|Werner|1977}} Werner wrote that there were

{{Blockquote|... individuals who were active outside the trend of Vedic mythological creativity and the Brahminic religious orthodoxy and therefore little evidence of their existence, practices and achievements has survived. And such evidence as is available in the Vedas themselves is scanty and indirect. Nevertheless the indirect evidence is strong enough not to allow any doubt about the existence of spiritually highly advanced wanderers.{{sfn|Werner|1977}} }}

According to Whicher (1998), scholarship frequently fails to see the connection between the contemplative practices of the ''[[rishi]]s'' and later yoga practices: "The proto-Yoga of the Vedic [[rishi]]s 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 practiced in conjunction with the recitation of sacred hymns during the ritual, the notion of self-sacrifice, impeccably accurate recitation of sacred words (prefiguring ''mantra-yoga''), mystical experience, and the engagement with a reality far greater than our psychological identity or the ego."{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=12}} Jacobsen wrote in 2018, "Bodily postures are closely related to the tradition of ''[[Tapas (Indian religion)|tapas]]'', ascetic practices in the Vedic tradition"; ascetic practices used by Vedic priests "in their preparations for the performance of the [[Yajna|sacrifice]]" may be precursors of yoga.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2018|p=6}} "The ecstatic practice of enigmatic longhaired ''muni'' in ''Rgveda'' 10.136 and the ascetic performance of the ''vratya-s'' in the ''Atharvaveda'' outside of or on the fringe of the Brahmanical ritual order, have probably contributed more to the ascetic practices of yoga."{{sfn|Jacobsen|2018|p=6}}

According to Bryant, practices recognizable as classical yoga first appear in the Upanishads (composed during the late [[Vedic period]]).{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxi}} Alexander Wynne agrees that formless, elemental meditation might have originated in the Upanishadic tradition.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|pp=44–45, 58}} An early reference to meditation is made in the [[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] (c. 900 BCE), one of the [[Principal Upanishads]].{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=94–95}} The [[Chandogya Upanishad]] (c. 800–700 BCE) describes the five vital energies (''[[prana]]''), and concepts of later yoga traditions (such as [[Nadi (yoga)|blood vessels]] and an internal sound) are also described in this upanishad.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=6}} The practice of [[pranayama]] (focusing on the breath) is mentioned in hymn 1.5.23 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad,{{sfn|Eliade|2009|pp=117–118}} and [[pratyahara]] (withdrawal of the senses) is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of the Chandogya Upanishad.{{sfn|Eliade|2009|pp=117–118}}{{efn|Sanskrit: स्वाध्यायमधीयानो धर्मिकान्विदध'''दात्मनि सर्वैन्द्रियाणि संप्रतिष्ठा'''प्याहिँसन्सर्व भूतान्यन्यत्र तीर्थेभ्यः स खल्वेवं वर्तयन्यावदायुषं ब्रह्मलोकमभिसंपद्यते न च पुनरावर्तते न च पुनरावर्तते॥ १॥ – [[Chandogya Upanishad]], VIII.15<ref>[http://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/छान्दोग्योपनिषद्_४ wikisource], [[Chandogya Upanishad]], 8:15</ref> 
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. 
Translation 2 by G.N. Jha: [https://archive.org/stream/Shankara.Bhashya-Chandogya.Upanishad-Ganganath.Jha.1942.English#page/n503/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad] VIII.15, page 488: (He who engages in self study),—and having withdrawn all his sense-organs into the Self,—never causing pain to any living beings, except in places specially ordained,—one who behaves thus throughout life reaches the ''Region of Brahman'' and does not return,—yea, does not return.—}} The [[Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana]] (probably before the 6th c. BCE) teaches breath control and repetition of a [[mantra]].{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=xii}} The 6th-c. BCE [[Taittiriya Upanishad]] defines yoga as the mastery of body and senses.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=17}} According to Flood, "[T]he actual term ''yoga'' first appears in the [[Katha Upanishad]],{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=95}} dated to the fifth{{sfn|King|1995|p=52}} to first centuries BCE.{{sfn|Olivelle|1996|p=xxxvii}}

===Second urbanisation (500–200 BCE)===

{{main|History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE)|l1=Second urbanisation}}

Systematic yoga concepts begin to emerge in texts dating to c. 500–200 BCE, such as the [[early Buddhist texts]], the middle Upanishads, and the ''[[Mahabharata]]''{{'s}} ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' and ''[[Shanti Parva]]''.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=34–35, 53}}{{efn|Ancient Indian literature was transmitted and preserved through an [[oral tradition]].{{sfn|Wynne|2004|pp=97–128}} For example, the earliest written Pali Canon text is dated to the later part of the 1st century BCE, many centuries after the Buddha's death.{{sfn|Lopez|2004|pp=xi–xv}}}}

{{anchor|Buddhism and śramaṇa movement}}

====Buddhism and the śramaṇa movement====

[[File:Siddharta Gautama Borobudur.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Bas-relief in [[Borobudur]] of the Buddha becoming a wandering hermit instead of a warrior |alt=Old stone carving of the Buddha with his servants and horse]]

According to [[Geoffrey Samuel]], the "best evidence to date" suggests that yogic practices "developed in the same ascetic circles as the early [[śramaṇa]] movements ([[Buddhism|Buddhists]], [[Jainism|Jainas]] and [[Ājīvika|Ajivikas]]), probably in around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE." This occurred during India's [[History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE)|second urbanisation]] period.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=8}} According to Mallinson and Singleton, these traditions were the first to use mind-body techniques (known as ''Dhyāna'' and ''tapas'') but later described as yoga, to strive for liberation from the round of rebirth.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=13–15}}

Werner writes, "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."{{sfn|Werner|1998|p=131}} He notes:{{sfn|Werner|1998|pp=119–20}}
{{blockquote|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.{{sfn|Werner|1998|pp=119–20}}}}

Early Buddhist texts describe yogic and meditative practices, some of which the Buddha borrowed from the [[śramaṇa]] tradition.{{sfn|Gombrich|1988|p=44}}{{sfn|Miller|1996|p=8}} The [[Pāli Canon]] contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate to control hunger or the mind, depending on the passage.{{sfn|Mallinson|2007|pp=17–19}} There is no mention of the tongue inserted into the [[Pharynx#Nasopharynx|nasopharynx]], as in [[khecarī mudrā]]. The Buddha used a posture in which pressure is put on the [[perineum]] with the heel, similar to modern postures used to evoke [[Kundalini]].<ref>{{harvnb|Mallinson |2012|pp=20–21}}</ref> [[Sutra|Suttas]] which discuss yogic practice include the ''[[Satipatthana Sutta]]'' (the [[Satipatthana|four foundations of mindfulness]] sutta) and the ''[[Anapanasati Sutta]]'' (the [[Anapanasati|mindfulness of breathing]] sutta).

The chronology of these yoga-related early Buddhist texts, like the ancient Hindu texts, is unclear.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=31–32}}{{sfn|Singleton|2010|loc=Chapter 1}} Early Buddhist sources such as the [[Majjhima Nikāya]] mention meditation; the [[Aṅguttara Nikāya]] describes ''jhāyins'' (meditators) who resemble early Hindu descriptions of ''muni'', the Kesin and meditating ascetics,{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|pp=1–24}} but the meditation practices are not called "yoga" in these texts.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=5–6}} The earliest known discussions of yoga in Buddhist literature, as understood in a modern context, are from the later Buddhist [[Yogachara|Yogācāra]] and [[Theravada]] schools.{{sfn|White|2011|pp=5–6}}

[[Jain meditation]] is a yoga system which predated the Buddhist school. Since Jain sources are later than Buddhist ones, however, it is difficult to distinguish between the early Jain school and elements derived from other schools.{{sfn|Werner|1998|pp=119–120}} Most of the other contemporary yoga systems alluded to in the Upanishads and some Buddhist texts have been lost.{{sfn|Douglass|2010}}{{sfn|Datta|1988|p=1809}}{{efn|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."{{sfn|Wynne|2007|pp=3–4}} }}

====Upanishads====

The Upanishads, composed in the late [[Vedic period]], contain the first references to practices recognizable as classical yoga.{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxi}} The first known appearance of the word "yoga" in the modern sense is in the [[Katha Upanishad]]{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=25–34}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=95}} (probably composed between the fifth and third centuries BCE),{{sfn|Phillips|2009|pp=28–30}}{{sfn|Olivelle|1998|pp=12–13}} where it is defined as steady control of the senses which – with cessation of mental activity – leads to a supreme state.{{sfn|Flood|1996|pp=94–95}}{{efn|For the date of this Upanishad see also Helmuth von Glasenapp, from the 1950 Proceedings of the "Akademie der Wissenschaften und Literatur"<ref group=web name="Vedanta and Buddhism 2012"/>}} The Katha Upanishad integrates the [[monism]] of the early Upanishads with concepts of [[samkhya]] and yoga. It defines levels of existence by their proximity to one's [[Ātman (Hinduism)|innermost being]]. Yoga is viewed as a process of interiorization, or ascent of consciousness.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|pp=18–19}}{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=8}} The upanishad is the earliest literary work which highlights the fundamentals of yoga. According to White,

{{blockquote|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).{{sfn|White|2011|p=4}}}}

The hymns in book two of the [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]] (another late-first-millennium BCE text) describe a procedure in which the body is upright, the breath is restrained and the mind is meditatively focused, preferably in a cave or a place that is simple and quiet.<ref group=web name="Shveta Upanishad"/>{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=26}}{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=8}}

The ''[[Maitrayaniya Upanishad]]'', probably composed later than the Katha and Shvetashvatara Upanishads but before the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'', mentions a sixfold yoga method: breath control, introspective withdrawal of the senses, meditation (''dhyana''), [[Dhāraṇā|mental concentration]], [[Tarka sastra|logic and reasoning]], and [[Samadhi|spiritual union]].{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=25–34}}{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=8}}{{sfn|Feuerstein|1988|pp=70–75}} In addition to discussions in the Principal Upanishads, the twenty [[Yoga Upanishads]] and related texts (such as ''[[Yoga Vasistha]]'', composed between the sixth and 14th centuries CE) discuss yoga methods.{{sfn|Ayyangar|1938|p=2}}{{sfn|Ruff|2011|pp=97–112}}

{{anchor|Macedonian historical texts}}

====Macedonian texts====

[[Alexander the Great]] reached India in the 4th century BCE. In addition to his army, he brought Greek academics who wrote memoirs about its geography, people, and customs. One of Alexander's companions was [[Onesicritus]] (quoted in Book 15, Sections 63–65 by [[Strabo]] in his ''Geography''), who describes yogis.{{sfn|Lanman|1918|pp=355–359}} Onesicritus says that the yogis were aloof and adopted "different postures – standing or sitting or lying naked – and motionless".<ref group=web name="Strabo"/>

Onesicritus also mentions attempts by his colleague, [[Kalanos|Calanus]], to meet them. Initially denied an audience, he was later invited because he was sent by a "king curious of wisdom and philosophy".<ref group=web name="Strabo"/> Onesicritus and Calanus learn that the yogis consider life's best doctrines to "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".{{sfn|Lanman|1918|pp=355–359}}<ref group=web name="Strabo"/> According to [[Charles Rockwell Lanman|Charles Lanman]], these principles are significant in the history of yoga's spiritual side and may reflect the roots of "undisturbed calmness" and "mindfulness through balance" in the later works of [[Patanjali]] and [[Buddhaghosa]].{{sfn|Lanman|1918|pp=355–359}}

====''Mahabharata'' and ''Bhagavad Gita''====

''Nirodhayoga'' (yoga of cessation), an early form of yoga, is described in the Mokshadharma section of the 12th chapter (''Shanti Parva'') of the third-century BCE ''[[Mahabharata]]''.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xii–xxii}} ''Nirodhayoga'' emphasizes progressive withdrawal from empirical consciousness, including thoughts and sensations, until ''purusha'' (self) is realized. Terms such as ''vichara'' (subtle reflection) and ''viveka'' (discrimination) similar to Patanjali's terminology are used, but not described.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|pp=25–26}} Although the ''Mahabharata'' contains no uniform yogic goal, the separation of self from matter and perception of [[Brahman]] everywhere are described as goals of yoga. [[Samkhya]] and yoga are [[Conflation|conflated]], and some verses describe them as identical.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=9}} Mokshadharma also describes an early practice of elemental meditation.{{sfn|Wynne|2007|p=33}} The ''Mahabharata'' defines the purpose of yoga as uniting the individual ''[[Ātman (Hinduism)|ātman]]'' with the universal Brahman pervading all things.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=9}}

[[File:Bhagavata Gita Bishnupur Arnab Dutta 2011.JPG|thumb|alt=House decoration of Krishna speaking to Arjuna|[[Krishna]] narrating the ''Bhagavad Gita'' to [[Arjuna]] ]]

The ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' (''Song of the Lord''), part of the ''Mahabharata'', contains extensive teachings about yoga. According to Mallinson and Singleton, the ''Gita'' "seeks to appropriate yoga from the renunciate milieu in which it originated, teaching that it is compatible with worldly activity carried out according to one's caste and life stage; it is only the fruits of one's actions that are to be renounced."{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xii–xxii}} In addition to a chapter (chapter six) dedicated to traditional yoga practice (including meditation),{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=10}} it introduces three significant types of yoga:{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=96}}
* [[Karma yoga]]: yoga of action{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|pp=10–11}}
* [[Bhakti yoga]]: yoga of devotion{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|pp=10–11}}
* [[Jnana yoga]]: yoga of knowledge{{sfn|Easwaran|2011|pp=117–118}}{{sfn|Hawley|2011|pp=50, 130}}{{sfn|Sharma|2000|pp=1143–122}}

The ''Gita'' consists of 18 chapters and 700 ''shlokas'' (verses); each chapter is named for a different form of yoga.{{sfn|Debroy|2005|pp=x–xi}}{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=46}}{{sfn|Feuerstein|2011}} Some scholars divide the ''Gita'' into three sections; the first six chapters (280 ''shlokas'') deal with karma yoga, the middle six (209 ''shlokas'') with bhakti yoga, and the last six (211 ''shlokas'') with jnana yoga. However, elements of all three are found throughout the work.{{sfn|Debroy|2005|pp=x–xi}}

====Philosophical sutras====

Yoga is discussed in the foundational [[sutra]]s of [[Hindu philosophy]]. The ''[[Vaiśeṣika Sūtra]]'' of the [[Vaisheshika]] school of Hinduism, composed between the sixth and second centuries BCE, discusses yoga.{{efn|The currently existing version of ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' manuscript was likely finalized sometime between the 2nd century BCE and the start of the common era. 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.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|p=64}}}} According to [[Johannes Bronkhorst]], the ''Vaiśeṣika Sūtra'' describes yoga as "a state where the mind resides only in the Self and therefore not in the senses".{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|p=64}} This is equivalent to ''pratyahara'' (withdrawal of the senses). The sutra asserts that yoga leads to an absence of ''sukha'' (happiness) and ''dukkha'' (suffering), describing meditative steps in the journey towards spiritual liberation.{{sfn|Bronkhorst|1993|p=64}}

The ''[[Brahma Sutras]]'', the foundation text of the [[Vedanta]] school of Hinduism, also discusses yoga.{{sfn|Phillips|2009|p=281 footnote 36}} Estimated as completed in its surviving form between 450 BCE and 200 CE,{{efn|"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."{{sfn|Nicholson|2013|p=26}} }}{{sfn|Isaeva|1992|p=36}} its sutras assert that yoga is a means to attain "subtlety of body".{{sfn|Phillips|2009|p=281 footnote 36}} The ''[[Nyāya Sūtras|Nyaya Sutras]]''—the foundation text of the [[Nyaya]] school, estimated as composed between the sixth century BCE and the second century CE{{sfn|Fowler|2002|p=129}}{{sfn|Matilal|1986|p=xiv}}—discusses yoga in sutras 4.2.38–50. It includes a discussion of yogic ethics, [[Dhyana in Hinduism|dhyana]] (meditation) and [[samadhi]], noting that debate and philosophy are also forms of yoga.{{sfn|Phillips|2009|p=281 footnote 40, 297}}{{sfn|Vidyabhushana|1913|pp=137–139}}{{sfn|Potter|2004|p=237}}

===Classical era (200 BCE – 500 CE)===

The Indic traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking shape during the period between the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan]] and the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] eras (c. 200 BCE – 500 CE), and systems of yoga began to emerge;{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=36}} a number of texts from these traditions discussed and compiled yoga methods and practices. Key works of the era include the ''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali]],'' the ''[[Yoga Yajnavalkya|Yoga-Yājñavalkya]],'' the ''[[Yogacarabhumi-sastra|Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra]]'', and the ''[[Visuddhimagga]].''

==== ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'' ====

[[File:Patanjali.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Statue of Patanjali as half man, half snake|Traditional Hindu depiction of [[Patanjali]] as an avatar of the divine serpent [[Shesha]]]]

One of the best-known early expressions of [[Brahmin]]ical yoga thought is the ''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]]'' (early centuries CE,{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=xxxiv}}{{sfn|Desmarais|2008|p=16-17}}{{efn|name="YS_dating"}} the original name of which may have been the ''Pātañjalayogaśāstra-sāṃkhya-pravacana'' (c. 325–425 CE); some scholars believe that it included the sutras and Patanjali's own commentary.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xvi–xvii}} As the name suggests, the metaphysical basis of the text is [[samkhya]]; the school is mentioned in Kauṭilya's [[Arthashastra]] as one of the three categories of ''anviksikis'' (philosophies), with yoga and ''[[Charvaka|Cārvāka]]''.{{efn|Sanskrit: साङ्ख्यं योगो लोकायतं च इत्यान्वीक्षिकी | English Translation: [https://archive.org/stream/Arthasastra_English_Translation/Arthashastra_of_Chanakya_-_English#page/n9/mode/2up Arthasastra Book 1, Chapter 2] Kautiliya, R Shamasastry (Translator), page 9}}{{sfn|Olivelle|2013|at=Introduction}} Yoga and samkhya have some differences; yoga accepted the concept of a personal god, and Samkhya was a rational, non-theistic system of Hindu philosophy.{{sfn|Pflueger|2005|pp=38–39}}{{sfn|Burley|2012|pp=31–46}}{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|Moore|1967|p=453}} Patanjali's system is sometimes called "Seshvara Samkhya", distinguishing it from [[Kapila]]'s Nirivara Samkhya.{{sfn|Radhakrishnan|1971|p=344}} The parallels between yoga and samkhya were so close that [[Max Müller]] says, "The two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord."{{sfn|Müller|2003|p=104}} [[Karel Werner]] wrote that the systematization of yoga which began in the middle and early Yoga Upanishads culminated in the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali''.{{efn|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."{{sfn|Werner|1998|p=24}}}}

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Yoga Sutras of Patanjali{{sfn|Stiles|2001|p=x}}
|-
!Pada (Chapter)||English meaning||Sutras
|-
|Samadhi Pada||On being absorbed in spirit|| style="text-align: center" | 51
|-
|Sadhana Pada||On being immersed in spirit|| style="text-align: center" | 55
|-
|Vibhuti Pada||On supernatural abilities and gifts|| style="text-align: center" | 56
|-
|Kaivalya Pada||On absolute freedom|| style="text-align: center" | 34
|}

The ''Yoga Sutras'' are also influenced by the Sramana traditions of Buddhism and Jainism, and may be a further Brahmanical attempt to adopt yoga from those traditions.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xvi–xvii}} Larson noted a number of parallels in ancient samkhya, yoga and [[Abhidharma]] Buddhism, particularly from the second century BCE to the first century AD.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=43–45}} Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras'' are a synthesis of the three traditions. From Samkhya, they adopt the "reflective discernment" (''adhyavasaya'') of ''prakrti'' and ''purusa'' (dualism), their metaphysical rationalism, and their three [[epistemology|epistemological]] methods of obtaining knowledge.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=43–45}} Larson says that the ''Yoga Sutras'' pursue an altered state of awareness from Abhidharma Buddhism's ''nirodhasamadhi''; unlike Buddhism's "no self or soul", however, yoga (like Samkhya) believes that each individual has a self.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=43–45}} The third concept which the ''Yoga Sutras'' synthesize is the [[Sannyasa|ascetic]] tradition of meditation and introspection.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=43–45}}

Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras'' are considered the first compilation of yoga philosophy.{{efn|For [[Patanjali]] as the founder of the philosophical system called yoga see: {{harvnb|Chatterjee|Datta|1984 |p=42}}.}} The verses of the ''Yoga Sutras'' are terse. Many later Indian scholars studied them and published their commentaries, such as the ''Vyasa Bhashya'' (c. 350–450 CE).{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=21–22}} Patanjali defines the word "yoga" in his second sutra, and his terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms. [[I. K. Taimni]] translates it as "Yoga is the inhibition (''{{IAST|nirodhaḥ}}'') of the modifications (''{{IAST|vṛtti}}'') of the mind (''{{IAST|citta}}'')".{{sfn|Taimni|1999|p=6}} [[Swami Vivekananda]] translates the sutra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (''Citta'') from taking various forms (''Vrittis'')."{{sfn|Vivekananda|p=115}} [[Edwin Bryant (author)|Edwin Bryant]] writes 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."{{sfn|Bryant|2011}}{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=10}}{{sfn|Bryant|2009|p=457}}

[[Baba Hari Dass]] writes that if yoga is understood as [[nirodha]] (mental control), its goal is "the unqualified state of ''niruddha'' (the perfection of that process)".{{sfn|Dass|1999|p=5}} "Yoga (union) implies duality (as in joining of two things or principles); the result of yoga is the nondual state ... 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."{{sfn|Dass|1999|p=5}}

Patanjali defined an [[Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga)|eight-limbed yoga (''aṣṭāṅgayoga'')]] in ''Yoga Sutras'' 2.29:
# [[Yamas|Yama]] (The five abstentions): [[Ahimsa]] (Non-violence, non-harming other living beings),{{sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|p=777}} [[Satya]] (truthfulness, non-falsehood),{{sfn|Dhand|2002|pp=347–372}} [[Asteya]] (non-stealing), [[Brahmacharya]] (celibacy, fidelity to one's partner),{{sfn|Gulati|2008|p=168}} and [[Aparigraha]] (non-avarice, non-possessiveness).{{sfn|Dhand|2002|pp=347–372}}
# [[Niyama]] (The five "observances"): [[Shaucha|Śauca]] (purity, clearness of mind, speech and body),{{sfn|Sharma|Sharma|1996|p=19}} [[Santosha]] (contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances),{{sfn|Tummers|2009|pp=16–17}} [[Tapas (Sanskrit)|Tapas]] (persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity),{{sfn|Kaelber|1976}} [[Svādhyāya]] (study of self, self-reflection, study of Vedas),{{sfn|Bhagwat|2008|pp=1–14}} and [[Ishvarapranidhana|Ishvara-Pranidhana]] (contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True Self).{{sfn|Tummers|2009|pp=16–17}}
# [[Asana]]: Literally means "seat", any [[Meditative postures|seated position used for meditation]].
# [[Pranayama]] ("Breath exercises"): ''Prāna'', breath, "āyāma", to "stretch, extend, restrain, stop".
# [[Pratyahara]] ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.
# [[Dharana]] ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.
# [[Dhyana in Hinduism|Dhyana]] ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.
# [[Samadhi]] ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.

In Hindu scholasticism since the 12th century, yoga has been one of the six [[Āstika and nāstika|orthodox]] philosophical schools (darsanas): traditions which accept the Vedas.{{efn|For an overview of the six orthodox schools, with detail on the grouping of schools, see: {{harvnb|Radhakrishnan|Moore|1967|loc="Contents" and pp. 453–487}}.}}{{efn|For a brief overview of the yoga school of philosophy see: {{harvnb|Chatterjee|Datta|1984|p=43}}.}}{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=16–17}}

==== Yoga and Vedanta ====

Yoga and ''[[Vedanta]]'' are the two largest surviving schools of Hindu traditions. Although they share many principles, concepts, and the belief in Self, they differ in degree, style, and methods; yoga accepts three means to obtain knowledge, and [[Advaita Vedanta]] accepts.{{sfn|Grimes|1996|p=238}} Yoga disputes Advaita Vedanta's [[monism]]. It believes that in the state of [[moksha]], each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as an independent identity; Advaita Vedanta teaches 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 transcendent, liberated and self-aware. Advaita Vedanta also encourages the use of Patanjali's yoga practices and the ''Upanishads'' for those seeking the supreme good and ultimate [[Jivanmukta|freedom]].{{sfn|Phillips|1995|pp=12–13}}

====Yoga Yajnavalkya====

{{Main|Yoga Yajnavalkya}}
{{Quote box
|quote='''संयोगो योग इत्युक्तो जीवात्मपरमात्मनोः॥''' ''saṁyogo yoga ityukto jīvātma-paramātmanoḥ॥'' Yoga is the union of the individual self (''jivātma'') with the supreme self (''paramātma'').
|source=—''[[Yoga Yajnavalkya]]''{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=478}}
|width=30%
|align=right
}}

The ''Yoga Yajnavalkya'' is a classical treatise on yoga, attributed to the Vedic sage [[Yajnavalkya]], in the form of a dialogue between Yajnavalkya and the renowned philosopher [[Gargi Vachaknavi]].{{sfn|Rosen|2006}} The origin of the 12-chapter text has been traced to the second century BCE and the fourth century CE.{{sfn|Divanji|1954|p=105}} Yoga texts such as the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'', the ''Yoga Kundalini'' and the ''Yoga Tattva Upanishads'' have borrowed from (or frequently refer to) the ''Yoga Yajnavalkya''.{{sfn|Mohan|2010|p=127}} It discusses eight yoga [[asana]]s (Swastika, Gomukha, Padma, Vira, Simha, Bhadra, Mukta and Mayura),{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=479}} a number of breathing exercises for body cleansing,{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=481–484}} and meditation.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=485–486}}

{{anchor|Buddhist Abhidharma and Yogacara}}
==== Abhidharma and Yogachara ====

[[File:Muchaku Hokuendo Kofukuji 2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|alt=Old sculpture of the scholar Asanga|[[Asanga]], a fourth-century scholar and co-founder of the Yogachara ("Yoga practice") school of Mahayana Buddhism{{sfn|Koller|2002|pp=144–145}}]]

The Buddhist tradition of [[Abhidharma]] spawned treatises which expanded teachings on Buddhist theory and yoga techniques which influenced [[Mahayana]] and [[Theravada]] Buddhism. At the height of the [[Gupta period]] (fourth to fifth centuries CE), a northern Mahayana movement known as [[Yogachara|Yogācāra]] began to be systematized with the writings of Buddhist scholars [[Asanga]] and [[Vasubandhu]]. Yogācāra Buddhism provided a systematic framework for practices which lead a [[bodhisattva]] towards awakening and full [[Buddhahood]].{{sfn|Lusthaus|2002|p=533}} Its teachings are found in the encyclopedic ''[[Yogacarabhumi-sastra|Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra]]'' (''[[Shastra|Treatise]] for Yoga Practitioners''), which was also translated into Tibetan and Chinese and influenced [[East Asian Buddhism|East Asian]] and [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhist]] traditions.{{sfn|Kragh|2013|pp=16, 25}} Mallinson and Singleton write that the study of Yogācāra Buddhism is essential to understand yoga's early history, and its teachings influenced the ''Pātañjalayogaśāstra.''{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xvii–xviii}} The South India and Sri Lankan-based [[Theravada]] school also developed manuals for yogic and meditative training, primarily the ''[[Vimuttimagga]]'' and the ''[[Visuddhimagga]]''.

====Jainism====

{{main|Jainism}}

According to ''[[Tattvarthasutra]]'', a second-to-fifth century Jain text, yoga is the sum of all activities of mind, speech and body.{{efn|name="Tattvarthasutra 2007 p. 102"}} [[Umasvati]] calls yoga the generator of [[Asrava|karma]], and essential to the path to liberation.<ref name="Tattvarthasutra 6.2">''Tattvarthasutra'' [6.2]</ref> In his ''[[Niyamasara]]'', [[Kundakunda]] describes ''yoga bhakti''—devotion to the path to liberation—as the highest form of devotion.{{sfn|Kundakunda|pp=134–140}} [[Haribhadra]] and [[Hemacandra]] note the five major vows of ascetics and 12 minor vows of laity in yoga. According to [[Robert J. Zydenbos]], Jainism is a system of yogic thinking which became a religion.{{sfn|Zydenbos|2006|p=66}} The [[Yamas#Five yamas of Patañjali|five yamas]] (constraints) of the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'' are similar to Jainism's [[Ethics of Jainism#Maha vratas (major vows)|five major vows]], indicating cross-fertilization between these traditions.{{sfn|Zydenbos|2006|p=66}}{{efn|Worthington writes, "Yoga fully acknowledges its debt to Jainism, and Jainism reciprocates by making the practice of yoga part and parcel of life."{{sfn|Worthington|1982|p=35}}}} Hinduism's influence on Jain yoga may be seen in Haribhadra's ''[[Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya]]'', which outlines an eightfold yoga influenced by Patanjali's eightfold yoga.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=313}}

===Middle Ages (500–1500 CE)===

{{further|Yoga's global dispersal}}

{{multiple image
| total_width=330
| footer=Male and female [[yogi]]s in 17th- and 18th-century India
| image1=A yogi seated in a garden.jpg
| alt1=A male yogi
| image2=Female Ascetics (Yoginis) LACMA M.2011.156.4 (1 of 2).jpg
| alt2=Two female yoginis
}}

The Middle Ages saw the development of satellite yoga traditions, and the emergence of [[hatha yoga]].{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=136–139}}

====Bhakti movement====

{{Main|Bhakti yoga}}

In medieval Hinduism, the [[Bhakti movement]] advocated the concept of a [[personal god]] or [[Svayam Bhagavan|Supreme Personality]]. The movement, begun by the [[Alvars]] of South India during the 6th to 9th centuries, became influential throughout India by the 12th to 15th centuries.{{sfn|Cutler|1987|p=1}} [[Shaivism|Shaiva]] and [[Vaishnava]] ''bhakti'' traditions integrated aspects of the ''Yoga Sutras'' (such as meditative exercises) with devotion.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=137}} The ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]'' elucidates a form of yoga known as ''viraha'' (separation) ''bhakti'', which emphasizes concentration on Krishna.{{sfn|Jacobsen|2011|p=22}}

{{anchor|Hindu Tantra}}
====Tantra====

''[[Tantra]]'' is a range of esoteric traditions which had begun to arise in India by the 5th century CE.{{sfn|Einoo|2009|p=45}}{{efn|"Tantra" is documented in the [[Rigveda]] (X.71.9).}} Its use suggests that the word ''tantra'' in the ''Rigveda'' means "technique". George Samuel wrote that ''tantra'' is a contested term, but may be considered a school whose practices appeared in nearly-complete form in Buddhist and Hindu texts by about the 10th century CE.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=9}} Tantric yoga developed complex visualizations, which included meditation on the body as a microcosm of the cosmos. It included mantras, breath control, and body manipulation (including its [[Nadi (yoga)|nadis]] and [[chakra]]s. Teachings about chakras and Kundalini became central to later forms of Indian yoga.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=xviii–xx}}

Tantric concepts influenced Hindu, [[Bon]], Buddhist, and Jain traditions. Elements of Tantric rituals were adopted by, and influenced, state functions in medieval Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in [[East Asia|East]] and [[Southeast Asia]].{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=324–333}} By the turn of the first millennium, [[hatha yoga]] emerged from [[tantra]].{{sfn|Burley|2000|p=16}}{{efn|name="hatha_yoga_dating"}}

=====Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhism=====

[[Vajrayana]] is also known as Tantric Buddhism and ''Tantrayāna''. Its texts began to be compiled during the seventh century CE, and [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]] translations were completed the following century. These ''tantra'' texts were the main source of Buddhist knowledge imported into Tibet,{{sfn|Powers|2004|pp=775–785}} and were later translated into Chinese and other Asian languages. The Buddhist text [[Hevajra#Hevajra Tantra|Hevajra Tantra]] and ''[[Songs of realization|caryāgiti]]'' introduced hierarchies of chakras.{{sfn|White|2012|p=14}} Yoga is a significant practice in Tantric Buddhism.<ref name="Lama Yeshe 1998, pp.135–141">{{harvnb|Lama Yeshe|1998|pp=135–141}}</ref>{{sfn|Trungpa|2001}}

Tantra yoga practices include postures and breathing exercises. The [[Nyingma]] school practices [[Trul khor|yantra yoga]], a discipline which includes breath work, meditation and other exercises.{{sfn|Norbu|2008|pp= }} Nyingma meditation is divided into stages,{{sfn|Trungpa|2001}} such as [[Kriya Yoga school|Kriya Yoga]], Upa yoga, Yoga yana, [[Mahayoga|mahā yoga]], [[Anuyoga|Anu yoga]] and [[atiyoga]].{{sfn|Ray|2002|pp=37–38}} The [[Tibetan Buddhism#Tibetan Buddhist schools|Sarma]] traditions also include Kriya, Upa (called "Charya"), and yoga, with [[anuttara yoga]] replacing mahayoga and atiyoga.{{sfn|Ray|2002|p=57}}

{{anchor|Yoga and Zen}}

====Zen Buddhism====

[[Zen]], whose name derives from the Sanskrit ''dhyāna'' via the Chinese ''ch'an'',{{efn|"The Meditation school, called 'Ch'an' in Chinese from the Sanskrit 'dhyāna,' is best known in the West by the Japanese pronunciation 'Zen{{'"}}.{{sfn|De Bary|1969|pp=207–208}} }} is a form of Mahayana Buddhism in which yoga is an integral part.{{efn|{{harvnb|Dumoulin|Heisig|Knitter|2005|p=13}}: "This phenomenon merits special attention since yogic roots are to be found in the Zen Buddhist school of meditation."}}

{{anchor|Hatha Yoga}}

====Medieval hatha yoga====

{{main|Hatha yoga}}

[[File:Gorakshanath.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Sculpture of [[Gorakshanath]], an 11th-century yogi of the [[Nath]] tradition and a proponent of hatha yoga{{sfn|Banerjea|1983|p=xxi}}|alt=Sculpture of a young yogi sitting in the lotus position]]

The first references to hatha yoga are in eighth-century Buddhist works.{{efn|{{harvnb|Mallinson|2012|p=2}}: "The earliest references to hathayoga are scattered mentions in Buddhist canonical works and their exegesis dating from the eighth century onwards, in which it is the soteriological method of last resort." The earliest definition of hatha yoga is in the 11th-century Buddhist text ''[[Vimalaprabha]]''.{{sfn|Mallinson|2012|p=2}}: "In its earliest definition, in Pundarīka's eleventh-century Vimalaprabhā commentary on the Kālacakratantra, hathayoga is said to bring about the "unchanging moment" (aksaraksana) "through the practice of nāda by forcefully making the breath enter the central channel and through restraining the bindu of the bodhicitta in the vajra of the lotus of wisdom". While the means employed are not specified, the ends, in 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."}} Hatha yoga blends elements of Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras'' with posture and breathing exercises.{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=140}} It marks the development of asanas into the full-body postures in current popular use{{sfn|Burley|2000|p=16}} and, with its modern variations, is the style presently associated with the word "yoga".{{sfn|Feuerstein|1996|}}

====Sikhism====

Yogic groups became prominent in [[Punjab]] during the 15th and 16th centuries, when [[Sikhism]] was beginning. Compositions by [[Guru Nanak]] (the founder of Sikhism) describe dialogues he had with [[Jogi (caste)|Jogis]], a Hindu community which practiced yoga. Guru Nanak rejected the austerities, rites and rituals associated with hatha yoga, advocating sahaja yoga or nama yoga instead.{{sfn|Mansukhani|2009|p=66}} According to the [[Guru Granth Sahib]],

{{blockquote|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.{{sfn|Dhillon|2010|p=178}} }}

=== Modern yoga ===

==== Types ====

{{further|Modern yoga|Modern yoga gurus}}

[[Elizabeth de Michelis]] distinguished four types of [[modern yoga]], namely "Modern Psychosomatic Yoga" such as that of [[Yogendra]], [[Kuvalayananda]], and [[Sivananda]], emphasising practical experience; "Modern Denominational Yoga" such as that of [[Brahma Kumaris]], [[Sahaja Yoga]], and [[ISKCON]], emphasising each school's own teachings; "[[Yoga as exercise|Modern Postural Yoga]]" (yoga as exercise) emphasising the practice of [[asana]]s; and "Modern Meditational Yoga" emphasising mental techniques of concentration and [[meditation]], such as those of early [[Transcendental Meditation]] and [[Sri Chinmoy]].{{sfn|De Michelis|2004|pp=187–189}} [[Mark Singleton (yoga scholar)|Mark Singleton]] does not subscribe to De Michelis's framework, instead considering "modern yoga" to be a descriptive name for "yoga in the modern age".{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=18–19}}

{{anchor|Introduction in the west}}
==== Introduction in the West ====

{{main|Early modern yoga}}

[[File:Swami_Vivekananda_1896.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6 |alt=Formal photograph of Swami Vivekananda, eyes downcast|Swami Vivekananda in London in 1896]]

Yoga and other aspects of Indian philosophy came to the attention of the educated Western public during the mid-19th century, and [[N. C. Paul]] published his ''Treatise on Yoga Philosophy'' in 1851.{{sfn|Besaw|2014|p=10}} [[Swami Vivekananda]], the first Hindu teacher to advocate and disseminate elements of yoga to a Western audience, toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s.<ref group=web name="Shaw YJ 2010"/> His reception built on the interest of intellectuals who included the [[Transcendental Club|New England Transcendentalists]]; among them were [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] (1803–1882), who drew on [[German Romanticism]] and philosophers and scholars such as [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] (1770–1831), the brothers [[August Wilhelm Schlegel]] (1767–1845) and [[Friedrich Schlegel]] (1772–1829), [[Max Müller|Max Mueller]] (1823–1900), and [[Arthur Schopenhauer]] (1788–1860).{{sfn|Goldberg|2010|pp=21ff}}{{sfn|Von Glasenapp|1974|pp=166ff}}

[[Theosophists]], including [[Helena Blavatsky]], also influenced the Western public's view of yoga.<ref group=web name="Fear Utne 2007"/> Esoteric views at the end of the 19th century encouraged the reception of Vedanta and yoga, with their correspondence between the spiritual and the physical.{{sfn|De Michelis|2004|pp=19ff}} The reception of yoga and Vedanta entwined with the (primarily [[Neoplatonism|neoplatonic]]) currents of religious and philosophical reform and [[Spiritual transformation|transformation]] during the 19th and early 20th centuries. [[Mircea Eliade]] brought a new element to yoga, emphasizing tantric yoga in his ''Yoga: Immortality and Freedom''.{{sfn|Eliade|1958}} With the introduction of tantra traditions and philosophy, the conception of the "transcendent" attained by yogic practice shifted from the mind to the body.{{sfn|Flood|1993|pp=229ff}}

In 1925, [[Paramahansa Yogananda]] came from India to the United States and started the [[Kriya Yoga school]] in [[Los Angeles]],<ref group=web name="Meares 2013"/> becoming one of the first Indian Yoga teachers to settle in America.<ref group=web name="TOI-Yogi-Param"/><ref group=web name="HF-Yogi 2012"/>

{{anchor|Yoga as a physical practice}}

====Yoga as exercise====

{{main|Yoga as exercise}}

[[File:Yoga in Bryant Park (01194).jpg|thumb|Large public [[yoga as exercise]] class in a New York City park]]

Yoga as exercise, the postural yoga of the Western world, is a physical activity consisting of [[asana]]s, often connected by [[Vinyāsa|smooth transitions]], sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises and usually ending with a period of relaxation or meditation. It is often known simply as "yoga",{{sfn|De Michelis|2007}} despite older traditions in which asanas played little or no part; asanas were not central to any tradition.{{sfn|Jain|2016}}

Yoga as exercise is a 20th-century blend of Western [[physical culture]] and women's [[harmonial gymnastics]] with haṭha yoga, pioneered by [[Shri Yogendra]] and [[Swami Kuvalayananda]].{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=32, 50}} Before 1900, hatha yoga had few standing poses; the [[Sun Salutation|Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar)]] was pioneered by Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi, the Rajah of Aundh, during the 1920s.<ref group=web name="ET 2018"/> Many standing poses used in gymnastics were incorporated into yoga by [[Krishnamacharya]] in Mysore between the 1930s and the 1950s.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=199–203}} Several of his students founded schools of yoga. [[Pattabhi Jois]] created [[ashtanga vinyasa yoga]],{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=175–210}} which led to [[Power Yoga]];<ref group=web name="Kest Power Yoga 2017"/> [[B. K. S. Iyengar]] created [[Iyengar Yoga]] and systematised asanas in his 1966 book, ''[[Light on Yoga]]'';{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|pp=39, 47}} [[Indra Devi]] taught yoga to Hollywood actors; and Krishnamacharya's son, [[T. K. V. Desikachar]], founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandalam in [[Chennai]].<ref group=web name="Cushman YJ 2000"/>{{sfn|Mehta|Mehta|Mehta|1990|p=9}}{{sfn|Desikachar|2005|at=cover}} Other schools founded during the 20th century include [[Bikram Choudhury]]'s [[Bikram Yoga]] and [[Swami Sivananda]] of [[Rishikesh]]'s [[Sivananda yoga]]. Yoga as exercise has spread around the world.<ref group=web name="YJ on styles"/><ref group=web name="Beirne Guardian 2014"/>

[[File:The Yoga Guru, Baba Ramdev and the Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu at a yoga camp ahead of the International Day of Yoga - 2016 (1).jpg|thumb|alt=A guru leads a large group in outdoor meditation|[[International Day of Yoga]] in New Delhi, 2016]]

The number of [[List of asanas|asanas used in yoga]] has increased from 84{{efn|84's symbolism may derive from its astrological and numerological properties: it is the product of 7, the number of planets in [[astrology]], and 12, the number of [[signs of the zodiac]], while in [[numerology]], 7 is the sum of 3 and 4, and 12 is the product, i.e. 84 is (3+4)×(3×4).{{sfn|Rosen|2017|p=171}} }} in 1830 (as illustrated in ''[[Joga Pradipika]]'') to about 200 in ''Light on Yoga'' and over 900 performed by [[Dharma Mittra]] by 1984. The spiritual goal of haṭha yoga was largely replaced by the goals of [[physical fitness]] and relaxation, and many of its more esoteric components were reduced or removed.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=29, 170}} In modern usage, the term "hatha yoga" denotes gentle exercise, often [[Yoga for women|for women]].{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=152}}

Yoga as exercise has developed into a worldwide, multi-billion-dollar business involving classes, [[yoga teacher training|teacher certification]], clothing such as [[yoga pants]], equipment including [[yoga mat]]s, books, videos, and [[yoga tourism|holidays]].<ref group=web name="Delaney 2017"/> The ancient, cross-legged [[lotus position]] and [[Siddhasana]] are widely recognised symbols of yoga.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=32}} The [[United Nations General Assembly]] established 21 June as the [[International Day of Yoga]],<ref group=web name="UNIC 2016"/><ref group=web name="Rajghatta Times of India 2014"/><ref group=web name="Times of India IDOY 2014"/> and it has been celebrated annually around the world since 2015.<ref group=web name="Newsroom 2015"/><ref group=web name="NDTV 2015"/> On 1 December 2016, yoga was listed by [[UNESCO]] as an [[intangible cultural heritage]].<ref group=web name="Guardian Unesco 2016"/>

The effect of yoga as exercise [[yoga as therapy|on physical and mental health]] has been a subject of study, with evidence that regular practice is beneficial for [[low back pain]] and [[Stress (biology)|stress]].{{sfn|Ross|Thomas|2010|pp=3–12}}{{sfn|Hayes|Chase|2010|pp=31–47}}. Yoga as exercises (compaired to no exercises) can improve function and pain in chronic low back pain after three months; there is no evidence that yoga is better or worse than any other back-pain exercises.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Wieland LS, Skoetz N, Pilkington K, Harbin S, Vempati R, Berman BM |date=18 Nov 2022 |title=Yoga for chronic non-specific low back pain |journal=Cochrane Database Syst Rev. |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD010671.pub3 |pmid=36398843|pmc=9673466 }}</ref> A 2015 [[systematic review]] noted that yoga may be effective in alleviating symptoms of [[prenatal depression]].{{sfn|Gong|2015}}

== Traditions ==

Yoga is practised with a variety of methods by all [[Indian religions]]. In Hinduism, practices include [[jnana yoga]], [[bhakti yoga]], [[karma yoga]], [[kundalini yoga]], and [[hatha yoga]].

=== Jain yoga ===

{{further|Jain meditation}}

Yoga has been a central practice in [[Jainism]]. Jain spirituality is based on a strict code of nonviolence, or [[ahimsa]] (which includes [[vegetarianism]]), almsgiving ([[dāna]]), faith in the [[Ratnatraya|three jewels]], austerities (''[[Tapas (Indian religions)|tapas]]'') such as [[Fasting in Jainism|fasting]], and yoga.{{sfn|Mahapragya|2004|at=Foreword}}{{sfn|Feuerstein|2002|pp=187, 198}} Jain yoga aims at the liberation and purification of the self from the forces of [[Karma in Jainism|karma]], which binds the self to the cycle of [[reincarnation]]. Like yoga and Sankhya, Jainism believes in a number of individual selves bound by their individual karma.{{sfn|Tulsi|2004|at=Blessings}} Only through the reduction of karmic influences and the exhaustion of collected karma can one become purified and released.{{sfn|Feuerstein|2002|pp=192–193}} Early Jain yoga seems to have been divided into several types, including meditation, abandonment of the body ([[Kayotsarga|kāyotsarga]]), [[Twelve Contemplations|contemplation]], and reflection (bhāvanā).{{sfn|Pragya|2017|p=42}}

=== Buddhist yoga ===

[[File:Gal Viharaya 02.jpg|thumb|alt=Statue of the Buddha meditating|[[Gautama Buddha]] in seated meditation, [[Gal Vihara]], [[Sri Lanka]] ]]

{{further|Buddhist meditation|Dhyana in Buddhism||}}

Buddhist yoga encompasses a variety of methods which aim to develop the [[Bodhipakkhiyādhammā|37 aids to awakening.]] Its ultimate goal is [[bodhi]] (awakening) or [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|nirvana]] (cessation), traditionally seen as the permanent end of suffering ([[dukkha]]) and [[Rebirth (Buddhism)|rebirth]].{{efn|For instance, Kamalashila (2003), p. 4, states that Buddhist meditation "includes any method of meditation that has [[Bodhi|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, [[Nirvana|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).}} [[Buddhist texts]] use a number of terms for spiritual [[Praxis (process)|praxis]] in addition to yoga, such as ''[[Bhavana|bhāvanā]]'' ("development"){{efn|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'', [[Majjhima Nikaya|MN]] 62), Ven. [[Sariputta]] tells Ven. [[Rahula]] (in Pali, based on [http://www.tipitaka.org/romn/cscd/s0202m.mul1.xml VRI, n.d.)]: ''{{IAST|ānāpānassatiṃ, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi.}}'' [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.062.than.html Thanissaro (2006)] translates this as: "Rahula, develop the meditation [''{{IAST|bhāvana}}''] of [[anapanasati|mindfulness of in-&-out breathing]]." (Square-bracketed Pali word included based on Thanissaro, 2006, end note.)}} and ''[[Dhyāna in Buddhism|jhāna/dhyāna]]''.{{efn|See, for example, [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:1:2005.pali Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), entry for "jhāna1"]; [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/onetool.html Thanissaro (1997)]; as well as, Kapleau (1989), p. 385, for the derivation of the word "zen" from [[Sanskrit]] "dhyāna." [[Pali Text Society|PTS]] Secretary Dr. Rupert Gethin, in describing the activities of [[sramana|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.)}}

In [[Pre-sectarian Buddhism|early Buddhism]], yoga practices included:

* the four ''[[Dhyāna in Buddhism|dhyānas]]'' (four meditations or mental absorptions),
* the [[Satipatthana|four ''satipatthanas'']] (foundations or establishments of mindfulness),
* ''[[anapanasati]]'' (mindfulness of breath),
* the [[Dhyāna in Buddhism#The arupas|four immaterial dwellings]] (supranormal states of mind),
* the [[Brahmavihara|''brahmavihārās'']] (divine abodes).
* ''[[Anussati]]'' (contemplations, recollections)

These meditations were seen as supported by the other elements of the [[Noble Eightfold Path]], such as [[Buddhist ethics|ethics]], [[Four Right Exertions|right exertion]], sense restraint and [[View (Buddhism)|right view]].{{sfn|Analayo|2017|pp=69–70, 80}} Two mental qualities are said to be indispensable for yoga practice in Buddhism: ''[[samatha]]'' (calm, stability) and ''[[vipassanā]]'' (insight, clear seeing).{{sfn|Bhikkhu|1997}} ''Samatha'' is a stable, relaxed mind, associated with ''[[samadhi]]'' (mental unification, focus) and ''dhyana'' (a state of meditative absorption). ''[[Vipassanā]]'' is insight or penetrative understanding into the true nature of phenomena, also defined as "seeing things as they truly are" (''yathābhūtaṃ darśanam''). A unique feature of classical Buddhism is its understanding of all phenomena (''[[dhammas]]'') as being empty of a self.{{sfn|Buswell|2004|p=889}}{{sfn|Williams|2008|pp=68–69}}

Later developments in Buddhist traditions led to innovations in yoga practice. The conservative [[Theravada]] school developed new ideas on meditation and yoga in its later works, the most influential of which is the ''[[Visuddhimagga]]''. Mahayana meditation teachings may be seen in the [[Yogacarabhumi-sastra|''Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra'']], compiled c. 4th century. Mahayana also developed and adopted yoga methods such as the use of [[mantra]]s and [[dharani]], [[Pure Land Buddhism|pure land practices]] aiming at rebirth in a [[Pure land|pure land or buddhafield]], and visualization. Chinese Buddhism developed the [[Chan Buddhism|Chan]] practice of [[Koan]] introspection and [[Hua Tou]]. [[Vajrayana|Tantric Buddhism]] developed and adopted tantric methods which are the basis of the Tibetan Buddhist yoga systems, including [[deity yoga]], [[guru yoga]], the [[Six Dharmas of Naropa|six yogas of Naropa]], [[Kalacakra Tantra|Kalacakra]], [[Mahamudra]] and [[Dzogchen]].{{sfn|Feuerstein|2002|pp=230–241}}

=== Classical yoga ===

{{main|Yoga (philosophy)}}

Classical yoga, [[Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga)|ashtanga yoga]], or ''[[rāja yoga]]'' is primarily the yoga outlined in the dualistic ''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]]''.{{sfn|White|2014|p=xvi}} The origins of classical yoga are unclear, although early discussions of the term appear in the Upanishads.{{sfn|Larson|2008|pp=43–45}} ''Rāja yoga'' (yoga of kings) originally denoted the ultimate goal of yoga; ''[[samadhi]]'',{{sfn|Mallinson|2011|p=770}} but was popularised by [[Vivekananda]] as a common name for ashtanga yoga,{{efn|Not to be confused with [[Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga]], a style of [[modern yoga]] using fluid transitions ([[vinyasa]]s) between asanas.}} the eight limbs attain samadhi as described in the ''Yoga Sutras''.{{sfn|Hari Dass|1978}}{{sfn|White|2014|p=xvi}} Yoga philosophy came to be regarded as a distinct orthodox school (''[[Hindu philosophy|darsanas]]'') of Hinduism in the second half of the first millennium CE.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|p=320}}<ref group=web name=Bryant2010_IEP/>

Classical yoga incorporates epistemology, metaphysics, ethical practices, systematic exercises and self-development for body, mind and spirit.{{sfn|Bryant|2011}} Its [[epistemology]] (''[[pramana]]'') and metaphysics are similar to the [[Samkhya|Sāṅkhya]] school. The Classical yoga's metaphysics, like Sāṅkhya's, primarily posits two distinct realities: ''[[prakriti]]'' (nature, the eternal and active unconscious source of the material world composed of three ''[[guṇas]]'') and ''puruṣa'' (consciousness), the plural consciousnesses which are the intelligent principles of the world. Moksha (liberation) results from the isolation (''[[kaivalya]])'' of ''puruṣa'' from ''prakirti,'' and is achieved through meditation, stilling one's thought waves (''citta vritti'') and resting in pure awareness of ''puruṣa.''<ref group=web name="Ruzsa IEP Sankhya"/> Unlike Sāṅkhya, which takes a non-theistic approach,{{sfn|Pflueger|2005|pp=38–39}}{{sfn|Burley|2012|pp=43–46}} the yoga school of Hinduism accepts a "personal, yet essentially inactive, deity" or "personal god" ([[Ishvara]]).{{sfn|Behanan|2002|pp=56–58}}{{sfn|Burley|2012|pp=39, 41}}

=== In Advaita Vedanta ===

[[File:Raja Ravi Varma - Sankaracharya.jpg|thumb|upright| [[Raja Ravi Varma]]'s ''Adi Shankara with Disciples'' (1904)|alt=Painting of a guru with four disciples near a pond]]

[[Vedanta]] is a varied tradition, with a number of sub-schools and philosophical views. It focuses on the study of the [[Upanishads]] and the ''[[Brahma Sutras]]'' (one of its early texts), about gaining spiritual knowledge of [[Brahman]]: the unchanging, absolute reality.{{sfn|Thibaut|1890|pp=lxxii–lxxiii}}

One of the earliest and most influential sub-traditions of Vedanta is [[Advaita Vedanta]], which posits [[Nonduality (spirituality)|non-dualistic]] [[monism]]. It emphasizes [[Jnana yoga|jñāna yoga]] (yoga of knowledge), which aims at realizing the identity of one's atman (individual consciousness) with Brahman (the Absolute consciousness).{{sfn|Deutsch|1980|pp=104–105}}{{sfn|Comans|2000|p=183}} The most influential thinker of this school is [[Adi Shankara]] (8th century), who wrote commentaries and other works on jñāna yoga. In Advaita Vedanta, jñāna is attained from scripture, one's [[guru]], and through a process of listening to (and meditating on) teachings.{{sfn|Bilimoria|2012|pp=299–301}} Qualities such as discrimination, renunciation, tranquility, temperance, dispassion, endurance, faith, attention, and a longing for knowledge and freedom are also desirable.{{sfn|Deutsch|1980|pp=105–108}} Yoga in Advaita is a "meditative exercise of withdrawal from the particular and identification with the universal, leading to contemplation of oneself as the most universal, namely, Consciousness".{{sfn|Comans|1993|pp=19–38}}

''[[Yoga Vasistha]]'' is an influential Advaita text{{sfn|Feuerstein|2002|p=401}} which uses [[Contents and stories of the Yoga Vasistha|short stories and anecdotes]] to illustrate its ideas. Teaching seven stages of yoga practice, it was a major reference for medieval Advaita Vedanta yoga scholars and one of the most popular texts on Hindu yoga before the 12th century.{{sfn|White|2014|pp=xvi–xvii, 51}} Another text which teaches yoga from an Advaita point of view is the ''[[Yoga Yajnavalkya]].''{{sfn|Rosen|2001|pp=147–149}}

=== Tantric yoga ===

{{main|Tantra}}

According to Samuel, Tantra is a contested concept.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=9}} Tantra yoga may be described as practices in 9th to 10th century Buddhist and Hindu (Saiva, Shakti) texts which included yogic practices with elaborate deity visualizations using geometric arrays and drawings ([[mandala]]s), male and (particularly) female deities, life-stage-related rituals, the use of [[chakra]]s and [[mantra]]s, and sexual techniques aimed at aiding one's health, longevity and liberation.{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=9}}{{sfn|Stiles|2011|pp=3–7}}

=== Hatha yoga ===

[[File:Jogapradipika 29 Viparitakarana.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Painting of a man doing a shoulder stand|[[Viparita Karani|Viparītakaraṇī]], a posture used as an asana and a [[mudra]]{{sfn|Mallinson|2011|pp=770–781}}]]

{{main|Hatha yoga}}

Hatha yoga focuses on physical and mental strength-building exercises and postures described primarily in three Hindu texts:<ref name=kriyananda>See Kriyananada, page 112.</ref><ref name=burley73>See Burley, page 73.</ref><ref name=Roden>See Introduction by Rosen, pp 1–2.</ref>

# ''[[Hatha Yoga Pradipika]]'' by Svātmārāma (15th century)
# ''[[Shiva Samhita]]'', author unknown (1500<ref name=mallinson>See translation by Mallinson.</ref> or late 17th century)
# ''[[Gheranda Samhita]]'' by Gheranda (late 17th century)

Some scholars include [[Gorakshanath]]'s 11th-century ''[[Goraksha Samhita]]'' on the list.<ref name=kriyananda/> [[Vajrayana]] Buddhism, founded by the Indian [[Mahasiddha]]s,{{sfn|Davidson|2002|pp=169–235}} has a series of asanas and pranayamas (such as [[tummo]])<ref name="Lama Yeshe 1998, pp.135–141"/> which resemble hatha yoga.

{{anchor|Laya yoga and kundalini yoga}}

=== Laya and kundalini yoga ===

Laya and [[kundalini yoga]], closely associated with hatha yoga, are often presented as independent approaches.{{sfn|Whicher|1998|pp=6–7}} According to [[Georg Feuerstein]], laya yoga (yoga of dissolution or merging) "makes meditative absorption (''laya'') its focus. The laya-yogin seeks to transcend all memory traces and sensory experiences by dissolving the microcosm, the mind, in the transcendental Self-Consciousness."{{sfn|Feuerstein|1989|p=61}} Laya yoga has a number of techniques which include listening to the "inner sound" (''nada''), mudras such as [[Khecarī mudrā|Khechari]] and Shambhavi mudra, and awakening [[kundalini]] (body energy).{{sfn|Daniélou|1991|p=107}}

Kundalini yoga aims to awaken bodily and [[Shakti|cosmic energy]] with breath and body techniques, uniting them with universal consciousness.{{sfn|Larson|2008|p=142}} A common teaching method awakens kundalini in the lowest [[chakra]] and guides it through the central channel to unite with the absolute consciousness in the highest chakra, at the top of the head.{{sfn|Vishnudevananda|1999|p=89}}

{{anchor|Reception in other religions}}
==Reception by other religions==

===Christianity===

{{further|Category:Christian yoga}}

Some Christians integrate [[Asana|physical aspects]] of yoga, stripped from the [[Yoga (philosophy)|spiritual roots]] of [[Hinduism]], and other aspects of Eastern spirituality with [[Christian prayer|prayer]], [[Christian meditation|meditation]] and [[Jesus|Jesus-centric]] affirmations.<ref group=web name="nytimes_vatican"/><ref group=web name="vice21"/> The practice also includes renaming poses in English (rather than using the original [[Sanskrit]] terms), and abandoning [[Mantra|involved Hindu mantra]]s as well as [[Yoga (philosophy)|the philosophy of Yoga]]; Yoga is associated and reframed into [[Christianity]].<ref group=web name="vice21"/> This has drawn charges of [[cultural appropriation]] from various Hindu groups;<ref group=web name="vice21"/><ref group=web name="abc20"/> scholars remain skeptical.{{sfn|Jain|2014}} 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.<ref group=web name="WashPost 1989"/><ref group=web name="BBC 2003"/>{{sfn|Teasdale|2004|p=74}}

In 1989 and 2003, the [[Holy Office|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.{{sfn|Walsh|Savickas|2005|p=358}} 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 [[Gnosticism|gnostics]]' belief that salvation came not through faith but through mystical inner knowledge.<ref group=web name="nytimes_vatican"/> The letter also says, "one can see if and how [prayer] might be enriched by meditation methods developed in other religions and cultures"<ref group=web name="Letter from Vatican"/> but maintains the idea that "there must be some fit between the nature of [other approaches to] prayer and Christian beliefs about ultimate reality."<ref group=web name="nytimes_vatican"/> [[Fundamental Christianity|Fundamentalist]] Christian organizations have sometimes considered yoga incompatible with their religious background, considering it a part of the [[New Age movement]] inconsistent with Christianity.{{sfn|Ankerberg|Weldon|1996|at="Yoga"}}

=== Islam ===

Early-11th-century Persian scholar [[Al-Biruni]] visited India, lived with Hindus for 16 years, and (with their help) translated several Sanskrit works into Arabic and Persian; one of these was Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras''.{{sfn|Pines|Gelblum|1966}}{{sfn|White|2014|p= }} Although Al-Biruni's translation preserved many core themes of Patañjali's yoga philosophy, some sutras and commentaries were restated for consistency with monotheistic Islamic theology.{{sfn|Pines|Gelblum|1966}}{{sfn|Maas|2013|pp=53–90}} Al-Biruni's version of the ''Yoga Sutras'' reached Persia and the [[Arabian Peninsula]] by about 1050. During the 16th century, the hatha yoga text ''Amritakunda'' was translated into Arabic and Persian.{{sfn|Chandra|2007|pp=135–136}} Yoga was, however, not accepted by mainstream [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] and [[Shia Islam]]. Minority [[Islam]]ic sects such as the mystic [[Sufi]] movement, particularly in South Asia, adopted Indian yoga postures and breath control.{{sfn|Ernst|2005|pp=15–43}}<ref group=web name="UNC Sufism 2010"/> Muhammad Ghawth, a 16th-century Shattari Sufi and translator of yoga text, was criticized for his interest in yoga and persecuted for his Sufi beliefs.<ref group=web name="Ernst Shattari Sufism 2014"/>

Malaysia's top [[Islam]]ic body imposed a legally-enforceable 2008 [[fatwa]] prohibiting [[Muslim]]s from practicing yoga, saying that it had elements of [[Hinduism]] and its practice was [[haram]] as [[Islam and blasphemy|blasphemy]].<ref group=web name="Sidang Media 2010"/><ref group=web name="Babie Rochow 2012"/> Malaysian Muslims who had been practicing yoga for years called the decision "insulting."<ref group=web name="NBC Top Islamic Body"/> [[Sisters in Islam]], a Malaysian women's-rights group, expressed disappointment and said that yoga was a form of exercise.<ref group=web name="Star Yoga Ban 2008"/> Malaysia's prime minister clarified that yoga as exercise is permissible, but the chanting of religious mantras is not.<ref group=web name="Saudi Gazette 2013"/>

The [[Indonesian Ulema Council]] (MUI) imposed a 2009 fatwa banning yoga practices such as chanting or repeating mantras because those contained Hindu elements; yoga purely as exercise was permitted.<ref group=web name="BBC Indonesian Clerics 2009"/> These fatwas have been criticized by [[Darul Uloom Deoband]], a [[Deobandi]] Islamic seminary in India.<ref group=web name="Rediff 2009"/> Similar fatwas banning yoga for its link to Hinduism were imposed by Grand Mufti [[Ali Gomaa]] in [[Egypt]] in 2004, and by Islamic clerics in Singapore earlier.{{sfn|Jain|2014|p=195}}<ref group=web name="New Straits Times 2015"/>
According to Iran's yoga association, the country had about 200 yoga centres in May 2014. One-quarter were in the capital, [[Tehran]], where groups could be seen practising in parks; conservatives were opposed.<ref group=web name="Economist 2014"/> In May 2009, Turkish [[Directorate of Religious Affairs]] head [[Ali Bardakoğlu]] discounted personal-development techniques such as [[reiki]] and yoga as commercial ventures which could lead to extremism. According to Bardakoğlu, reiki and yoga could be a form of proselytizing at the expense of Islam.<ref group=web name="Hürriyet 2009"/> [[Nouf Marwaai]] brought yoga to [[Saudi Arabia]] in 2017, contributing to making it legal and recognized despite being allegedly threatened by her community which asserts yoga as "un-Islamic".<ref group=web name="Economic Times Saudi 2017"/>

== See also ==

* [[Modern yoga gurus]]
* [[List of yoga schools]]
* [[Yoga tourism]]
* [[:Category:Yogis|Yogis]]

== Notes ==

{{notelist|30em|refs=


{{efn|name="hatha_yoga_dating"|Hatha Yoga dating: {{harvtxt|Mallinson |2012|p=20}}: "The techniques of hatha yoga are not taught in Sanskrit texts until the 11th century or thereabouts." {{harvtxt|Burley|2000|p=15}} "While many scholars prefer to locate hatha-yoga's formative years somewhere between the ninth and tenth centuries CE, coinciding with the estimated flourishing of the great siddhas Matsyendra and Goraksa, other researchers and practitioners of yoga look much farther back in time."}}


{{efn|name="Katha_Upanishad"|The first known appearance of the word "yoga" with the same meaning as the modern term is in the ''[[Katha Upanishad]]'' ({{harvnb|Singleton|2010|pp=25–34}}, {{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=95}}), which was probably composed between the fifth and third centuries BCE ({{harvnb|Phillips|2009|pp=28–30}}, {{harvnb|Olivelle|1998|pp=12–13}}).}}


{{efn|name="Tattvarthasutra 2007 p. 102"|''[[Tattvartha Sutra]]'' [6.1], see Manu Doshi (2007) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad: Shrut Ratnakar p. 102.}}

{{efn|name="traditional_modern_yoga"|{{harvtxt|King|1999|p=67}}: "Many westerners see yoga as a variation on the modern concern for health and fitness and a means of overcoming the stresses and strains of modern day living. Most of what passes for yoga in this context, however, bears little relation to traditional practices, institutionalised as they were within established traditions or lienages (''sampradaya'') of teacher (''guru'') and pupil (''śiṣya''), structured according to hierarchical and initiatory stages of development and bound up with an ascetic lifestyle and world-view very different from the concerns of the modern western urbanite."}}

{{efn|name="two_definitions"|A classical definition comes from Patanjali's ''Yoga sutras''({{harvnb|Feuerstein|1998|pp=4–5}}, {{harvnb|White|2011|p=3}}, {{harvnb|Olsson|2023|p=2}}), which defines yoga as aiming to control (yoke) and still the mind (''[[samadhi]]''), recognizing (''[[jnana]]'') or isolating (''[[kaivalya]]'') the ''[[Purusha]]'', the primordial [[Sakshi (witness)|witness-consciousness]], from ''[[Prakriti]]'', matter and mind ({{harvnb|Feuerstein|1998|pp=4–5}}, {{harvnb|Olsson|2023|p=2}}). Another classical definition ({{harvnb|Feuerstein|1998|pp=4–5}}, {{harvnb|White|2011|p=3}}, {{harvnb|Olsson|2023|p=2}}), informed by the [[Bhagavad Gita]] {{harv|Olsson|2023|p=2}} and [[Vedanta]] {{harv|Feuerstein|1998|pp=4–5}}, describes the purpose of yoga as the union of the individual self (''jivatman'') with the higher Self (''paramatman''), [[Brahman]], or God (Shiva).}}


{{efn|name="YS_dating"|{{harvtxt|Bryant|2009|p=xxxiv}}: "Most scholars date the text shortly after the turn of the Common Era (circa first to second century)."}}
}}

== References ==

{{reflist|22em}}

== Sources ==

=== Printed sources ===

{{refbegin|30em}}


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* {{cite book |last=Banerjea |first=Akshaya Kumar |title=Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ljn1koKa0CQC |year=1983 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=978-81-208-0534-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Behanan |first=K. T. |author-link=K. T. Behanan |year=2002 |title=Yoga: Its Scientific Basis |publisher=Dover |isbn=978-0-486-41792-9}}
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* {{cite news |title=Yoga: How did it conquer the world and what's changed? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-40354525 |access-date=14 June 2021 |work=BBC News |date=22 June 2017 |ref={{sfnref|BBC|2017}}}}
* {{cite journal |last=Bhagwat |first=S. A. |year=2008 |title=Yoga and Sustainability |journal=Journal of Yoga |date=2008 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=1–14}}
* {{cite book |last=Bhikkhu |first=Thanissaro |year=1997 |title=One Tool Among Many, The Place of Vipassana in Buddhist Practice |publisher=Access to Insight |url=https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/onetool.html }}
* {{cite book |last=Bilimoria |first=P. P. |year=2012 |title=Śabdapramāṇa: Word and Knowledge |publisher=Springer |pages=299–301 |isbn=978-94-009-2911-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Bowker |first=John |year=2000 |title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}
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* {{cite book |last=Rambachan |first=Anatanand |year=1994 |title=The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation of the Vedas |publisher=University of Hawaii Press}}
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* {{cite book |last=Rosen |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Rosen (yoga teacher) |title=Yoga FAQ: Almost Everything You Need to Know about Yoga-from Asanas to Yamas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0oBPDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA171 |year=2017 |publisher=Shambhala |isbn=978-0-8348-4057-7}}
* {{cite magazine |author-link=Richard Rosen (yoga teacher) |first=Richard |last=Rosen |date=March–April 2001 |title=T.K.V. Desikachar's English translation of a 700-year-old text introduces Westerners to one of the earliest hatha yoga manuals (Review of Yogayajnavalkya Samhita by T.K.V. Desikachar) |magazine=[[Yoga Journal]] |via=[[Google Books]] |pages=147–149 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AeoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA147}}
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* {{cite book |last=Ruff |first=Jeffrey Clark |chapter=Yoga in the 'Yoga Upanisads': Disciplines of the Mystical 'OM' Sound |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ii7D-bR0osC&pg=PA97 |editor-first=David Gordon |editor-last=White |year=2011 |title=Yoga in Practice |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0691140865 |pages=97–116}}


* {{cite book |last=Samuel |first=Geoffrey |year=2008 |author-link=Geoffrey Samuel |title=The Origins of Yoga and Tantra |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-69534-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JAvrTGrbpf4C}}
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* {{cite book |last=Stiles |first=Mukunda |year=2011 |title=Tantra Yoga Secrets |publisher=Weiser |isbn=978-1-57863-503-0}}


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* {{cite book |last=Teasdale |first=Wayne |year=2004 |title=Catholicism in dialogue: conversations across traditions |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |page=74 |isbn=0-7425-3178-3}}
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* {{cite book |last=Trungpa |first=Chogyam |title=The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra |publisher=[[Shambhala Publications|Shambhala]] |year=2001 |isbn=1-57062-895-5}}
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* {{cite book |last=Tummers |first=Nanette |year=2009 |title=Teaching Yoga for Life |publisher=Human Kinetics |isbn=978-0-7360-7016-4}}


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* {{cite book |last=White |first=David Gordon |year=2011 |author-link=David Gordon White |chapter=Yoga, Brief History of an Idea |title=Yoga in Practice |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |pages=1–23 |chapter-url=http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i9565.pdf}}
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* {{cite journal |last=Wynne |first=Alexander |title=The Oral Transmission of the Early Buddhist Literature |journal=Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies |date=2004 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=97–128 |url=http://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8945/2838}}


* {{cite book |last=Zimmer |first=Heinrich |year=1969 |orig-date=1st Pub. 1951 |title=Philosophies of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bRQ5fpTmwoAC |author-link=Heinrich Zimmer |location=New York, New York |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=0-691-01758-1}} Bollingen Series XXVI; Edited by Joseph Cambell.
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{{refend}}

=== Web sources ===

{{reflist|group=web|refs=

<ref group=web name="AHD Yogi">[[American Heritage Dictionary]]: "Yogi, One who practices yoga". Websters: "Yogi, A follower of the yoga philosophy; an ascetic".</ref>

<ref group=web name="Beirne Guardian 2014">{{cite news |last=Beirne |first=Geraldine |title=Yoga: a beginner's guide to the different styles |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/10/yoga-beginners-guide-different-styles |access-date=1 February 2019 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=10 January 2014}}</ref>

<ref group=web name=Bryant2010_IEP>Edwin Bryant (2011, Rutgers University), [http://www.iep.utm.edu/yoga/ ''The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518185305/https://www.iep.utm.edu/yoga/ |date=18 May 2019 }} IEP</ref>

<ref group=web name="Cushman YJ 2000">{{cite web |url=http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/281 |title=The New Yoga |last=Cushman |first=Ann |date=January–February 2000 |work=[[Yoga Journal]] |page=68 |access-date=5 February 2011}}</ref>

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<ref group=web name="ET 2018">{{cite news |last1=Doctor |first1=Vikram |title=Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi: The man who promoted Surya Namaskar |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bhawanrao-shrinivasrao-pant-pratinidhi-the-man-who-promoted-surya-namaskar/articleshow/64607546.cms |work=The Economic Times (India) |date=15 June 2018}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="HF-Yogi 2012">{{cite web |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/autobiogrpahy-of-a-yogi-tribute-yogananda_b_1319059 |title=The Yogi Of The Autobiography: A Tribute To Yogananda |last=Goldberg |first=Philip |date=March 7, 2012 |website=HuffPost |access-date=October 8, 2019}}</ref>

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<ref group=web name="Meares 2013">{{cite web |url=https://www.kcet.org/history-society/from-hip-hotel-to-holy-home-the-self-realization-fellowship-on-mount-washington |title=From Hip Hotel to Holy Home: The Self-Realization Fellowship on Mount Washington |last=Meares |first=Hadley |date=August 9, 2013 |website=KCET |access-date=October 8, 2019}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Rajghatta Times of India 2014">{{cite news |last=Rajghatta |first=Chidanand |work=The Times of India |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Narendra-Modi-calls-for-International-Yoga-Day/articleshow/43665102.cms |title=Narendra Modi calls for International Yoga Day |date=28 September 2014}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Shveta Upanishad">See: Original Sanskrit: [http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/shveta.pdf Shvetashvatara Upanishad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304112640/http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/shveta.pdf |date=4 March 2011 }} 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</ref>

<ref group=web name="TOI-Yogi-Param">{{cite web |last=Chidan |first=Rajghatta |date=June 19, 2019 |title=In America and across the world, India reclaims its yoga heritage |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/in-america-and-across-the-world-india-reclaims-its-yoga-heritage/articleshow/69845650.cms |access-date=October 8, 2019 |website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Vedanta and Buddhism 2012">{{cite web |url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/vonglasenapp/wheel002.html |title=Vedanta and Buddhism, A Comparative Study |access-date=29 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204142029/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/vonglasenapp/wheel002.html |archive-date=4 February 2013 }}</ref>

<ref group=web name="YJ on styles">{{cite web |title=What's Your Style? Explore the Types of Yoga |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/which-yoga-is-right-for-you-2 |work=[[Yoga Journal]] |date=13 November 2012}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Fear Utne 2007">{{cite web |url=http://www.utne.com/2007-03-01/Mind-Body/Fear-of-Yoga.aspx?page=2#axzz2bnQLbp2o |title=Fear of Yoga |publisher=[[Utne.com]] |access-date=28 August 2013}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Shaw YJ 2010">Shaw, Eric. "35 Moments", ''[[Yoga Journal]]'', 2010.</ref>

<ref group=web name="UNIC 2016">{{cite web|url=http://www.unic.org.in/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160709170015/http://www.unic.org.in/display.php?E=13712&K=Yoga |url-status=dead |title=United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan |archive-date=9 July 2016 |website=www.unic.org.in}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Guardian Unesco 2016">{{cite news |title=Yoga joins Unesco world heritage list |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=2016-12-01 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/dec/01/yoga-joins-unesco-intangible-world-heritage-list}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Newsroom 2015">{{cite news |url=https://newsroom24x7.com/2015/06/21/massive-turnout-on-international-day-of-yoga-in-india/|title=Massive turnout on International Day of Yoga in India |publisher=Newsroom24x7 |date=21 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621083838/https://newsroom24x7.com/2015/06/21/massive-turnout-on-international-day-of-yoga-in-india/|archive-date=21 June 2015|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="NDTV 2015">{{cite news |title=PM Modi Leads Yoga Session, India Sets Guinness Records: 10 Developments|url=http://www.ndtv.com/cheat-sheet/sushma-swaraj-addresses-the-united-nations-in-new-york-on-international-yogaday-highlights-773899 |access-date=21 June 2015 |agency=[[NDTV]]}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Sidang Media 2010">{{cite web|url=http://www.islam.gov.my/portal/lihat.php?jakim=3600 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106003351/http://www.islam.gov.my/portal/lihat.php?jakim=3600 |archive-date=6 January 2009 |title=Sidang Media – Fatwa Yoga |publisher=Islam.gov.my |access-date=5 September 2010}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Star Yoga Ban 2008">{{cite web |url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/23/nation/2625368&sec=nation |title=Mixed reactions to yoga ban |publisher=Thestar.com.my |date=23 November 2008 |access-date=5 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622072723/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F11%2F23%2Fnation%2F2625368&sec=nation |archive-date=22 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Saudi Gazette 2013">{{cite web |work=Saudi Gazette |url=http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2008112723185 |title=Badawi: Yoga for Muslims OK without chant |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731183706/http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2008112723185 |archive-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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<ref group=web name="New Straits Times 2015">{{cite news |title=Find alternative to yoga, urges Jakim |work=[[New Straits Times]] |location=Malaysia |url=http://ddms.usim.edu.my/bitstream/handle/123456789/975/24%20Nov%202008%20-%20PRIME%20NEWS%20(14).pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208225308/http://ddms.usim.edu.my/bitstream/handle/123456789/975/24%20Nov%202008%20-%20PRIME%20NEWS%20(14).pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=8 February 2015}}</ref>

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<ref group=web name="Economist 2014">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21602272-conservative-clerics-are-wary-popular-pastime-perils-yoga |title=The perils of yoga: Conservative clerics are wary of a popular pastime |magazine=[[The Economist]] |date=17 May 2014}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="UNC Sufism 2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.unc.edu/~cernst/pdf/jras2.pdf |title=Situating Sufism and Yoga |access-date=5 September 2010}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Ernst Shattari Sufism 2014">Carl W. Ernst, [http://www.unc.edu/~cernst/pdf/UTRECHT.pdf Persecution and Circumspection in Shattari Sufism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824030955/http://www.unc.edu/%7Ecernst/pdf/UTRECHT.pdf |date=24 August 2014 }}, in Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Debate and Conflict (Editors: Fred De Jong and Berndt Radtke), Brill, 1999</ref>

<ref group=web name="Babie Rochow 2012">Paul Babie and Neville Rochow (2012), [http://www.adelaide.edu.au/press/titles/freedom-religion/ Freedom of Religion Under Bills of Rights] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222094331/http://www.adelaide.edu.au/press/titles/freedom-religion/ |date=22 December 2015 }}, University of Adelaide Press, {{ISBN|978-0-9871718-0-1}}, page 98</ref>

<ref group=web name="BBC Indonesian Clerics 2009">{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7850079.stm | work=BBC News | title=Indonesian clerics issue yoga ban | date=25 January 2009 | access-date=6 April 2010}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Times of India IDOY 2014">{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UN-declares-June-21-as-International-Day-of-Yoga/articleshow/45480636.cms |title=UN declares June 21 as 'International Day of Yoga' | India News – Times of India|website=The Times of India |date=11 December 2014 }}</ref>

<ref group=web name="nytimes_vatican">{{cite news |last=Steinfels |first=Peter |date=7 January 1990 |title=Trying to Reconcile the Ways of the Vatican and the East |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/07/weekinreview/ideas-trends-trying-to-reconcile-the-ways-of-the-vatican-and-the-east.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090808214350/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/07/weekinreview/ideas-trends-trying-to-reconcile-the-ways-of-the-vatican-and-the-east.html |archive-date=8 August 2009}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="vice21">{{cite news |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/inside-the-growing-world-of-christian-yoga/ |work=Vice |last=Solomon |first=Serena |date=5 September 2017 |title=Inside the Growing World of Christian Yoga |access-date=3 September 2021}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="abc20">{{cite news |last=Carleton |first=James |year=2020 |title=Mental and spiritual wellness in isolation |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC]] |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/godforbid/mental-and-spiritual-wellness-in-isolation-lockdown/13467828 |access-date=3 September 2021}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="BBC 2003">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2722743.stm |title=Vatican sounds New Age alert |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=4 February 2003 |access-date=27 August 2013}}</ref>

<ref group=web name="NBC Top Islamic Body">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27857578 |title=Top Islamic body: Yoga is not for Muslims |publisher=[[NBC News]] }}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Ruzsa IEP Sankhya">{{cite web |last=Ruzsa |first=Ferenc |url=https://www.iep.utm.edu/sankhya/ |title=Sankhya |website=[[Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]] }}</ref>

<ref group=web name="Strabo">Strabo, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/15A3*.html#ref101 Geography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101030721/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/15A3%2A.html#ref101 |date=1 November 2022 }} Book XV, Chapter 1, see Sections 63–65, Loeb Classical Library edition, Harvard University Press, Translator: H. L. Jones</ref>

<ref group=web name="WashPost 1989">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1989/12/16/vatican-warns-against-practicing-eastern-meditation/e974fb62-c018-4cbb-a002-39fd03ec1075/ |year=1989 |first=Victor L. |last=Simpson |title=Vatican warns against practicing Eastern meditation |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] }}</ref>

}}

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