Yoga - Wikipedia Yoga This article is about the umbrella term `` yoga '' which includes religion, philosophy, and practices. For one of the six Hindu philosophy schools, see Yoga ( philosophy ). For the popular yoga that explains and emphasizes the physical practices or disciplines, see Hatha yoga. For other uses, see Yoga ( disambiguation ). Male and female yogis from 17th - and 18th - century India This article contains Indic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text. Yoga ( / ˈjoʊɡə / ; Sanskrit, योगः Listen ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. There is a broad variety of yoga schools, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Among the most well - known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga. The origins of yoga have been speculated to date back to pre-Vedic Indian traditions ; it is mentioned in the Rigveda, but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, in ancient India 's ascetic and śramaṇa movements. The chronology of earliest texts describing yoga - practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu Upanishads. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali date from the first half of the 1st millennium CE, but only gained prominence in the West in the 20th century. Hatha yoga texts emerged around the 11th century with origins in tantra. Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west, following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is more than physical exercise ; it has a meditative and spiritual core. One of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called Yoga, which has its own epistemology and metaphysics, and is closely related to Hindu Samkhya philosophy. Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma, and heart disease. The results of these studies have been mixed and inconclusive, with cancer studies suggesting none to unclear effectiveness, and others suggesting yoga may reduce risk factors and aid in a patient 's psychological healing process. On December 1, 2016, yoga was listed by UNESCO as an Intangible cultural heritage. Contents 1 Etymology 2 Goals 3 Schools 3.1 Hinduism 3.1. 1 Classical yoga 3.1. 2 Ashtanga yoga 3.1. 3 Hatha yoga 3.1. 4 Shaivism 3.2 Buddhism 3.3 Jainism 3.4 Tantra 4 History 4.1 Pre-Vedic India 4.2 Vedic period ( 1700 -- 500 BCE ) 4.2. 1 Textual references 4.2. 2 Vedic ascetic practices 4.3 Preclassical era ( 500 -- 200 BCE ) 4.3. 1 Upanishads 4.3. 2 Sutras of Hindu philosophies 4.3. 3 Macedonian historical texts 4.3. 4 Early Buddhist texts 4.3. 5 Uncertainty with chronology 4.3. 6 Bhagavad Gita 4.3. 7 Mahabharata 4.4 Classical era ( 200 BCE -- 500 CE ) 4.4. 1 Classical yoga 4.4. 1.1 Samkhya 4.4. 1.2 Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 4.4. 1.3 Yoga and Vedanta 4.4. 2 Yoga Yajnavalkya 4.4. 3 Jainism 4.4. 4 Yogacara school 4.5 Middle Ages ( 500 -- 1500 CE ) 4.5. 1 Bhakti movement 4.5. 2 Tantra 4.5. 2.1 Vajrayana Buddhism 4.5. 3 Hatha Yoga 4.5. 4 Sikhism 4.6 Modern history 4.6. 1 Reception in the West 4.6. 2 Exercise and health applications 4.6. 2.1 Potential benefits for adults 4.6. 2.2 Physical injuries 4.6. 2.3 Pediatrics 5 Beliefs 6 Yoga and specialized meditation 6.1 Zen Buddhism 6.2 Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism 7 Reception in other religions 7.1 Christianity 7.2 Islam 8 International Day of Yoga 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 11.1 Sources 12 Further reading 13 External links Etymology Statue of Shiva in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, performing yogic meditation in the Padmasana posture. In Sanskrit, the word yoga comes from the root yuj which means `` to add '', `` to join '', `` to unite '', or `` to attach '' in its most common senses. By figurative extension from the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses, the word took on broader meanings such as `` employment, use, application, performance '' ( compare the figurative uses of `` to harness '' as in `` to put something to some use '' ). All further developments of the sense of this word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods such as `` exertion '', `` endeavour '', `` zeal '', and `` diligence '' are also found in Indian epic poetry. There are very many compound words containing yoga in Sanskrit. Yoga can take on meanings such as `` connection '', `` contact '', `` union '', `` method '', `` application '', `` addition '' and `` performance ''. In simpler words, Yoga also means `` combined ''. For example, guṇáyoga means `` contact with a cord '' ; chakráyoga has a medical sense of `` applying a splint or similar instrument by means of pulleys ( in case of dislocation of the thigh ) '' ; chandráyoga has the astronomical sense of `` conjunction of the moon with a constellation '' ; puṃyoga is a grammatical term expressing `` connection or relation with a man '', etc. Thus, bhaktiyoga means `` devoted attachment '' in the monotheistic Bhakti movement. The term kriyāyoga has a grammatical sense, meaning `` connection with a verb ''. But the same compound is also given a technical meaning in the Yoga Sutras ( 2.1 ), designating the `` practical '' aspects of the philosophy, i.e. the `` union with the supreme '' due to performance of duties in everyday life According to Pāṇini, a 6th - century BCE Sanskrit grammarian, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga ( to yoke ) or yuj samādhau ( to concentrate ). In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samādhau ( to concentrate ) is considered by traditional commentators as the correct etymology. In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasa who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras, states that yoga means samādhi ( concentration ). According to Dasgupta, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga ( to yoke ) or yuj samādhau ( to concentrate ). Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment is called a yogi ( may be applied to a man or a woman ) or yogini ( traditionally denoting a woman ). Goals The ultimate goal of Yoga is moksha ( liberation ), although the exact definition of what form this takes depends on the philosophical or theological system with which it is conjugated. According to Jacobsen, `` Yoga has five principal meanings : Yoga, as a disciplined method for attaining a goal ; Yoga, as techniques of controlling the body and the mind ; Yoga, as a name of one of the schools or systems of philosophy ( darśana ) ; Yoga, in connection with other words, such as `` hatha -, mantra -, and laya -, '' referring to traditions specialising in particular techniques of yoga ; Yoga, as the goal of Yoga practice. '' According to David Gordon White, from the 5th century CE onward, the core principles of `` yoga '' were more or less in place, and variations of these principles developed in various forms over time : Yoga, is a meditative means of discovering dysfunctional perception and cognition, as well as overcoming it for release from suffering, inner peace and salvation ; illustration of this principle is found in Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and Yogasutras, in a number of Buddhist Mahāyāna works, as well as Jain texts ; Yoga, as the raising and expansion of consciousness from oneself to being coextensive with everyone and everything ; these are discussed in sources such as in Hinduism Vedic literature and its Epic Mahābhārata, Jainism Praśamaratiprakarana, and Buddhist Nikaya texts ; Yoga, as a path to omniscience and enlightened consciousness enabling one to comprehend the impermanent ( illusive, delusive ) and permanent ( true, transcendent ) reality ; examples are found in Hinduism Nyaya and Vaisesika school texts as well as Buddhism Mādhyamaka texts, but in different ways ; Yoga, as a technique for entering into other bodies, generating multiple bodies, and the attainment of other supernatural accomplishments ; these are, states White, described in Tantric literature of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the Buddhist Sāmaññaphalasutta ; James Mallinson, however, disagrees and suggests that such fringe practices are far removed from the mainstream Yoga 's goal as meditation - driven means to liberation in Indian religions. White clarifies that the last principle relates to legendary goals of `` yogi practice '', different from practical goals of `` yoga practice, '' as they are viewed in South Asian thought and practice since the beginning of the Common Era, in the various Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophical schools. Schools The term `` yoga '' has been applied to a variety of practices and methods, including Jain and Buddhist practices. In Hinduism these include Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Laya Yoga and Hatha Yoga. The so - called Raja Yoga refers to Ashtanga Yoga, the eight limbs to be practiced to attain samadhi, as described in the Yoga Sutras of Pantajali. The term raja yoga originally referred to the ultimate goal of yoga, which is usually samadhi, but was popularised by Vivekananda as the common name for Ashtanga Yoga. Hinduism Classical yoga Yoga is considered as a philosophical school in Hinduism. Yoga, in this context, is one of the six āstika schools of Hinduism ( those which accept the Vedas as source of knowledge ). Due to the influence of Vivekananda, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are nowadays considered as the foundational scripture of classical yoga, a status which it only acquired in the 20th century. Before the twentieth century, other works were considered as the most central works, such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Vasistha, while Tantric Yoga and Hatha Yoga prevailed over Ashtanga Yoga. Ashtanga yoga Main articles : Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Rāja yoga Swami Vivekananda equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Yoga as described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali refers to Ashtanga yoga. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is considered as a central text of the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy, It is often called `` Rāja yoga '', `` yoga of the kings, '' a term which originally referred to the ultimate, royal goal of yoga, which is usually samadhi, but was popularised by Vivekananda as the common name for Ashtanga Yoga. Ashtanga yoga incorporates epistemology, metaphysics, ethical practices, systematic exercises and self - development techniques for body, mind and spirit. Its epistemology ( pramanas ) is same as the Samkhya school. Both accept three reliable means to knowledge -- perception ( pratyākṣa, direct sensory observations ), inference ( anumāna ) and testimony of trustworthy experts ( sabda, agama ). Both these orthodox schools are also strongly dualistic. Unlike the Sāṃkhya school of Hinduism, which pursues a non-theistic / atheistic rationalist approach, the Yoga school of Hinduism accepts the concept of a `` personal, yet essentially inactive, deity '' or `` personal god ''. Along with its epistemology and metaphysical foundations, the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy incorporates ethical precepts ( yamas and niyamas ) and an introspective way of life focused on perfecting one 's self physically, mentally and spiritually, with the ultimate goal being kaivalya ( liberated, unified, content state of existence ). Hatha yoga Main article : Hatha yoga A sculpture of Gorakshanath, a celebrated 11th century yogi of Nath tradition and a major proponent of Hatha yoga. Hatha yoga, also called hatha vidyā, is a kind of yoga focusing on physical and mental strength building exercises and postures described primarily in three texts of Hinduism : Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Svātmārāma ( 15th century ) Shiva Samhita, author unknown ( 1500 or late 17th century ) Gheranda Samhita by Gheranda ( late 17th century ) Many scholars also include the preceding Goraksha Samhita authored by Gorakshanath of the 11th century in the above list. Gorakshanath is widely considered to have been responsible for popularizing hatha yoga as we know it today. Vajrayana Buddhism, founded by the Indian Mahasiddhas, has a series of asanas and pranayamas, such as tummo ( Sanskrit caṇḍālī ) and trul khor which parallel hatha yoga. Shaivism Main articles : Shaivism, Shaiva Siddhanta, and Nath In Shaivism, yoga is used to unite kundalini with Shiva. See also ' tantra ' below. Buddhism Main articles : Buddhist meditation, Dhyāna in Buddhism, Yogacara, and Vajrayana 16th century Buddhist artwork in Yoga posture. Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of meditation techniques that aim to develop mindfulness, concentration, supramundane powers, tranquility, and insight. Core techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher - student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward Enlightenment and Nirvana. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā and jhāna / dhyāna. Jainism Main article : Jain meditation Jain meditation has been the central practice of spirituality in Jainism along with the Three Jewels. Meditation in Jainism aims at realizing the self, attain salvation, take the soul to complete freedom. It aims to reach and to remain in the pure state of soul which is believed to be pure conscious, beyond any attachment or aversion. The practitioner strives to be just a knower - seer ( Gyata - Drashta ). Jain meditation can be broadly categorized to the auspicious Dharmya Dhyana and Shukla Dhyana and inauspicious Artta and Raudra Dhyana. Tantra Main articles : Tantra, Yogi, and Siddhi Samuel states that Tantrism is a contested concept. Tantra yoga may be described, according to Samuel, as practices in 9th to 10th century Buddhist and Hindu ( Saiva, Shakti ) texts, which included yogic practices with elaborate deity visualizations using geometrical arrays and drawings ( mandala ), fierce male and particularly female deities, transgressive life stage related rituals, extensive use of chakras and mantras, and sexual techniques, all aimed to help one 's health, long life and liberation. History The origins of yoga are a matter of debate. There is no consensus on its chronology or specific origin other than that yoga developed in ancient India. Suggested origins are the Indus Valley Civilization ( 3300 -- 1900 BCE ) and pre-Vedic Eastern states of India, the Vedic period ( 1500 -- 500 BCE ), and the śramaṇa movement. According to Gavin Flood, continuities may exist between those various traditions : ( T ) his dichotomization is too simplistic, for continuities can undoubtedly be found between renunciation and vedic Brahmanism, while elements from non-Brahmanical, Sramana traditions also played an important part in the formation of the renunciate ideal. Pre-philosophical speculations of yoga begin to emerge in the texts of c. 500 -- 200 BCE. Between 200 BCE -- 500 CE philosophical schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking form and a coherent philosophical system of yoga began to emerge. The Middle Ages saw the development of many satellite traditions of yoga. Yoga came to the attention of an educated western public in the mid 19th century along with other topics of Indian philosophy. Pre-Vedic India Main article : Indus Valley Civilization Yoga may have pre-Vedic elements. Some state yoga originated in the Indus Valley Civilization. Marshall, Eliade and other scholars suggest that the Pashupati seal discovered in Indus Valley Civilization sites depict figures in positions resembling a common yoga or meditation pose. This interpretation is considered speculative and uncertain by more recent analysis of Srinivasan and may be a case of projecting `` later practices into archeological findings ''. Vedic period ( 1700 -- 500 BCE ) Main article : Vedic period According to Crangle, some 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 '', just like traditional Hinduism regards the Vedas to be the ultimate source of all spiritual knowledge. Thomas McEvilley favors a composite model where pre-Aryan yoga prototype existed in the pre-Vedic period and its refinement began in the Vedic period. Ascetic practices, concentration and bodily postures described in the Vedas may have been precursors to yoga. According to Geoffrey Samuel, `` Our best evidence to date suggests that ( yogic ) practices developed in the same ascetic circles as the early sramana movements ( Buddhists, Jainas and Ajivikas ), probably in around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. '' According to Zimmer, Yoga philosophy is reckoned to be part of the non-Vedic system, which also includes the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy, Jainism and Buddhism : `` ( Jainism ) does not derive from Brahman - Aryan sources, but reflects the cosmology and anthropology of a much older pre-Aryan upper class of northeastern India ( Bihar ) -- being rooted in the same subsoil of archaic metaphysical speculation as Yoga, Sankhya, and Buddhism, the other non-Vedic Indian systems. '' Textual references The first use of the root of word `` yoga '' is in hymn 5.81. 1 of the Rig Veda, a dedication to rising Sun - god in the morning ( Savitri ), where it has been interpreted as `` yoke '' or `` yogically control ''. The earliest evidence of Yogis and Yoga tradition is found in the Keśin hymn 10.136 of the Rigveda, states Karel Werner. The Yogis of Vedic times left little evidence of their existence, practices and achievements. And such evidence as has survived in the Vedas is scanty and indirect. Nevertheless, the existence of accomplished Yogis in Vedic times can not be doubted. -- Karel Werner, Yoga and the Ṛg Veda Rigveda, however, does not describe yoga and there is little evidence as to what the practices were. Early references to practices that later became part of yoga, are made in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the earliest Hindu Upanishad. For example, the practice of pranayama ( consciously regulating breath ) is mentioned in hymn 1.5. 23 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ( c. 900 BCE ), and the practice of pratyahara ( concentrating all of one 's senses on self ) is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of Chandogya Upanishad ( c. 800 -- 700 BCE ). Vedic ascetic practices Ascetic practices ( tapas ), concentration and bodily postures used by Vedic priests to conduct yajna ( sacrifice ), might have been precursors to yoga. Vratya, a group of ascetics mentioned in the Atharvaveda, emphasized on bodily postures which may have evolved into yogic asanas. Early Samhitas also contain references to other group ascetics such as munis, the keśin, and vratyas. Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned in the Brahmanas ( texts of the Vedic corpus, c. 1000 -- 800 BCE ) and the Atharvaveda. Nasadiya Sukta of the Rig Veda suggests the presence of an early contemplative tradition. Preclassical era ( 500 -- 200 BCE ) Yoga concepts begin to emerge in the texts of c. 500 -- 200 BCE such as the Pali Canon, the middle Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata. Upanishads The first known appearance of the word `` yoga '', with the same meaning as the modern term, is in the Katha Upanishad, probably composed between the fifth and third century BCE, where it is defined as the steady control of the senses, which along with cessation of mental activity, leading to a supreme state. Katha Upanishad integrates the monism of early Upanishads with concepts of samkhya and yoga. It defines various levels of existence according to their proximity to the innermost being Ātman. Yoga is therefore seen as a process of interiorization or ascent of consciousness. It is the earliest literary work that highlights the fundamentals of yoga. White states : The earliest extant systematic account of yoga and a bridge from the earlier Vedic uses of the term is found in the Hindu Katha Upanisad ( Ku ), a scripture dating from about the third century BCE (... ) ( I ) t describes the hierarchy of mind - body constituents -- the senses, mind, intellect, etc. -- that comprise the foundational categories of Sāmkhya philosophy, whose metaphysical system grounds the yoga of the Yogasutras, Bhagavad Gita, and other texts and schools ( Ku3. 10 -- 11 ; 6.7 -- 8 ). The hymns in Book 2 of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, another late first millennium BCE text, states a procedure in which the body is held in upright posture, the breath is restrained and mind is meditatively focussed, preferably inside a cave or a place that is simple, plain, of silence or gently flowing water, with no noises nor harsh winds. The Maitrayaniya Upanishad, likely composed in a later century than Katha and Shvetashvatara Upanishads but before Patanjali 's Yoga Sutra, mentions sixfold yoga method -- breath control ( pranayama ), introspective withdrawal of senses ( pratyahara ), meditation ( dhyana ), mind concentration ( dharana ), philosophical inquiry / creative reasoning ( tarka ), and absorption / intense spiritual union ( samadhi ). In addition to the Yoga discussion in above Principal Upanishads, twenty Yoga Upanishads as well as related texts such as Yoga Vasistha, composed in 1st and 2nd millennium CE, discuss Yoga methods. Sutras of Hindu philosophies Yoga is discussed in the ancient foundational Sutras of Hindu philosophy. The Vaiśeṣika Sūtra of the Vaisheshika school of Hinduism, dated to have been composed sometime between 6th and 2nd century BCE discusses Yoga. According to Johannes Bronkhorst, an Indologist known for his studies on early Buddhism and Hinduism and a professor at the University of Lausanne, Vaiśeṣika Sūtra describes Yoga as `` a state where the mind resides only in the soul and therefore not in the senses ''. This is equivalent to pratyahara or withdrawal of the senses, and the ancient Sutra asserts that this leads to an absence of sukha ( happiness ) and dukkha ( suffering ), then describes additional yogic meditation steps in the journey towards the state of spiritual liberation. Similarly, Brahma sutras -- the foundational text of the Vedanta school of Hinduism, discusses yoga in its sutra 2.1. 3, 2.1. 223 and others. Brahma sutras are estimated to have been complete in the surviving form sometime between 450 BCE to 200 CE, and its sutras assert that yoga is a means to gain `` subtlety of body '' and other powers. The Nyaya sutras -- the foundational text of the Nyaya school, variously estimated to have been composed between the 6th - century BCE and 2nd - century CE, discusses yoga in sutras 4.2. 38 -- 50. This ancient text of the Nyaya school includes a discussion of yogic ethics, dhyana ( meditation ), samadhi, and among other things remarks that debate and philosophy is a form of yoga. Macedonian historical texts Alexander the Great reached India in the 4th century BCE. Along with his army, he took Greek academics with him who later wrote memoirs about geography, people and customs they saw. One of Alexander 's companion was Onesicritus, quoted in Book 15, Sections 63 -- 65 by Strabo, who describes yogins of India. Onesicritus claims those Indian yogins ( Mandanis ) practiced aloofness and `` different postures -- standing or sitting or lying naked -- and motionless ''. Onesicritus also mentions his colleague Calanus trying to meet them, who is initially denied audience, but later invited because he was sent by a `` king curious of wisdom and philosophy ''. Onesicritus and Calanus learn that the yogins consider the best doctrine of life as `` rid the spirit of not only pain, but also pleasure '', that `` man trains the body for toil in order that his opinions may be strengthened '', that `` there is no shame in life on frugal fare '', and that `` the best place to inhabit is one with scantiest equipment or outfit ''. These principles are significant to the history of spiritual side of yoga. These may reflect the ancient roots of `` undisturbed calmness '' and `` mindfulness through balance '' in later works of Hindu Patanjali and Buddhist Buddhaghosa respectively, states Charles Rockwell Lanman ; as well as the principle of Aparigraha ( non-possessiveness, non-craving, simple living ) and asceticism discussed in later Hinduism and Jainism. Early Buddhist texts Werner states, `` The Buddha was the founder of his ( Yoga ) system, even though, admittedly, he made use of some of the experiences he had previously gained under various Yoga teachers of his time. '' He notes : 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. The chronology of completion of these yoga - related Pali Canons, however, is unclear, just like ancient Hindu texts. Early known Buddhist sources like the Majjhima Nikāya mention meditation, while the Anguttara Nikāya describes Jhāyins ( meditators ) that resemble early Hindu descriptions of Muni, Kesins and meditating ascetics, but these meditation - practices are not called yoga in these texts. The earliest known specific discussion of yoga in the Buddhist literature, as understood in modern context, is from the third - to fourth - century CE scriptures of the Buddhist Yogācāra school and fourth - to fifth - century Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa. A yoga system that predated the Buddhist school is Jain yoga. But since Jain sources postdate Buddhist ones, it is difficult to distinguish between the nature of the early Jain school and elements derived from other schools. Most of the other contemporary yoga systems alluded in the Upanishads and some Pali canons are lost to time. The early Buddhist texts describe meditative practices and states, some of which the Buddha borrowed from the śramaṇa tradition. The Pali canon contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate for the purposes of controlling hunger or the mind, depending on the passage. However, there is no mention of the tongue being inserted into the nasopharynx as in true khecarī mudrā. The Buddha used a posture where pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to even modern postures used to stimulate Kundalini. Uncertainty with chronology Alexander Wynne, author of The Origin of Buddhist Meditation, observes that formless meditation and elemental meditation might have originated in the Upanishadic tradition. The earliest reference to meditation is in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, one of the oldest Upanishads. Chandogya Upanishad describes the five kinds of vital energies ( prana ). Concepts used later in many yoga traditions such as internal sound and veins ( nadis ) are also described in the Upanishad. Taittiriya Upanishad defines yoga as the mastery of body and senses. Bhagavad Gita Krishna narrating the Gita to Arjuna Main article : Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita ( ' Song of the Lord ' ), uses the term `` yoga '' extensively in a variety of ways. In addition to an entire chapter ( ch. 6 ) dedicated to traditional yoga practice, including meditation, it introduces three prominent types of yoga : Karma yoga : The yoga of action. Bhakti yoga : The yoga of devotion. Jnana yoga : The yoga of knowledge. The Gita consists of 18 chapters and 700 shlokas ( verses ), with each chapter named as a different yoga, thus delineating eighteen different yogas. Some scholars divide the Gita into three sections, with the first six chapters with 280 shlokas dealing with Karma yoga, the middle six containing 209 shlokas with Bhakti yoga, and the last six chapters with 211 shlokas as Jnana yoga ; however, this is rough because elements of karma, bhakti and jnana are found in all chapters. Mahabharata Description of an early form of yoga called nirodhayoga ( yoga of cessation ) is contained in the Mokshadharma section of the 12th chapter ( Shanti Parva ) of the Mahabharata. The verses of the section are dated to c. 300 -- 200 BCE. Nirodhayoga emphasizes progressive withdrawal from the contents of empirical consciousness such as thoughts, sensations etc. until purusha ( Self ) is realized. Terms like vichara ( subtle reflection ), viveka ( discrimination ) and others which are similar to Patanjali 's terminology are mentioned, but not described. There is no uniform goal of yoga mentioned in the Mahabharata. Separation of self from matter, perceiving Brahman everywhere, entering into Brahman etc. are all described as goals of yoga. Samkhya and yoga are conflated together and some verses describe them as being identical. Mokshadharma also describes an early practice of elemental meditation. Mahabharata defines the purpose of yoga as the experience of uniting the individual ātman with the universal Brahman that pervades all things. Classical era ( 200 BCE -- 500 CE ) This period witnessed many texts of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism discussing and systematically compiling yoga methods and practices. Of these, Patanjali 's Yoga Sutras are considered as a key work. Classical yoga During the period between the Mauryan and the Gupta eras ( c. 200 BCE -- 500 CE ) philosophical schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking form and a coherent philosophical system of yoga began to emerge. Yoga as a philosophy is mentioned in Sanskrit texts dated to be completed between 200 BCE -- 200 CE. Kauṭilya 's Arthashastra in verse 1.2. 10, for example, states that there are three categories of anviksikis ( philosophies ) -- Samkhya ( nontheistic ), Yoga ( theistic ) and Cārvāka ( atheistic materialism ). Samkhya Further information : Samkhya Many traditions in India began to adopt systematic methodology by about first century CE. Of these, Samkhya was probably one of the oldest philosophies to begin taking a systematic form. Patanjali systematized Yoga, building them on the foundational metaphysics of Samkhya. In the early works, the Yoga principles appear together with the Samkhya ideas. Vyasa 's commentary on the Yoga Sutras, also called the Samkhyapravacanabhasya ( Commentary on the Exposition of the Sankhya Philosophy ), describes the relation between the two systems. The two schools have some differences as well. Yoga accepted the conception of `` personal god '', while Samkhya developed as a rationalist, non-theistic / atheistic system of Hindu philosophy. Sometimes Patanjali 's system is referred to as Seshvara Samkhya in contradistinction to Kapila 's Nirivara Samkhya. The parallels between Yoga and Samkhya were so close that Max Müller says that `` the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord. '' Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Main articles : Raja Yoga and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Traditional Hindu depiction of Patanjali as an avatar of the divine serpent Shesha. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Pada ( Chapter ) English meaning Sutras Samadhi Pada On being absorbed in spirit 51 Sadhana Pada On being immersed in spirit 55 Vibhuti Pada On supernatural abilities and gifts 56 Kaivalya Pada On absolute freedom 34 In Hindu philosophy, yoga is the name of one of the six orthodox ( which accept the testimony of Vedas ) philosophical schools. Karel Werner, author of Yoga And Indian Philosophy, believes that the process of systematization of yoga which began in the middle and Yoga Upanishads culminated with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. There are numerous parallels in the concepts in ancient Samkhya, Yoga and Abhidharma Buddhist schools of thought, particularly from 2nd century BCE to 1st century AD, notes Larson. Patanjali 's Yoga Sutras is a synthesis of these three traditions. From Samkhya, Yoga Sutras adopt the `` reflective discernment '' ( adhyavasaya ) of prakrti and purusa ( dualism ), its metaphysical rationalism, as well its three epistemic methods to gaining reliable knowledge. From Abhidharma Buddhism 's idea of nirodhasamadhi, suggests Larson, Yoga Sutras adopt the pursuit of altered state of awareness, but unlike Buddhist 's concept of no self nor soul, Yoga is physicalist and realist like Samkhya in believing that each individual has a self and soul. The third concept Yoga Sutras synthesize into its philosophy is the ancient ascetic traditions of meditation and introspection, as well as the yoga ideas from middle Upanishads such as Katha, Shvetashvatara and Maitri. Patanjali 's Yoga Sutras are widely regarded as the first compilation of the formal yoga philosophy. The verses of Yoga Sutras are terse. Many later Indian scholars studied them and published their commentaries, such as the Vyasa Bhashya ( c. 350 -- 450 CE ). Patanjali 's yoga is also referred to as Raja yoga. Patanjali defines the word `` yoga '' in his second sutra : योगश्‍चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः ( yogaś citta - vṛtti - nirodhaḥ ) - Yoga Sutras 1.2 This terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms. I.K. Taimni translates it as `` Yoga is the inhibition ( nirodhaḥ ) of the modifications ( vṛtti ) of the mind ( citta ) ''. Swami Vivekananda translates the sutra as `` Yoga is restraining the mind - stuff ( Citta ) from taking various forms ( Vrittis ). '' Edwin Bryant explains that, to Patanjali, `` Yoga essentially consists of meditative practices culminating in attaining a state of consciousness free from all modes of active or discursive thought, and of eventually attaining a state where consciousness is unaware of any object external to itself, that is, is only aware of its own nature as consciousness unmixed with any other object. '' If the meaning of yoga is understood as the practice of nirodha ( mental control ), then its goal is `` the unqualified state of niruddha ( the perfection of that process ) '', according to Baba Hari Dass. In that context, `` yoga ( union ) implies duality ( as in joining of two things or principles ) ; the result of yoga is the nondual state '', and `` as the union of the lower self and higher Self. The nondual state is characterized by the absence of individuality ; it can be described as eternal peace, pure love, Self - realization, or liberation. '' Patanjali 's writing also became the basis for a system referred to as `` Ashtanga Yoga '' ( `` Eight - Limbed Yoga '' ). This eight - limbed concept is derived from the 29th Sutra of the Book 2 of Yoga Sutras. They are : Yama ( The five `` abstentions '' ) : Ahimsa ( Non-violence, non-harming other living beings ), Satya ( truthfulness, non-falsehood ), Asteya ( non-stealing ), Brahmacharya ( celibacy, fidelity to one 's partner ), and Aparigraha ( non-avarice, non-possessiveness ). Niyama ( The five `` observances '' ) : Śauca ( purity, clearness of mind, speech and body ), Santosha ( contentment, acceptance of others and of one 's circumstances ), Tapas ( persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity ), Svādhyāya ( study of self, self - reflection, study of Vedas ), and Ishvara - Pranidhana ( contemplation of God / Supreme Being / True Self ). Asana : Literally means `` seat '', and in Patanjali 's Sutras refers to the 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 ( `` Meditation '' ) : Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation. Samadhi ( `` Liberation '' ) : merging consciousness with the object of meditation. Yoga and Vedanta Yoga and Vedanta are the two largest surviving schools of Hindu traditions. They share many thematic principles, concepts and belief in self / soul, but diverge in degree, style and some of their methods. Epistemologically, Yoga school accepts three means to reliable knowledge, while Advaita Vedanta accepts six ways. Yoga disputes the monism of Advaita Vedanta. Yoga school believes that in the state of moksha, each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as an independent identity ; Advaita Vedanta, in contrast, believes that in the state of moksha, each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as part of Oneness with everything, everyone and the Universal Self. They both hold that the free conscience is aloof yet transcendent, liberated and self - aware. Further, Advaita Vedanta school enjoins the use of Patanjali 's yoga practices and the reading of Upanishads for those seeking the supreme good, ultimate freedom and jivanmukti. Yoga Yajnavalkya Main article : Yoga Yajnavalkya संयोगो योग इत्युक्तो जीवात्मपरमात्मनोः ॥ saṁyogo yoga ityukto jīvātma - paramātmanoḥ ॥ Yoga is union of the individual self ( jivātma ) with the supreme self ( paramātma ). -- Yoga Yajnavalkya The Yoga Yajnavalkya is a classical treatise on yoga attributed to the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya. It takes the form of a dialogue between Yajnavalkya and Gargi, a renowned philosopher. The text contains 12 chapters and its origin has been traced to the period between the second century BCE and fourth century CE. Many yoga texts like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Yoga Kundalini and the Yoga Tattva Upanishads have borrowed verses from or make frequent references to the Yoga Yajnavalkya. The Yoga Yajnavalkya discusses eight yoga Asanas -- Swastika, Gomukha, Padma, Vira, Simha, Bhadra, Mukta and Mayura, numerous breathing exercises for body cleansing, and meditation. Jainism Main article : Jainism Tirthankara Parsva in Yogic meditation in the Kayotsarga posture. According to Tattvarthasutra, 2nd century CE Jain text, yoga is the sum of all the activities of mind, speech and body. Umasvati calls yoga the cause of `` asrava '' or karmic influx as well as one of the essentials -- samyak caritra -- in the path to liberation. In his Niyamasara, Acarya Kundakunda, describes yoga bhakti -- devotion to the path to liberation -- as the highest form of devotion. Acarya Haribhadra and Acarya Hemacandra mention the five major vows of ascetics and 12 minor vows of laity under yoga. This has led certain Indologists like Prof. Robert J. Zydenbos to call Jainism, essentially, a system of yogic thinking that grew into a full - fledged religion. The five yamas or the constraints of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali bear a resemblance to the five major vows of Jainism, indicating a history of strong cross-fertilization between these traditions. Mainstream Hinduism 's influence on Jain yoga can be see in Haribhadra 's Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya which outlines an eightfold yoga influenced by Patanjali 's eightfold yoga. Yogacara school Main article : Yogacara In the late phase of Indian antiquity, on the eve of the development of Classical Hinduism, the Yogacara movement arises during the Gupta period ( 4th to 5th centuries ). Yogacara received the name as it provided a `` yoga, '' a framework for engaging in the practices that lead to the path of the bodhisattva. The yogacara sect teaches `` yoga '' as a way to reach enlightenment. Middle Ages ( 500 -- 1500 CE ) Middle Ages saw the development of many satellite traditions of yoga. Hatha yoga emerged in this period. Bhakti movement Main article : Bhakti Yoga The Bhakti movement was a development in medieval Hinduism which advocated the concept of a personal God ( or `` Supreme Personality of Godhead '' ). The movement was initiated by the Alvars of South India in the 6th to 9th centuries, and it started gaining influence throughout India by the 12th to 15th centuries. Shaiva and Vaishnava bhakti traditions integrated aspects of Yoga Sutras, such as the practical meditative exercises, with devotion. Bhagavata Purana elucidates the practice of a form of yoga called viraha ( separation ) bhakti. Viraha bhakti emphasizes one pointed concentration on Krishna. Tantra Tantra is a genre of yoga that arose in India no later than the 5th century CE. George Samuel states, `` Tantra '' is a contested term, but may be considered as a school whose practices appeared in mostly complete form in Buddhist and Hindu texts by about 10th century CE. Over its history, some ideas of Tantra school influenced the Hindu, Bon, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. Elements of Tantric yoga rituals were adopted by and influenced state functions in medieval Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in East and Southeast Asia. By the turn of the first millennium, hatha yoga emerged from tantra. Vajrayana Buddhism Main article : Vajrayana Vajrayana is also known as Tantric Buddhism and Tantrayāna. Its texts were compiled starting with 7th century and Tibetan translations were completed in 8th century CE. These tantra yoga texts were the main source of Buddhist knowledge that was imported into Tibet. They were later translated into Chinese and other Asian languages, helping spread ideas of Tantric Buddhism. The Buddhist text Hevajra Tantra and Caryāgiti introduced hierarchies of chakras. Yoga is a significant practice in Tantric Buddhism. Hatha yoga Main articles : Hatha yoga and Hatha Yoga Pradipika The earliest references to hatha yoga are in Buddhist works dating from the eighth century. The earliest definition of hatha yoga is found in the 11th century Buddhist text Vimalaprabha, which defines it in relation to the center channel, bindu etc. Hatha yoga synthesizes elements of Patanjali 's Yoga Sutras with posture and breathing exercises. It marks the development of asanas ( plural ) into the full body ' postures ' now in popular usage and, along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate with the word yoga today. Sikhism Various yogic groups had become prominent in Punjab in the 15th and 16th century, when Sikhism was in its nascent stage. Compositions of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, describe many dialogues he had with Jogis, a Hindu community which practiced yoga. Guru Nanak rejected the austerities, rites and rituals connected with Hatha Yoga. He propounded the path of Sahaja yoga or Nama yoga ( meditation on the name ) instead. The Guru Granth Sahib states : Listen `` O Yogi, Nanak tells nothing but the truth. You must discipline your mind. The devotee must meditate on the Word Divine. It is His grace which brings about the union. He understands, he also sees. Good deeds help one merge into Divination. '' Modern History Reception in the west ( ( File : Siddhasana 99px ) ) Various yoga asanas Yoga came to the attention of an educated western public in the mid-19th century along with other topics of Indian philosophy. In the context of this budding interest, N.C. Paul published his Treatise on Yoga Philosophy in 1851. The first Hindu teacher to actively advocate and disseminate aspects of yoga to a western audience, Swami Vivekananda, toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s. The reception which Swami Vivekananda received built on the active interest of intellectuals, in particular the New England Transcendentalists, among them Ralph Waldo Emerson ( 1803 -- 1882 ), who drew on German Romanticism and the interest of philosophers and scholars like G.W.F. Hegel ( 1770 -- 1831 ), the brothers August Wilhelm Schlegel ( 1767 -- 1845 ) and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel ( 1772 -- 1829 ), Max Mueller ( 1823 -- 1900 ), Arthur Schopenhauer ( 1788 -- 1860 ), and others who had ( to varying degrees ) interests in things Indian. Australia 's Bette Calman is the oldest female yoga teacher at 83 years old. She teaches at the Indian mental and physical discipline of yoga. Theosophists also had a large influence on the American public 's view of Yoga. Esoteric views current at the end of the 19th century provided a further basis for the reception of Vedanta and of Yoga with its theory and practice of correspondence between the spiritual and the physical. The reception of Yoga and of Vedanta thus entwined with each other and with the ( mostly Neoplatonism - based ) currents of religious and philosophical reform and transformation throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. M. Eliade, himself rooted in the Romanian currents of these traditions, brought a new element into the reception of Yoga with the strong emphasis on Tantric Yoga in his seminal book : Yoga : Immortality and Freedom. With the introduction of the Tantra traditions and philosophy of Yoga, the conception of the `` transcendent '' to be attained by Yogic practice shifted from experiencing the `` transcendent '' ( `` Atman - Brahman '' in Advaitic theory ) in the mind to the body itself. The American born yogi by the name of Pierre Arnold Bernard, after his travels through the lands of Kashmir and Bengal, founded the Tantrik Order of America in 1905. His teachings gave many westerners their first glimpse into the practices of yoga and tantra. The modern scientific study of yoga began with the works of N.C. Paul and Major D. Basu in the late 19th century, and then continued in the 20th century with Sri Yogendra ( 1897 -- 1989 ) and Swami Kuvalayananda. Western medical researchers came to Swami Kuvalayananda 's Kaivalyadhama Health and Yoga Research Center, starting in 1928, to study Yoga as a science. Outside of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain traditions in Asia, the term `` yoga '' has been usually synonymous with its asanas ( postures ) or as a form of exercise. This aspect of Yoga was adopted as a cultural trend in Europe and North America starting in the first half of the 20th century. There were periods of criticism and paranoia against yoga as well. By the 1960s, western interest in Hindu spirituality reached its peak, giving rise to a great number of Neo-Hindu schools specifically advocated to a western public. During this period, most of the influential Indian teachers of yoga came from two lineages, those of Sivananda Saraswati ( 1887 -- 1963 ) and of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya ( 1888 -- 1989 ). Teachers of Hatha yoga who were active in the west in this period included B.K.S. Iyengar ( 1918 -- 2014 ), K. Pattabhi Jois ( 1915 -- 2009 ), Swami Vishnu - devananda ( 1927 -- 1993 ), and Swami Satchidananda ( 1914 -- 2002 ). Yogi Bhajan brought Kundalini Yoga to the United States in 1969. Comprehensive, classical teachings of Ashtanga Yoga, Samkhya, the subtle body theory, Fitness Asanas, and tantric elements were included in the yoga teachers training by Baba Hari Dass ( 1923 -- ), in the United States and Canada. A second `` yoga boom '' followed in the 1980s, as Dean Ornish, a follower of Swami Satchidananda, connected yoga to heart health, legitimizing yoga as a purely physical system of health exercises outside of counter-culture or esotericism circles, and unconnected to any religious denomination. Numerous asanas seemed modern in origin, and strongly overlapped with 19th and early - 20th century Western exercise traditions. A group of people practicing yoga in 2012. Since 2001, the popularity of yoga in the USA has expanded. The number of people who practiced some form of yoga has grown from 4 million ( in 2001 ) to 20 million ( in 2011 ). It has drawn support from world leaders such as Barack Obama who stated, `` Yoga has become a universal language of spiritual exercise in the United States, crossing many lines of religion and cultures,... Every day, millions of people practice yoga to improve their health and overall well - being. That 's why we 're encouraging everyone to take part in PALA ( Presidential Active Lifestyle Award ), so show your support for yoga and answer the challenge ''. The American College of Sports Medicine supports the integration of yoga into the exercise regimens of healthy individuals as long as properly - trained professionals deliver instruction. The College cites yoga 's promotion of `` profound mental, physical and spiritual awareness '' and its benefits as a form of stretching, and as an enhancer of breath control and of core strength. Exercise and health applications Main article : Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine Yoga has been studied and is increasingly recommended to promote relaxation, reduce stress and some medical conditions such as premenstrual syndrome in Europe as well as in the United States. According to Dupler and Frey, Yoga is a low - impact activity that can provide the same benefits as `` any well - designed exercise program, increasing general health and stamina, reducing stress, and improving those conditions brought about by sedentary lifestyles ''. It is particularly suited, add Dupler and Frey, as a physical therapy routine, and as a regimen to strengthen and balance all parts of the body. Yoga has also been used as a complete exercise program and physical therapy routine. In 2015 the Australian Government 's Department of Health published the results of a review of alternative therapies that sought to determine if any were suitable for being covered by health insurance ; Yoga was one of 17 practices evaluated for which no clear evidence of effectiveness was found, with the caveat that `` Reviewers were limited in drawing definite conclusions, not only due to a lack of studies for some clinical conditions, but also due to the lack of information reported in the reviews and potentially in the primary studies. '' While the practice of yoga continues to rise in contemporary American culture, sufficient and adequate knowledge of the practice 's origins does not. According to Andrea R. Jain, Yoga is being marketed as a supplement to a cardio routine with health benefits, but in Hinduism it is more than exercise and incorporates meditation with spiritual benefits. Potential benefits for adults While much of the medical community regards the results of yoga research as significant, others point to many flaws which undermine results. Much of the research on yoga has taken the form of preliminary studies or clinical trials of low methodological quality, including small sample sizes, inadequate blinding, lack of randomization, and high risk of bias. A 2013 systematic review found strong evidence that yoga was effective for low back pain in the short - term, and moderate evidence that it was effective in the long - term. There has been an emergence of studies investigating yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer patients. Yoga is used for treatment of cancer patients to decrease depression, insomnia, pain, and fatigue and to increase anxiety control. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction ( MBSR ) programs include yoga as a mind - body technique to reduce stress. A study found that after seven weeks the group treated with yoga reported significantly less mood disturbance and reduced stress compared to the control group. Another study found that MBSR had showed positive effects on sleep anxiety, quality of life, and spiritual growth in cancer patients. Yoga has also been studied as a treatment for schizophrenia. Some encouraging, but inconclusive, evidence suggests that yoga as a complementary treatment may help alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia and improve health - related quality of life. Implementation of the Kundalini Yoga Lifestyle has shown to help substance abuse addicts increase their quality of life according to psychological questionnaires like the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale and the Quality of Recovery Index. Yoga has been shown in a study to have some cognitive functioning ( executive functioning, including inhibitory control ) acute benefit. A 2016 systematic review and meta - analysis found no evidence that yoga was effective for metabolic syndrome. Physical injuries See also : Sports injury A small percentage of yoga practitioners each year suffer physical injuries analogous to sports injuries ; therefore, caution and common sense are recommended. Yoga has been criticized for being potentially dangerous and being a cause for a range of serious medical conditions including thoracic outlet syndrome, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine, spinal stenosis, retinal tears, damage to the common fibular nerve, `` Yoga foot drop, '' etc. An exposé of these problems by William Broad published in January, 2012 in The New York Times Magazine resulted in controversy within the international yoga community. Broad, a science writer, yoga practitioner, and author of The Science of Yoga : The Risks and the Rewards, had suffered a back injury while performing a yoga posture. Torn muscles, knee injuries, and headaches are common ailments which may result from yoga practice. An extensive survey of yoga practitioners in Australia showed that about 20 % had suffered some physical injury while practicing yoga. In the previous 12 months 4.6 % of the respondents had suffered an injury producing prolonged pain or requiring medical treatment. Headstands, shoulder stands, lotus and half lotus ( seated cross-legged position ), forward bends, backward bends, and handstands produced the greatest number of injuries. Some yoga practitioners do not recommend certain yoga exercises for women during menstruation, for pregnant women, or for nursing mothers. However, meditation, breathing exercises, and certain postures which are safe and beneficial for women in these categories are encouraged. Among the main reasons that experts cite for causing negative effects from yoga are beginners ' competitiveness and instructors ' lack of qualification. As the demand for yoga classes grows, many people get certified to become yoga instructors, often with relatively little training. Not every newly certified instructor can evaluate the condition of every new trainee in their class and recommend refraining from doing certain poses or using appropriate props to avoid injuries. In turn, a beginning yoga student can overestimate the abilities of their body and strive to do advanced poses before their body is flexible or strong enough to perform them. Vertebral artery dissection, a tear in the arteries in the neck which provide blood to the brain can result from rotation of the neck while the neck is extended. This can occur in a variety of contexts, but is an event which could occur in some yoga practices. This is a very serious condition which can result in a stroke. Acetabular labral tears, damage to the structure joining the femur and the hip, have been reported to have resulted from yoga practice. Pediatrics It is claimed that yoga can be an excellent training for children and adolescents, both as a form of physical exercise and for breathing, focus, mindfulness, and stress relief : many school districts have considered incorporating yoga into their P.E. programs. The Encinitas, California school district gained a San Diego Superior Court Judge 's approval to use yoga in P.E., holding against the parents who claimed the practice was intrinsically religious and hence should not be part of a state funded program. Beliefs Seven chakras of a yogin Main article : Yoga physiology Over time, an extended yoga belief system developed, especially within the tantric tradition and hatha yoga. It pictures humans as composed of three bodies or five sheaths which cover the atman. The three bodies are described within the Mandukya Upanishad, which adds a fourth state, turiya, while the five sheaths ( pancha - kosas ) are described in the Taittiriya Upanishad. They are often integrated : Sthula sarira, the Gross body, comprising the Annamaya Kosha Suksma sarira, the Subtle body, composed of ; the Pranamaya Kosha ( Vital breath or Energy ), Manomaya Kosha ( Mind ) the Vijnanamaya Kosha ( Intellect ) Karana sarira, the Causal body, comprising the Anandamaya Kosha ( Bliss ) Within the subtle body energy flows through the nadis or channels, and is concentrated within the chakras. Yoga and specialized meditation Main articles : Dhyāna in Buddhism, Dhyana in Hinduism, and Samadhi Zen Buddhism Zen, the name of which derives from the Sanskrit `` dhyāna '' via the Chinese `` ch'an '' is a form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana school of Buddhism is noted for its proximity with yoga. In the west, Zen is often set alongside yoga ; the two schools of meditation display obvious family resemblances. This segregation deserves attention because yogic practices integrally exist within the Zen Buddhist school. Certain essential elements of yoga are important both for Buddhism in general and for Zen in particular. Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism In the Nyingma tradition, the path of meditation practice is divided into nine yanas, or vehicles, which are said to be increasingly profound. The last six are described as `` yoga yanas '' : `` Kriya yoga '', `` Upa yoga, '' `` Yoga yana, '' `` Mahā yoga, '' `` Anu yoga '' and the ultimate practice, `` Ati yoga. '' ( Dzogchen ) The Sarma traditions also include Kriya, Upa ( called `` Charya '' ), and Yoga, with the Anuttara yoga class substituting for Mahayoga and Atiyoga. Other tantra yoga practices include a system of 108 bodily postures practiced with breath and heart rhythm. The Nyingma tradition also practices Yantra yoga ( Tib. `` Trul khor '' ), a discipline that includes breath work ( or pranayama ), meditative contemplation and precise dynamic movements to centre the practitioner. The body postures of Tibetan ancient yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama 's summer temple of Lukhang. A semi-popular account of Tibetan yoga by Chang ( 1993 ) refers to caṇḍalī ( Tib. `` tummo '' ), the generation of heat in one 's own body, as being `` the very foundation of the whole of Tibetan yoga. '' Chang also claims that Tibetan yoga involves reconciliation of apparent polarities, such as prana and mind, relating this to theoretical implications of tantrism. Reception in other religions Christianity Main articles : Christian meditation, A Christian reflection on the New Age, and Aspects of Christian meditation Some Christians integrate yoga and other aspects of Eastern spirituality with prayer and meditation. This has been attributed to a desire to experience God in a more complete way. In 2013, Monsignor Raffaello Martinelli, servicing Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, having worked for over 23 years with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger ( Pope Benedict XVI ), said that for his Meditation, a Christian can learn from other religious traditions ( zen, yoga, controlled respiration, Mantra ), quoting Aspects of Christian meditation : `` Just as `` the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions, '' neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured. It is within the context of all of this that these bits and pieces should be taken up and expressed anew. '' 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. In 1989 and 2003, the Vatican issued two documents : Aspects of Christian meditation and `` A Christian reflection on the New Age, '' that were mostly critical of eastern and New Age practices. The 2003 document was published as a 90 - page handbook detailing the Vatican 's position. The Vatican warned that concentration on the physical aspects of meditation `` can degenerate into a cult of the body '' and that equating bodily states with mysticism `` could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations. '' Such has been compared to the early days of Christianity, when the church opposed the gnostics ' belief that salvation came not through faith but through a mystical inner knowledge. The letter also says, `` one can see if and how ( prayer ) might be enriched by meditation methods developed in other religions and cultures '' but maintains the idea that `` there must be some fit between the nature of ( other approaches to ) prayer and Christian beliefs about ultimate reality. '' Some fundamentalist Christian organizations consider yoga to be incompatible with their religious background, considering it a part of the New Age movement inconsistent with Christianity. Another view holds that Christian meditation can lead to religious pluralism. This is held by an interdenominational association of Christians that practice it. `` The ritual simultaneously operates as an anchor that maintains, enhances, and promotes denominational activity and a sail that allows institutional boundaries to be crossed. '' Islam In early 11th century, the Persian scholar Al Biruni visited India, lived with Hindus for 16 years, and with their help translated several significant Sanskrit works into Arabic and Persian languages. One of these was Patanjali 's Yogasutras. Al Biruni 's translation preserved many of the core themes of Patañjali ' s Yoga philosophy, but certain sutras and analytical commentaries were restated making it more consistent with Islamic monotheistic theology. Al Biruni 's version of Yoga Sutras reached Persia and Arabian peninsula by about 1050 AD. Later, in the 16th century, the hath yoga text Amritakunda was translated into Arabic and then Persian. Yoga was, however, not accepted by mainstream Sunni and Shia Islam. Minority Islamic sects such as the mystic Sufi movement, particularly in South Asia, adopted Indian yoga practises, including postures and breath control. Muhammad Ghawth, a Shattari Sufi and one of the translators of yoga text in 16th century, drew controversy for his interest in yoga and was persecuted for his Sufi beliefs. Malaysia 's top Islamic body in 2008 passed a fatwa, prohibiting Muslims from practicing yoga, saying it had elements of Hinduism and that its practice was blasphemy, therefore haraam. Some Muslims in Malaysia who had been practicing yoga for years, criticized the decision as `` insulting. '' Sisters in Islam, a women 's rights group in Malaysia, also expressed disappointment and said yoga was just a form of exercise. This fatwa is legally enforceable. However, Malaysia 's prime minister clarified that yoga as physical exercise is permissible, but the chanting of religious mantras is prohibited. In 2009, the Council of Ulemas, an Islamic body in Indonesia, passed a fatwa banning yoga on the grounds that it contains Hindu elements. These fatwas have, in turn, been criticized by Darul Uloom Deoband, a Deobandi Islamic seminary in India. Similar fatwas banning yoga, for its link to Hinduism, were issued by the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa in Egypt in 2004, and by Islamic clerics in Singapore earlier. In Iran, as of May 2014, according to its Yoga Association, there were approximately 200 yoga centres in the country, a quarter of them in the capital Tehran, where groups can often be seen practising in parks. This has been met by opposition among conservatives. In May 2009, Turkey 's head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, Ali Bardakoğlu, discounted personal development techniques such as reiki and yoga as commercial ventures that could lead to extremism. His comments were made in the context of reiki and yoga possibly being a form of proselytization at the expense of Islam. International day of yoga On 11 December 2014, The 193 - member United Nations General Assembly approved by consensus, a resolution establishing 21 June as `` International Day of Yoga ''. The declaration of this day came after the call for its adoption as International Day of Yoga by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to UN General Assembly on 27 September 2014. In suggesting 21 June, which is one of the two solstices, as the International Day of Yoga, Narendra Modi had said that the date is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and has special significance in many parts of the world. The first International Day of Yoga was observed world over on 21 June 2015. About 35,000 people, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a large number of dignitaries, performed 21 yoga asanas ( yoga postures ) for 35 minutes at Rajpath in New Delhi. The day devoted to yoga was observed by millions across the world. The event at Rajpath established two Guinness records -- largest Yoga Class with 35,985 people and the record for the most nationalities participating in it -- eighty four. See also Yoga portal Hinduism portal India portal List of asanas List of yoga schools Yoga series Yogis Notes Jump up ^ Karel Werner states that the existence of accomplished Yogis in Vedic times can not be doubted, citing the Kesin hymn of the Rigveda as evidence of a yoga tradition in the Vedic era. Jump up ^ Buddhists, Jainas and Ajivikas Jump up ^ For instance, Kamalashila ( 2003 ), p. 4, states that Buddhist meditation `` includes any method of meditation that has Enlightenment as its ultimate aim. '' Likewise, Bodhi ( 1999 ) writes : `` To arrive at the experiential realization of the truths it is necessary to take up the practice of meditation... At the climax of such contemplation the mental eye... shifts its focus to the unconditioned state, Nibbana... '' A similar although in some ways slightly broader definition is provided by Fischer - Schreiber et al. ( 1991 ), p. 142 : `` Meditation -- general term for a multitude of religious practices, often quite different in method, but all having the same goal : to bring the consciousness of the practitioner to a state in which he can come to an experience of ' awakening, ' ' liberation, ' ' enlightenment. ' '' Kamalashila ( 2003 ) further allows that some Buddhist meditations are `` of a more preparatory nature '' ( p. 4 ). Jump up ^ The Pāli and Sanskrit word bhāvanā literally means `` development '' as in `` mental development. '' For the association of this term with `` meditation, '' see Epstein ( 1995 ), p. 105 ; and, Fischer - Schreiber et al. ( 1991 ), p. 20. As an example from a well - known discourse of the Pali Canon, in `` The Greater Exhortation to Rahula '' ( Maha - Rahulovada Sutta, MN 62 ), Ven. Sariputta tells Ven. Rahula ( in Pali, based on VRI, n.d. ) : ānāpānassatiṃ, rāhula, bhāvanaṃ bhāvehi. Thanissaro ( 2006 ) translates this as : `` Rahula, develop the meditation ( bhāvana ) of mindfulness of in - & - out breathing. '' ( Square - bracketed Pali word included based on Thanissaro, 2006, end note. ) Jump up ^ See, for example, Rhys Davids & Stede ( 1921 -- 25 ), entry for `` jhāna '' ; Thanissaro ( 1997 ) ; as well as, Kapleau ( 1989 ), p. 385, for the derivation of the word `` zen '' from Sanskrit `` dhyāna. '' PTS Secretary Dr. Rupert Gethin, in describing the activities of wandering ascetics contemporaneous with the Buddha, wrote : ``... ( T ) here is the cultivation of meditative and contemplative techniques aimed at producing what might, for the lack of a suitable technical term in English, be referred to as ' altered states of consciousness '. In the technical vocabulary of Indian religious texts such states come to be termed ' meditations ' ( ( Skt. : ) dhyāna / ( Pali : ) jhāna ) or ' concentrations ' ( samādhi ) ; the attainment of such states of consciousness was generally regarded as bringing the practitioner to deeper knowledge and experience of the nature of the world. '' ( Gethin, 1998, p. 10. ) Jump up ^ 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. '' Jump up ^ See also Gavin Flood ( 1996 ), Hinduism, p. 87 -- 90, on `` The orthogenetic theory '' and `` Non-Vedic origins of renunciation ''. Jump up ^ Post-classical traditions consider Hiranyagarbha as the originator of yoga. Jump up ^ Zimmer 's point of view is supported by other scholars, such as Niniam Smart, in Doctrine and argument in Indian Philosophy, 1964, p. 27 -- 32 & p. 76, and S.K. Belvakar & Inchegeri Sampradaya in History of Indian philosophy, 1974 ( 1927 ), p. 81 & p. 303 -- 409. See Crangle 1994 page 5 -- 7. Jump up ^ Original Sanskrit : युञ्जते मन उत युञ्जते धियो विप्रा विप्रस्य बृहतो विपश्चितः । वि होत्रा दधे वयुनाविदेक इन्मही देवस्य सवितुः परिष्टुतिः ॥ १ ॥ Translation 1 : Seers of the vast illumined seer yogically ( युञ्जते, yunjante ) control their minds and their intelligence... (... ) 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. Jump up ^ Flood : ``... which states that, having become calm and concentrated, one perceives the self ( atman ), within oneself. '' Jump up ^ Original Sanskrit : स्वाध्यायमधीयानो धर्मिकान्विदधदात्मनि सर्वैन्द्रियाणि संप्रतिष्ठाप्याहिँसन्सर्व भूतान्यन्यत्र तीर्थेभ्यः स खल्वेवं वर्तयन्यावदायुषं ब्रह्मलोकमभिसंपद्यते न च पुनरावर्तते न च पुनरावर्तते ॥ १ ॥ -- Chandogya Upanishad, VIII. 15 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. Jump up ^ Jacobsen writes that `` Bodily postures are closely related to the tradition of tapas, ascetic practices in the Vedic tradition. The use by Vedic priests of ascetic practices in their preparations for the performance of the sacrifice might be precursor to Yoga. '' Whicher believes that `` the proto - Yoga of the Vedic rishis is an early form of sacrificial mysticism and contains many elements characteristic of later Yoga that include : concentration, meditative observation, ascetic forms of practice ( tapas ), breath control... '' Jump up ^ * 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. '' 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... ''. Jacobsen writes that dhyana ( meditation ) is derived from Vedic term dhih which refers to `` visionary insight '', `` thought provoking vision ''. Jump up ^ Ancient Indian literature was transmitted and preserved through an oral tradition. For example, the earliest written Pali Canon text is dated to the later part of 1st century BCE, many centuries after the Buddha 's death. Jump up ^ For the date of this Upanishad see also Helmuth von Glasenapp, from the 1950 Proceedings of the `` Akademie der Wissenschaften und Literatur '' Jump up ^ The currently existing version of Vaiśeṣika Sūtra manuscript was likely finalized sometime between 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. Jump up ^ 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 -- can not 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. '' Jump up ^ 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. '' Jump up ^ Worthington writes, `` Yoga fully acknowledges its debt to Jainism, and Jainism reciprocates by making the practice of yoga part and parcel of life. '' Jump up ^ The earliest documented use of the word `` Tantra '' is in the Rigveda ( X. 71.9 ). The context of use suggests the word tantra in Rigveda means `` technique ''. Jump up ^ Eliade, Mircea, Yoga : Immortality and Freedom, Princeton, 1958 : Princeton Univ. Pr. ( original title : Le Yoga. Immortalité et Liberté, Paris, 1954 : Libr. Payot ) Jump up ^ `` The Meditation school, called ' Ch'an ' in Chinese from the Sanskrit ' dhyāna, ' is best known in the West by the Japanese pronunciation ' Zen ' '' Jump up ^ Exact quote : `` This phenomenon merits special attention since yogic roots are to be found in the Zen Buddhist school of meditation. '' References Jump up ^ `` yoga, n. ''. OED Online. Oxford University Press. September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015. Jump up ^ White 2011. Jump up ^ Denise Lardner Carmody, John Carmody ( 1996 ), Serene Compassion. Oxford University Press US. p. 68. Jump up ^ Stuart Ray Sarbacker, Samādhi : The Numinous and Cessative in Indo - Tibetan Yoga. SUNY Press, 2005, pp. 1 -- 2. ^ Jump up to : Tattvarthasutra ( 6.1 ), see Manu Doshi ( 2007 ) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad : Shrut Ratnakar p. 102 Jump up ^ Kimberly Lau ( 2000 ), New Age Capitalism, University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 978 - 0812217292, page 100 ^ Jump up to : Karel Werner ( 1977 ), Yoga and the Ṛg Veda : An Interpretation of the Keśin Hymn ( RV 10, 136 ), Religious Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3, page 289 -- 302 Jump up ^ Yoga is n't an all - Hindu tradition -- it has Buddhist, even Sufi, influences ^ Jump up to : Samuel 2008, p. 8. ^ Jump up to : Mark Singleton ( 2010 ), Yoga Body : The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 539534 - 1, pages 25 -- 34 Jump up ^ Whicher, pp. 1 -- 4, chronology on pp. 41 -- 42 Jump up ^ W.Y. Evans - Wentz ( 2000 ), Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines, 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 513314 - 1, Chapters 7 and 8 Jump up ^ White 2014, p. xvi -- xvii. ^ Jump up to : James Mallinson, `` Sāktism and Hathayoga, '' 28 June 2012. http://www.khecari.com/resources/SaktismHathayoga.pdf ( accessed 19 September 2013 ) pg. 20, Quote : `` The techniques of hatha yoga are not taught in Sanskrit texts until the 11th century or thereabouts. '' ^ Jump up to : Burley, Mikel ( 2000 ). Hatha Yoga : Its Context, Theory and Practice. Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass. p. 16. `` It is for this reason that hatha - yoga is sometimes referred to as a variety of ' Tantrism '. '' ^ Jump up to : White 2011, p. 2. Jump up ^ * Marek Jantos ( 2012 ), in Oxford Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare ( Editors : Mark Cobb et al. ), Oxford University Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 957139 - 0, pages 362 -- 363 James M. Nelson ( 2009 ), Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality, Springer, ISBN 978 - 1 - 4419 - 2769 - 9, pages 78 -- 82 Jean Varenne ( 1977 ), Yoga and the Hindu Tradition, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978 - 0 - 226 - 85116 - 7, Preface and Introduction Jump up ^ * Mikel Burley ( 2012 ), Classical Samkhya and Yoga : An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 64887 - 5, See Introduction section ; John A. Grimes ( 1989 ), A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy : Sanskrit Terms Defined in English, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 7914 - 0100 - 2, page 70 ^ Jump up to : * Smith, Kelly B. ; Pukall, Caroline F. ( May 2009 ). `` An evidence - based review of yoga as a complementary intervention for patients with cancer ''. Psycho - Oncology. 18 ( 5 ) : 465 -- 475. PMID 18821529. doi : 10.1002 / pon. 1411. Sharma, Manoj ; Haider, Taj ( October 2012 ). `` Yoga as an Alternative and Complementary Treatment for Asthma : A Systematic Review ''. Journal of Evidence - Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine. 17 ( 3 ) : 212 -- 217. doi : 10.1177 / 2156587212453727. Innes, Kim E. ; Bourguignon, Cheryl ( November -- December 2005 ). `` Risk Indices Associated with the Insulin Resistance Syndrome, Cardiovascular Disease, and Possible Protection with Yoga : A Systematic Review ''. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 18 ( 6 ) : 491 -- 519. doi : 10.3122 / jabfm. 18.6. 491. ^ Jump up to : Vancampfort, D. ; Vansteeland, K. ; Scheewe, T. ; Probst, M. ; Knapen, J. ; De Herdt, A. ; De Hert, M. ( July 2012 ). `` Yoga in schizophrenia : a systematic review of randomised controlled trials ''. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 126 ( 1 ) : 12 -- 20. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1600 - 0447.2012. 01865. x., art.nr. 10.1111 / j. 1600 - 0447.2012. 01865. x Jump up ^ `` Yoga joins Unesco world heritage list ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 2016 - 12 - 01. Jump up ^ Monier Monier - Williams. A Sanskrit - English Dictionary :... with Special Reference to Greek, Latin, Gothic, German, Anglo - Saxon... Clarendon. p. 804. Jump up ^ Whicher, pp. 6 -- 7. ^ Jump up to : Dasgupta, Surendranath ( 1975 ). A History of Indian Philosophy. 1. Delhi, India : Motilal Banarsidass. p. 226. ISBN 81 - 208 - 0412 - 0. Jump up ^ Bryant 2009, p. 5. Jump up ^ Bryant 2009, p. xxxix. Jump up ^ Aranya, Swami Hariharananda ( 2000 ). Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati. Calcutta, India : University of Calcutta. p. 1. ISBN 81 - 87594 - 00 - 4. Jump up ^ American Heritage Dictionary : `` Yogi, One who practices yoga. '' Websters : `` Yogi, A follower of the yoga philosophy ; an ascetic. '' ^ Jump up to : Jacobsen, p. 4. Jump up ^ White 2011, p. 6. Jump up ^ White 2011, pp. 6 -- 8. Jump up ^ White 2011, pp. 8 -- 9. Jump up ^ White 2011, pp. 9 -- 10. Jump up ^ White 2011, pp. 10 -- 12. Jump up ^ Mallinson, James ( 2013 ). `` The Yogīs ' Latest Trick ''. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Cambridge University Press ( CUP ). 24 ( 1 ) : 165 -- 180. doi : 10.1017 / s1356186313000734. Jump up ^ White 2011, p. 11. Jump up ^ Hari Dass 1978. ^ Jump up to : Mallinson 2011, p. 770. ^ Jump up to : White 2014, p. xvi. Jump up ^ Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971 edition, Volume II, pp. 19 -- 20. Jump up ^ Flood 1996, pp. 82, 224 -- 49 Jump up ^ Changing World Religions, Cults & Occult. Jump up ^ Swami Vivekananda, Raja Yoga, ISBN 978 - 1500746940 Jump up ^ Whicher, pp. 41 -- 43 ^ Jump up to : Edwin Bryant ( 2011, Rutgers University ), The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali IEP ^ Jump up to : Lloyd Pflueger, Person Purity and Power in Yogasutra, in Theory and Practice of Yoga ( Editor : Knut Jacobsen ), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978 - 8120832329, pages 38 -- 39 Jump up ^ Mike Burley ( 2012 ), Classical Samkhya and Yoga -- An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 64887 - 5, pages 43 -- 46 Jump up ^ Kovoor T. Behanan ( 2002 ), Yoga : Its Scientific Basis, Dover, ISBN 978 - 0 - 486 - 41792 - 9, pages 56 -- 58 Jump up ^ Mike Burley ( 2012 ), Classical Samkhya and Yoga -- An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 64887 - 5, page 39, 41 Jump up ^ Mike Burley ( 2012 ), Classical Samkhya and Yoga -- An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 64887 - 5, pages 38 -- 46 Jump up ^ Wade Dazey ( 2008 ) on pages 421 -- 423, and Lloyd Pflueger on pages 46 -- 52, in Theory and Practice of Yoga : ' Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson, Editor : Knut A. Jacobsen, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978 - 8120832329 Jump up ^ Akshaya Kumar Banerjea ( 1983 ). Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha - Vacana - Sangraha. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. xxi. ISBN 978 - 81 - 208 - 0534 - 7. ^ Jump up to : See Kriyananada, page 112. Jump up ^ See Burley, page 73. Jump up ^ See Introduction by Rosen, pp 1 -- 2. Jump up ^ See translation by Mallinson. Jump up ^ On page 140, David Gordon White says of Gorakshanath : ``... hatha yoga, in which field he was India 's major systematizer and innovator. '' Jump up ^ Bajpai writes on page 524 : `` Nobody can dispute about the top ranking position of Sage Gorakshanath in the philosophy of Yoga. '' Jump up ^ Eliade writes of Gorakshanath on page 303 : ``... he accomplished a new synthesis among certain Shaivist traditions ( Pashupata ), tantrism, and the doctrines ( unfortunately, so imperfectly known ) of the siddhas -- that is, of the perfect yogis. '' Jump up ^ Davidson, Ronald. Indian Esoteric Buddhism. Columbia University Press. 2002, pg. 169 -- 235. ^ Jump up to : Lama Yeshe ( 1998 ). The Bliss of Inner Fire. Wisdom Publications. pp. 135 -- 141. Jump up ^ Larson, p. 142. Jump up ^ Mahapragya, Acharya ( 2004 ). `` Foreword ''. Jain Yog. Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh. Jump up ^ Tulsi, Acharya ( 2004 ). `` blessings ''. Sambodhi. Aadarsh Saahitya Sangh. OCLC 39811791. ^ Jump up to : Samuel 2008, p. 9. Jump up ^ Mukunda Stiles, Tantra Yoga Secrets, Weiser, ISBN 978 - 1 - 57863 - 503 - 0, pages 3 -- 7 ^ Jump up to : Flood 1996, p. 87 -- 90. ^ Jump up to : Crangle 1994, p. 4 -- 7. ^ Jump up to : Zimmer 1951, p. 217, 314. Jump up ^ Samuel 2008. Jump up ^ Flood 1996, p. 77. Jump up ^ Flood 1996, p. 76 -- 77. ^ Jump up to : Larson, p. 36. Jump up ^ Samuel 2008, p. 2 -- 3. Jump up ^ Possehl ( 2003 ), pp. 144 -- 145 Jump up ^ Samuel 2008, p. 2 -- 10. Jump up ^ Crangle 1994, p. 4. Jump up ^ Crangle 1994, p. 5. Jump up ^ Feuerstein, Georg ( 2001 ). The Yoga Tradition : Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice. Arizona, USA : Hohm Press. p. Kindle Locations 7299 -- 7300. ISBN 978 - 1 - 890772 - 18 - 5. Jump up ^ Aranya, Swami Hariharananda ( 2000 ). `` Introduction ''. Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali with Bhasvati. Calcutta, India : University of Calcutta. p. xxiv. ISBN 81 - 87594 - 00 - 4. Jump up ^ McEvilley, Thomas ( 1981 ). `` An Archaeology of Yoga ''. Anthropology and aesthetics. 1 ( spring ) : 51. ISSN 0277 - 1322. doi : 10.1086 / RESv1n1ms20166655. ^ Jump up to : Jacobsen, p. 6. ^ Jump up to : Whicher, p. 12. Jump up ^ Zimmer 1951, p. 217. ^ Jump up to : Crangle 1994, p. 7. Jump up ^ Crangle 1994, p. 5 -- 7. ^ Jump up to : Burley, Mikel ( 2000 ). Hatha Yoga : Its Context, Theory and Practice. Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass. p. 25. ISBN 978 - 8120817067. ^ Jump up to : Sri Aurobindo ( 1916, Reprinted 1995 ), A Hymn to Savitri V. 81, in The Secret of Veda, ISBN 978 - 0 - 914955 - 19 - 1, page 529 Jump up ^ Sanskrit : Source : Rigveda Book 5, Chapter 81 Wikisource Jump up ^ Flood 1996, p. 94 -- 95. Jump up ^ Mircea Eliade ( 2009 ), Yoga : Immortality and Freedom, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 691 - 14203 - 6, pages 117 -- 118 Jump up ^ wikisource, Chandogya Upanishad, अष्टमोऽध्यायः ॥ पञ्चदशः खण्डः ॥ Jump up ^ Translation 2 by GN Jha : Chandogya Upanishad VIII. 15, page 488 ^ Jump up to : Flood, p. 94 -- 95. Jump up ^ Whicher, p. 13. Jump up ^ Wynne, p. 50. ^ Jump up to : Whicher, p. 11. Jump up ^ Larson, p. 34 -- 35, 53. Jump up ^ Wynne, Alexander ( 2004 ). `` The Oral Transmission of the Early Buddhist Literature ''. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. 27 ( 1 ) : 97 -- 128. Jump up ^ Donald Lopez ( 2004 ). Buddhist Scriptures. Penguin Books. pp. xi -- xv. ISBN 978 - 0 - 14 - 190937 - 0 Jump up ^ Flood 1996, p. 95. Jump up ^ Stephen Phillips ( 2009 ). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth : A Brief History and Philosophy. Columbia University Press. pp. 28 -- 30. ISBN 978 - 0 - 231 - 14485 - 8. Jump up ^ Patrick Olivelle ( 1998 ). The Early Upanishads : Annotated Text and Translation. Oxford University Press. pp. 12 -- 13. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 512435 - 4. Jump up ^ `` Vedanta and Buddhism, A Comparative Study ''. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2012. Jump up ^ Whicher, p. 18 -- 19. ^ Jump up to : Jacobsen, p. 8. Jump up ^ White 2011, p. 4. Jump up ^ See : Original Sanskrit : Shvetashvatara Upanishad Book 2, Hymns 8 -- 14 ; English Translation : Paul Deussen ( German : 1897 ; English Translated by Bedekar & Palsule, Reprint : 2010 ), Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978 - 8120814677, pages 309 -- 310 Secondary Source Review : Mark Singleton ( 2010 ), Yoga Body : The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 539534 - 1, page 26 Jump up ^ Feuerstein, Georg ( January -- February 1988 ). `` Introducing Yoga 's Great Literary Heritage ''. Yoga Journal ( 78 ) : 70 -- 5. Jump up ^ TRS Ayyangar ( 1938 ), The Yoga Upanishads The Adyar Library, Madras Jump up ^ David Gordon White ( 2011 ), Yoga in Practice, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978 - 0691140865, pages 97 -- 112 Jump up ^ Bimal Krishna Matilal 1977, pp. 56 - 59. Jump up ^ Jeaneane D. Fowler 2002, pp. 98 - 99. Jump up ^ Bimal Krishna Matilal 1977, p. 54. ^ Jump up to : Johannes Bronkhorst ( 1993 ). The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 64. ISBN 978 - 81 - 208 - 1114 - 0. ^ Jump up to : Stephen Phillips ( 2009 ). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth : A Brief History and Philosophy. Columbia University Press. pp. 281 footnote 36. ISBN 978 - 0 - 231 - 14485 - 8. Jump up ^ Andrew J. Nicholson ( 2013 ). Unifying Hinduism : Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History. Columbia University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978 - 0 - 231 - 14987 - 7., Quote : `` From a historical perspective, the Brahmasutras are best understood as a group of sutras composed by multiple authors over the course of hundreds of years, most likely composed in its current form between 400 and 450 BCE. '' Jump up ^ NV Isaeva ( 1992 ), Shankara and Indian Philosophy, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 7914 - 1281 - 7, page 36, Quote : `` '' on the whole, scholars are rather unanimous, considering the most probable date for Brahmasutra sometime between the 2nd - century BCE and the 2nd - century CE '' Jump up ^ Jeaneane Fowler ( 2002 ), Perspectives of Reality : An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978 - 1898723943, page 129 Jump up ^ B.K. Matilal ( 1986 ), `` Perception. An Essay on Classical Indian Theories of Knowledge '', Oxford University Press, p. xiv. Jump up ^ Stephen Phillips ( 2009 ). Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth : A Brief History and Philosophy. Columbia University Press. pp. 281 footnote 40, 297. ISBN 978 - 0 - 231 - 14485 - 8. Jump up ^ SC Vidyabhushana ( 1913, Translator ), The Nyâya Sutras, The Sacred Book of the Hindus, Volume VIII, Bhuvaneshvar Asrama Press, pages 137 -- 139 Jump up ^ Karl Potter ( 2004 ), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies : Indian metaphysics and epistemology, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978 - 8120803091, page 237 ^ Jump up to : Charles R Lanman, The Hindu Yoga System, Harvard Theological Review, Volume XI, Number 4, Harvard University Press, pages 355 -- 359 ^ Jump up to : Strabo, Geography Book XV, Chapter 1, see Sections 63 -- 65, Loeb Classical Library edition, Harvard University Press, Translator : HL Jones, Archived by : University of Chicago Jump up ^ Karel Werner ( 1998 ), Yoga and the Indian Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978 - 8120816091, page 131 ^ Jump up to : Werner ( 1977 ) p. 119 -- 20 Jump up ^ Samuel 2008, pp. 31 -- 32. Jump up ^ Mark Singleton ( 2010 ), Yoga Body : The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 539534 - 1, Chapter 1 Jump up ^ Bronkhorst, Johannes ( 1993 ), The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978 - 8120816435, pages 1 -- 24 ^ Jump up to : White 2011, pp. 5 -- 6. Jump up ^ Douglass, Laura ( 2011 ). `` Thinking Through The Body : The Conceptualization Of Yoga As Therapy For Individuals With Eating Disorders ''. Academic Search Premier : 83. Retrieved 19 February 2013. Jump up ^ Datta, Amaresh ( 1988 ). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature : devraj to jyoti. Sahitya Akademi. p. 1809. ISBN 978 - 81 - 260 - 1194 - 0. Jump up ^ Wynne, pp. 3 -- 4. Jump up ^ Richard Gombrich, `` Theravada Buddhism : A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. '' Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988, p. 44. Jump up ^ Barbara Stoler Miller, `` Yoga : Discipline of Freedom : the Yoga Sutra Attributed to Patanjali ; a Translation of the Text, with Commentary, Introduction, and Glossary of Keywords. '' University of California Press, 1996, p. 8. Jump up ^ Mallinson, James. 2007. The Khecarīvidyā of Adinathā. London : Routledge. pg. 17 -- 19. Jump up ^ James Mallinson, `` Sāktism and Hathayoga, '' 6 March 2012. PDF file ( accessed 10 June 2012 ) pgs. 20 -- 21 `` The Buddha himself is said to have tried both pressing his tongue to the back of his mouth, in a manner similar to that of the hathayogic khecarīmudrā, and ukkutikappadhāna, a squatting posture which may be related to hathayogic techniques such as mahāmudrā, mahābandha, mahāvedha, mūlabandha, and vajrāsana in which pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, in order to force upwards the breath or Kundalinī. '' Jump up ^ Wynne, pp. 44 -- 45, 58. Jump up ^ Whicher, p. 17. Jump up ^ Jacobsen, p. 10. Jump up ^ Flood, p. 96. ^ Jump up to : Jacobsen, p. 10 -- 11. Jump up ^ E. Easwaran, Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, Nilgiri Press, ISBN 978 - 1 - 58638 - 068 - 7, pages 117 -- 118 Jump up ^ Jack Hawley ( 2011 ), The Bhagavad Gita, ISBN 978 - 1 - 60868 - 014 - 6, pages 50, 130 ; Arvind Sharma ( 2000 ), Classical Hindu Thought : An Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 564441 - 8, pages 114 -- 122 ^ Jump up to : Bibek Debroy ( 2005 ), The Bhagavad Gita, Penguin Books, ISBN 978 - 0 - 14 - 400068 - 5, Introduction, pages x -- xi Jump up ^ Jacobsen, p. 46. ; Georg Feuerstein ( 2011 ), The Bhagavad Gita -- A New Translation, Shambhala, ISBN 978 - 1 - 59030 - 893 - 6 Jump up ^ Whicher, p. 25 -- 26. ^ Jump up to : Jacobsen, p. 9. Jump up ^ Wynne, p. 33. Jump up ^ Original Sanskrit : साङ्ख्यं योगो लोकायतं च इत्यान्वीक्षिकी English Translation : Arthasastra Book 1, Chapter 2 Kautiliya, R Shamasastry ( Translator ), page 9 Jump up ^ Olivelle, Patrick ( 2013 ), King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India : Kautilya 's Arthasastra, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 989182 - 5, see Introduction Jump up ^ Larson, p. 38. Jump up ^ Radhankrishnan, Indian Philosophy, London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971 edition, Volume II, p. 342. Jump up ^ Mike Burley ( 2012 ), Classical Samkhya and Yoga -- An Indian Metaphysics of Experience, Routledge, ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 64887 - 5, pages 31 -- 46 Jump up ^ For yoga acceptance of samkhya concepts, but with addition of a category for God, see : Radhakrishnan and Moore, p. 453. Jump up ^ Radhankrishnan, Indian Philosophy, London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971 edition, Volume II, p. 344. Jump up ^ Müller ( 1899 ), Chapter 7, `` Yoga Philosophy, '' p. 104. Jump up ^ Stiles 2001, p. x. Jump up ^ For an overview of the six orthodox schools, with detail on the grouping of schools, see : Radhakrishnan and Moore, `` Contents, '' and pp. 453 -- 487. Jump up ^ For a brief overview of the yoga school of philosophy see : Chatterjee and Datta, p. 43. Jump up ^ Werner, p. 24. ^ Jump up to : Larson, pp. 43 -- 45 Jump up ^ For Patanjali as the founder of the philosophical system called yoga see : Chatterjee and Datta, p. 42. Jump up ^ Larson, p. 21 -- 22. Jump up ^ For `` raja yoga '' as a system for control of the mind and connection to Patanjali 's Yoga Sutras as a key work, see : Flood ( 1996 ), pp. 96 -- 98. Jump up ^ For text and word - by - word translation as `` Yoga is the inhibition of the modifications of the mind. '' See : Taimni, p. 6. Jump up ^ Vivekanada, p. 115. Jump up ^ Bryant 2009, p. 10. Jump up ^ Bryant 2009, p. 457. Jump up ^ Dass, Baba Hari ( 1999 ). The Yoga Sytras of Patanjali, A Study Guide for Book I, Samadhi Pada ; Translation and Commentary. Santa Cruz, Californnia : Sri Rama Publishing. p. 5. ISBN 0 - 918100 - 20 - 8. Jump up ^ Baba Hari Dass ( 1999 ) Jump up ^ James Lochtefeld, `` Yama ( 2 ) '', The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2 : N -- Z, Rosen Publishing. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8239 - 3179 - 8, page 777 ^ Jump up to : Arti Dhand ( 2002 ), The dharma of ethics, the ethics of dharma : Quizzing the ideals of Hinduism, Journal of Religious Ethics, 30 ( 3 ), pages 347 -- 372 ^ Jump up to : MN Gulati ( 2008 ), Comparative Religions And Philosophies : Anthropomorphism And Divinity, ISBN 978 - 8126909025, page 168 Jump up ^ Sharma and Sharma, Indian Political Thought, Atlantic Publishers, ISBN 978 - 8171566785, page 19 ^ Jump up to : N Tummers ( 2009 ), Teaching Yoga for Life, ISBN 978 - 0 - 7360 - 7016 - 4, pages 16 -- 17 Jump up ^ Kaelber, W.O. ( 1976 ). `` Tapas '', Birth, and Spiritual Rebirth in the Veda, History of Religions, 15 ( 4 ) : 343 -- 386 Jump up ^ SA Bhagwat ( 2008 ), Yoga and Sustainability. Journal of Yoga, Fall / Winter 2008, 7 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 14 Jump up ^ John A. Grimes, A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy : Sanskrit Terms Defined in English, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 7914 - 3067 - 5, page 238 ^ Jump up to : Phillips, Stephen H. ( 1995 ). Classical Indian Metaphysics : Refutations of Realism and the Emergence of `` New Logic ''. Open Court Publishing. pp. 12 -- 13. Jump up ^ Larson ( 2008 ), p. 478. Jump up ^ Yoga Journal, Active Interest Media, Inc., 2006, p. 121, ISSN 0191 - 0965 Jump up ^ Divanji, Prahlad, ed. ( 1954 ). Yoga Yajnavalkya : A Treatise on Yoga as Taught by Yogi Yajnavalkya. B.B.R.A. Society 's Monograph No. 3. Bombay, India : Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. p. 105. Jump up ^ Mohan, A.G. ( 2010 ). Krishnamacharya : His Life and Teachings. Shambhala Publications. p. 127. ISBN 978 - 1 - 59030 - 800 - 4. Jump up ^ Larson ( 2008 ), p. 479. Jump up ^ Larson ( 2008 ), pp. 481 -- 484 Jump up ^ Larson ( 2008 ), pp. 485 -- 486 ^ Jump up to : Tattvarthasutra ( 6.2 ) Jump up ^ Niyamasara ( 134 -- 40 ) Jump up ^ Zydenbos, Robert. `` Jainism Today and Its Future. '' München : Manya Verlag, 2006. p. 66 Jump up ^ Zydenbos ( 2006 ) p. 66 Jump up ^ Worthington, p. 35. Jump up ^ P. 313 The Integrity of the Yoga Darsana : A Reconsideration of the Classical Yoga By Ian Whicher Jump up ^ Dan Lusthaus. Buddhist Phenomenology : A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei - shih Lun. Published 2002 ( Routledge ). ISBN 0 - 7007 - 1186 - 4. pg 533 Jump up ^ Simple Tibetan Buddhism : A Guide to Tantric Living By C. Alexander Simpkins, Annellen M. Simpkins. Published 2001. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0 - 8048 - 3199 - 8 Jump up ^ Larson, pp. 136 -- 139. Jump up ^ Cutler, Norman ( 1987 ). Songs of Experience. Indiana University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978 - 0 - 253 - 35334 - 4. Jump up ^ Larson, p. 137. Jump up ^ Jacobsen, p. 22. Jump up ^ Einoo, Shingo ( ed. ) ( 2009 ). Genesis and Development of Tantrism. University of Tokyo. p. 45. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Banerjee, S.C., 1988. Jump up ^ White 2000, p. 7. Jump up ^ Samuel 2008, pp. 324 -- 333. Jump up ^ John Powers ( 2004 ), in Encyclopedia of Buddhism ( Editors : Damien Keown et al. ), Routledge, ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 31414 - 5, pages 775 -- 785 Jump up ^ White, David Gordon. Yoga in Practice. Princeton University Press 2012, page 14. Jump up ^ Chogyam Trungpa ( 2001 ) The Lion 's Roar : An Introduction to Tantra. Shambhala. ISBN 1 - 57062 - 895 - 5 Jump up ^ Edmonton Patric 2007, Pali and Its Significance, p. 332 Jump up ^ James Mallinson, `` Sāktism and Hathayoga, '' 28 June 2012. < URL > ( accessed 19 September 2013 ) pgs. 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. '' Jump up ^ James Mallinson, `` Sāktism and Hathayoga, '' 28 June 2012. < URL > ( accessed 19 September 2013 ) pgs. 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. '' Jump up ^ Larson, p. 140. Jump up ^ Burley, Mikel ( 2000 ). Hatha Yoga : Its Context, Theory and Practice. Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass. p. 16. ISBN 978 - 8120817067. Jump up ^ Feuerstein, Georg. ( 1996 ). `` The Shambhala Guide to Yoga. '' Boston & London : Shambhala Publications, Inc. Jump up ^ Dhillon, p. 249. Jump up ^ Dhillon, p. 255. Jump up ^ Mansukhani, Gobind Singh ( 2009 ). Introduction To Sikhism. Hemkunt Press. p. 66. ISBN 978 - 81 - 7010 - 181 - 9. Jump up ^ Dhillon, Harish ( 2010 ). Guru Nanak. Indus Source Books. p. 178. ISBN 978 - 81 - 88569 - 02 - 1. ^ Jump up to : Shaw, Eric. `` 35 Moments '', Yoga Journal, 2010 - 09. Jump up ^ Goldberg, Philip, American Veda. From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation : How Indian Spirituality Changed the West. New York, 2010 : Harmony Books, pp. 21ff. Jump up ^ Von Glasenapp, Hellmuth. Die Philosophie der Inder. Stuttgart, 1974 : A. Kroener Verlag, pp. 166f. Jump up ^ Glenday, Craig ( 2010 ). Guinness World Records 2011. ISBN 9781904994572. ^ Jump up to : `` Fear of Yoga ''. Utne.com. Retrieved 28 August 2013. Jump up ^ De Michelis, Elizabeth, A History Of Modern Yoga. Patanjali and Modern Esotericism. London, 2004 : Continuum Books, pp. 19ff. Jump up ^ Flood, Gavin D., Body and Cosmology in Kashmir Saivism, San Francisco, 1993 : Mellen Research University Press, pp. 229ff. Jump up ^ Love, Robert. The Great Oom. ISBN 978 - 0 - 14 - 311917 - 3. Jump up ^ Singleton, Mark ( 12 January 2010 ). Yoga Body : The Origins of Modern Posture Practice. Oxford University Press. p. 32, 50. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 974598 - 2. Retrieved 14 March 2014. Jump up ^ Joseph S. Alter ( 30 August 2004 ). Yoga in Modern India : The Body between Science and Philosophy. Princeton University Press. p. 87. ISBN 978 - 0 - 691 - 11874 - 1. Retrieved 14 March 2014. Jump up ^ Title : A History of Modern Yoga. Author : Elizabeth De Michelis. Published : Continuum, 2005 Jump up ^ Bryant 2009, p. xviii. Jump up ^ Cushman, Ann ( January -- February 2000 ). `` The New Yoga ''. Yoga Journal.com. p. 68. Retrieved 5 February 2011. Jump up ^ Silva, Mira, and Mehta, Shyam. ( 1995 ). Yoga the Iyengar Way, p. 9. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0 - 89381 - 731 - 7 Jump up ^ Desikachar, T.K.V. ( 2005 ). Health, healing and beyond : Yoga and the living tradition of Krishnamacharya, ( cover jacket text ). Aperture, USA. ISBN 978 - 0 - 89381 - 731 - 2 Jump up ^ Congressional Honorary Resolution 521 US Library of Congress Jump up ^ Jones and Ryan, Constance and James ( 2007 ). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. New York : Infobase Publishing. p. Baba Hari Dass. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8160 - 5458 - 9. Jump up ^ Singleton, Mark. ( 2010 ). Yoga Body : The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, p. 161. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0 - 19 - 539534 - 4 Jump up ^ Weekly Highlights, July 1, 2011, The White House, United States, JULY 1, 2011 ( MIYA SAIKA CHEN ) Jump up ^ `` Diversify Your Client 's Workout With Yoga ''. American College of Sports Medicine. Retrieved 19 September 2013. ^ Jump up to : Dupler, Douglas ; Frey, Rebecca ( 2006 ), Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed, ISBN 978 - 0787618681 ; Retrieved 30 August 2012. Jump up ^ Baggoley C ( 2015 ). `` Review of the Australian Government Rebate on Natural Therapies for Private Health Insurance '' ( PDF ). Australian Government -- Department of Health. Lay summary -- Gavura, S. Australian review finds no benefit to 17 natural therapies. Science - Based Medicine. ( 19 November 2015 ). Jump up ^ Jain, Andrea R. ( 2012 ). `` The malleability of yoga : a response to Christian and Hindu opponents of the popularization of yoga ''. Journal of Hindu - Christian Studies. 25 : 1 -- 8. doi : 10.7825 / 2164 - 6279.1510. Retrieved 25 September 2014. Jump up ^ Krisanaprakornkit, T. ; Ngamjarus, C. ; Witoonchart, C. ; Piyavhatkul, N. ( 2010 ). `` Meditation therapies for attention - deficit / hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) ''. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews ( 6 ) : CD006507. PMID 20556767. doi : 10.1002 / 14651858. CD006507. pub2. Jump up ^ Ospina, M.B. ; Bond, K. ; Karkhaneh, M. ; et al. ( 2008 ). `` Clinical trials of meditation practices in health care : characteristics and quality ''. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 14 ( 10 ) : 199 -- 213. Jump up ^ Uebelacker, L.A. ; Epstein - Lubow, G. ; Gaudiano, B.A. ; Tremont, G. ; Battle, C.L. ; Miller, I.W. ( 2010 ). `` Hatha yoga for depression : critical review of the evidence for efficacy, plausible mechanisms of action, and directions for future research ''. Journal of Psychiatric Practice. 16 ( 1 ) : 22 -- 33. PMID 20098228. doi : 10.1097 / 01. pra. 0000367775.88388. 96. Jump up ^ Cramer, Holger ; Lauche, Romy ; Haller, Heidemarie ; Dobos, Gustav ( May 2013 ). `` A Systematic Review and Meta - analysis of Yoga for Low Back Pain ''. The Clinical Journal of Pain. 29 ( 5 ) : 450 -- 460. doi : 10.1097 / AJP. 0b013e31825e1492. Jump up ^ DeStasio, Susan A. Integrating Yoga Into Cancer Care. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. February 2008, Volume 12 Issue 1. p125 -- 130 Jump up ^ Smith K, Pukall C. An evidence - based review of yoga as a complementary intervention for patients with cancer. Psycho - Oncology ( serial online ). May 2009 ; 18 ( 5 ) : 465 -- 475. Jump up ^ `` Yoga Health Benefits : Flexibility, Strength, Posture, and More ''. Jump up ^ Khalsa, Sat Bir S. et al. Evaluation of a Residential Kundalini Yoga Lifestyle Pilot Program for Addiction in India. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse. 2008, Volume 7 Issue 1. p67 -- 79 Jump up ^ Gothe, N. ; Pontifex, M.B. ; Hillman, C. ; McAuley, E. ( 2013 ). `` The acute effects of yoga on executive function ''. Journal of physical activity & health. 10 ( 4 ) : 488 -- 495. PMID 22820158. Jump up ^ Cramer, H ; Langhorst, J ; Dobos, G ; Lauche, R ( 22 August 2016 ). `` Yoga for metabolic syndrome : A systematic review and meta - analysis ''. European journal of preventive cardiology. 23 ( 18 ) : 1982 -- 1993. PMID 27550905. doi : 10.1177 / 2047487316665729. ^ Jump up to : Penman, Stephen ; Cohen, Marc ; Stevens, Philip ; Jackson, Sue ( 2012 ). `` Yoga in Australia : Results of a national survey ''. IJOY, International Journal of Yoga. 5 ( 2 ) : 92 -- 101. PMC 3410203. PMID 22869991. doi : 10.4103 / 0973 - 6131.98217. Jump up ^ Summers, Kathleen. `` Can Yoga Wreck Your Body ? '' ( blog by medical and yoga expert ). TheYogaDr.com. Retrieved 21 November 2012. Here are some tips to avoid injury : Jump up ^ Chusid, Joseph ( 9 August 1971 ). `` Yoga Foot Drop ''. JAMA : The Journal of the American Medical Association. 271 ( 6 ) : 827 -- 828. doi : 10.1001 / jama. 1971.03190060065025. Retrieved 19 November 2012. ^ Jump up to : Broad, William J. ( 5 January 2012 ). `` How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body ''. The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 29 August 2012. Jump up ^ Broad, William J. ( 7 February 2012 ). The Science of Yoga The Risks and the Rewards ( hardcover ) ( 1st ed. ). Simon & Schuster. p. 336. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4516 - 4142 - 4. Jump up ^ Walters, Joanna ( 14 January 2012 ). `` ' Yoga can damage your body ' article throws exponents off - balance : A $5 bn industry is outraged over a New York Times article saying that the keep fit regime is bad for your body ''. The Guardian, The Observer. Retrieved 29 August 2012. Jump up ^ Patel, SC ; Parker, DA ( 2008 ). `` Isolated rupture of the lateral collateral ligament during yoga practice : a case report '' ( PDF ). Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery. 16 ( 3 ) : 378 -- 80. PMID 19126911. ^ Jump up to : Hale, Beth. `` When yoga can be bad for the body beautiful ''. The Daily Mail. Retrieved 29 August 2012. Jump up ^ Christensen, Alice. `` Who Can Practice Yoga ? ''. General Yoga Information. American Yoga Association. Retrieved 28 October 2012. Jump up ^ Biffl, Walter L. ; Moore, Ernest E. ; Elliott, J. Paul ; Ray, Charles ; Offner, Patrick J. ; Franciose, Reginald J. ; Brega, Kerry E. ; Burch, Jon M. ( May 2000 ). `` The Devastating Potential of Blunt Vertebral Arterial Injuries ''. Annals of Surgery. 231 ( 5 ) : 672 -- 681. PMC 1421054. PMID 10767788. doi : 10.1097 / 00000658 - 200005000 - 00007. Jump up ^ Critchley, E.M. ( June 1984 ). `` Non-atheromatous causes of cerebral infarction '' ( PDF ). Postgraduate Medical Journal. 60 ( 704 ) : 386 -- 390. PMC 2417905. PMID 6379628. doi : 10.1136 / pgmj. 60.704. 386. Retrieved 21 November 2012. Jump up ^ Kang, Chan ; Hwang, Deuk - Soo ; Cha, Soo - Min ( December 2009 ). `` Acetabular Labral Tears in Patients with Sports Injury ''. Clinics in Sports Injury. 1 ( 4 ) : 230 -- 235. PMC 2784964. PMID 19956481. doi : 10.4055 / cios. 2009.1. 4.230. Jump up ^ Daniel June ( 2 July 2013 ). `` California Judge Says Yoga is Secular, Approves its Use in Schools ''. JD Journal. Jump up ^ David Frawley, Yoga and the Sacred Fire : Self - Realization and Planetary Transformation, p. 288 ^ Jump up to : J. Jagadeesan. The Fourth Dimension. Sai Towers Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 9788178990927. Jump up ^ The Buddhist Tradition in India, China, and Japan. Edited by William Theodore de Bary. pp. 207 -- 208. ISBN 0 - 394 - 71696 - 5 Jump up ^ Dumoulin, Heinrich & Knitter, p. 22. Jump up ^ Dumoulin, Heinrich & Knitter, p. xviii. ^ Jump up to : Dumoulin, Heinrich & Knitter, p. 13. Jump up ^ The Lion 's Roar : An Introduction to Tantra by Chogyam Trungpa. Shambhala, 2001 ISBN 1 - 57062 - 895 - 5 Jump up ^ `` Secret of the Vajra World : The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet '' by Ray, Reginald A. Shambhala : 2002. pp. 37 -- 38 ISBN 1 - 57062 - 917 - X Jump up ^ `` Secret of the Vajra World : The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet '' by Ray, Reginald A. Shambhala : 2002. p. 57 ISBN 1 - 57062 - 917 - X Jump up ^ `` Yantra Yoga : The Tibetan Yoga of Movement '' by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. Snow Lion, 2008. ISBN 1 - 55939 - 308 - 4 Jump up ^ Chang, G.C.C. ( 1993 ). `` Tibetan Yoga. '' New Jersey : Carol Publishing Group. p. 7 ISBN 0 - 8065 - 1453 - 1 ^ Jump up to : Steinfels, Peter ( 7 January 1990 ). `` Trying to Reconcile the Ways of the Vatican and the East ''. New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2008. Jump up ^ http://www.sancarlo.pcn.net/Francais/RM1.htm Bishop Raffaello Martinelli presentation Jump up ^ http://www.webdiocesi.chiesacattolica.it/cci_new/documenti_diocesi/80/2013-01/23-236/AdA-201301-Opera-Completa.pdf Argomenti di Attualità mons. Raffaello Martinelli ed. gennaio 2013 Page 135 Jump up ^ `` Vatican sounds New Age alert ''. BBC. 4 February 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2013. Jump up ^ Teasdale, Wayne ( 2004 ). Catholicism in dialogue : conversations across traditions. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 74. ISBN 0 - 7425 - 3178 - 3. Jump up ^ Mohler, R. Albert Jr. `` The Subtle Body -- Should Christians Practice Yoga ? ''. Retrieved 14 January 2011. Jump up ^ Handbook of vocational psychology by W. Bruce Walsh, Mark Savickas 2005 ISBN 0 - 8058 - 4517 - 8 page 358 Jump up ^ `` 1989 Letter from Vatican to Bishops on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation ''. Ewtn.com. Retrieved 28 November 2012. Jump up ^ Dr Ankerberg, John & Dr Weldon, John, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs, Harvest House Publishers, 1996 Jump up ^ Mermis -- Cava, Jonathan ( 2009 ). `` An Anchor and a Sail : Christian Meditation as the Mechanism for a Pluralist Religious Identity ''. Sociology of Religion. ^ Jump up to : S Pines and T Gelblum ( Translators from Arabic to English, 1966 ), Al - Bīrūni ( Translator from Sanskrit to Arabic, ~ 1035 AD ), and Patañjali, Al - Bīrūnī 's Arabic Version of Patañjali 's `` Yogasūtra '', Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 29, No. 2 ( 1966 ), pages 302 -- 325 Jump up ^ David White ( 2014 ), The `` Yoga Sutra of Patanjali '' -- A Biography, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978 - 1 - 4008 - 5005 - 1 Jump up ^ Philipp Maas ( 2013 ), A Concise Historiography of Classical Yoga Philosophy, in Periodization and Historiography of Indian Philosophy ( Editor : Eli Franco ), Sammlung de Nobili, Institut für Südasien -, Tibet - und Buddhismuskunde der Universität Wien, ISBN 978 - 3 - 900271 - 43 - 5, pages 53 -- 90, OCLC 858797956 Jump up ^ Satish Chandra ( 2007 ), Historiography, Religion, and State in Medieval India, ISBN 978 - 8124100356, pages 135 -- 136 Jump up ^ Ernst, C.W. ( 2005 ). `` Situating Sufism and Yoga ''. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 15 : 15 -- 43. doi : 10.1017 / S1356186304004675. Jump up ^ `` Situating Sufism and Yoga '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 5 September 2010. Jump up ^ Carl W. Ernst, Persecution and Circumspection in Shattari Sufism, in Islamic Mysticism Contested : Thirteen Centuries of Debate and Conflict ( Editors : Fred De Jong and Berndt Radtke ), Brill, 1999 Jump up ^ `` Sidang Media -- Fatwa Yoga ''. Islam.gov.my. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2010. Quote : The Fatwas of Religious Council in Islamic affairs on Yoga. After carefully studied various reports and factual data, the Council unanimously agreed that this ancient India religious teachings, which involves physical and mental exercises, are Hinduism in nature known as wahdat al - wujud philosophy ( oneness of existence ; the realization of identity between the Self in man, Atman ; and the Divine, BRAHMAN : ' Brahman is all, and Atman is Brahman ' ). It is prohibited ( haram ) for Muslims to practice it. Jump up ^ Top Islamic body : Yoga is not for Muslims -- MSNBC Jump up ^ `` Mixed reactions to yoga ban ''. Thestar.com.my. 23 November 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2010. Jump up ^ Paul Babie and Neville Rochow ( 2012 ), Freedom of Religion Under Bills of Rights, University of Adelaide Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 9871718 - 0 - 1, page 98 Jump up ^ `` Malaysia leader : Yoga for Muslims OK without chant, '' Saudi Gazette Jump up ^ `` Indonesian clerics issue yoga ban ''. BBC News. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` rediff.com : Why give yoga religious connotation : Deoband ''. Specials.rediff.com. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2010. Jump up ^ Andrea R. Jain ( 2014 ), Selling Yoga : From Counterculture to Pop Culture, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 939024 - 3, page 195 ; Archive : Find alternative to yoga, urges Jakim New Strait Times, Malaysia Jump up ^ `` The perils of yoga : Conservative clerics are wary of a popular pastime ''. Economist.com. Jump up ^ `` It 's OK to stretch, just do n't believe ''. Hurriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 5 September 2010. Jump up ^ UN Declared 21 June as International Day of Yoga Jump up ^ UN should adopt an International Yoga Day : Modi Jump up ^ India leader proposes International Yoga Day Jump up ^ PM Modi asks world leaders to adopt International Yoga Day Jump up ^ Narendra Modi asks world leaders to adopt International Yoga Day Jump up ^ UN-declares - June - 21 - as - International - Day - of - Yoga / articleshow / 45480636. cms UN Adopts 21 June as International Yoga Day ) Jump up ^ UN declares 21 June as ' International Day of Yoga ' Jump up ^ Massive turnout Jump up ^ `` PM Modi Leads Yoga Session, India Sets Guinness Records : 10 Developments ''. NDTV. Retrieved 21 June 2015. Sources Bryant, Edwin ( 2009 ). The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali : A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary. New York, USA : North Point Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 86547 - 736 - 0. Crangle, Edward Fitzpatrick ( 1994 ), The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag Dhillon, Dalbir Singh ( 1988 ). Sikhism, Origin and Development. Atlantic Publishers. GGKEY : BYKZE4QTGJH. De Michelis, Elizabeth ( 2004 ). A History of Modern Yoga. London : Continuum. ISBN 0 - 8264 - 8772 - 6. Dumoulin, Heinrich ; Heisig, James W. ; Knitter, Paul F. ( 2005 ). Zen Buddhism : a History : India and China. World Wisdom, Inc. ISBN 978 - 0 - 941532 - 89 - 1. Eliade, Mircea ( 1958 ). Yoga : Immortality and Freedom. Princeton : Princeton University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 691 - 14203 - 6. Feuerstein, Georg ( 1996 ). The Shambhala Guide to Yoga. 1st ed. Boston & London : Shambhala Publications. Flood, Gavin D. ( 1996 ), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press Fowler, Jeaneane D. ( 2012 ). The Bhagavad Gita : A Text and Commentary for Students. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84519 - 346 - 1. Goldberg, Philip ( 2010 ). American Veda. From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation. How Indian Spirituality Changed the West. New York : Harmony Books. ISBN 978 - 0 - 385 - 52134 - 5. Gambhirananda, Swami ( 1998 ). Madhusudana Sarasvati Bhagavad_Gita : With the annotation Gūḍhārtha Dīpikā. Calcutta : Advaita Ashrama Publication Department. ISBN 81 - 7505 - 194 - 9. Hari Dass, Baba ( 1978 ), Ashtanga Yoga Primer, Santa Cruz : Sri Ram Publishing, pp. bk. cover, ISBN 978 - 0 - 918100 - 04 - 7 Jacobsen, Knut A. ; Larson, Gerald James ( 2005 ). Theory And Practice of Yoga : Essays in Honour of Gerald James Larson. BRILL. ISBN 978 - 90 - 04 - 14757 - 7. Larson, Gerald James ( 2008 ). The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies : Yoga : India 's philosophy of meditation. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978 - 81 - 208 - 3349 - 4. Lidell, Lucy ( 1983 ). The Sivananda Companion to Yoga ( PDF ). London : Gaia Books Limited. ISBN 0 - 684 - 87000 - 2. Mallinson, James ( 2011 ), `` Haṭha Yoga '', in Jacobsen, Knut A. ; Basu, Helene, Brill 's Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Volume Three, BRILL McEvilley, Thomas ( 2002 ). The shape of ancient thought. Allworth Communications. ISBN 978 - 1 - 58115 - 203 - 6. Müller, Max ( 1899 ). Six Systems of Indian Philosophy ; Samkhya and Yoga, Naya and Vaiseshika. Calcutta : Susil Gupta ( India ) Ltd. ISBN 0 - 7661 - 4296 - 5. Reprint edition ; Originally published under the title of `` The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy. '' Possehl, Gregory ( 2003 ). The Indus Civilization : A Contemporary Perspective. AltaMira Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7591 - 0172 - 2. Radhakrishnan, S. ; Moore, CA ( 1967 ). A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy. Princeton. ISBN 0 - 691 - 01958 - 4. Samuel, Geoffrey ( 2008 ), The Origins of Yoga and Tantra, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 69534 - 3 Satyananda, Swami ( 2008 ). Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha ( PDF ). Munger : Yoga Publications Trust. ISBN 978 - 81 - 86336 - 14 - 4. Taimni, I.K. ( 1961 ). The Science of Yoga. Adyar, India : The Theosophical Publishing House. ISBN 81 - 7059 - 212 - 7. Werner, Karel ( 1998 ). Yoga And Indian Philosophy ( 1977, Reprinted in 1998 ). Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 81 - 208 - 1609 - 9. Whicher, Ian ( 1998 ). The Integrity of the Yoga Darśana : A Reconsideration of Classical Yoga. SUNY Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7914 - 3815 - 2. White, David Gordon ( 2011 ), Yoga, Brief History of an Idea ( Chapter 1 of `` Yoga in practice '' ) ( PDF ), Princeton University Press White, David Gordon ( 2014 ), The `` Yoga Sutra of Patanjali '' : A Biography, Princeton University Press Worthington, Vivian ( 1982 ). A History of Yoga. Routledge. ISBN 0 - 7100 - 9258 - X. Wynne, Alexander `` The Origin of Buddhist Meditation. '' Routledge, 2007, ISBN 1 - 134 - 09741 - 7. Zimmer, Heinrich ( 1951 ), Philosophies of India, New York, New York : Princeton University Press, ISBN 0 - 691 - 01758 - 1 Bollingen Series XXVI ; Edited by Joseph Cambell. Zydenbos, Robert. Jainism Today and Its Future. München : Manya Verlag, 2006. p. 66 Further reading De Michelis, Elizabeth ( 2005 ). A History of Modern Yoga. Continuum. Kenny, Molly ( 2001 ). Integrated Movement Therapy. Continuum. 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Philosophers Avatsara Yajnavalkya Gargi Vachaknavi Patanjali Kanada Kapila Brihadratha Ikshvaku Jaimini Vyasa Chanakya Akshapada Gotama Nagarjuna Padmasambhava Vasubandhu Gaudapada Adi Shankara Swami Vivekananda Dayananda Saraswati Ramanuja Vedanta Desika Raikva Sadananda Sakayanya Satyakama Jabala Madhvacharya Vidyaranya More... Concepts Abhava Abhasavada Abheda Adarsana Adrishta Advaita Aham Aishvarya Akrodha Aksara Anatta Ananta Anavastha Anupalabdhi Apauruṣheyā Artha Asiddhatva Asatkalpa Ātman Avyakta Brahman Brahmi sthiti Bhuman Bhumika Chaitanya Chidabhasa Cittabhumi Dāna Devatas Dharma Dhi Dravya Dhrti Ekagrata Guṇa Hitā Idam Ikshana Ishvaratva Jivatva Kama Karma Kasaya Kshetrajna Lakshana Mithyatva Mokṣa Nididhyasana Nirvāṇa Niyama Padārtha Paramatman Paramananda Parameshashakti Parinama - vada Pradhana Prajna Prakṛti Pratibimbavada Pratītyasamutpāda Puruṣa Rājamaṇḍala Ṛta Sakshi Samadhi Saṃsāra Sankalpa Satya Satkaryavada Shabda Brahman Sphoṭa Sthiti Śūnyatā Sutram Svātantrya Iccha - mrityu Syādvāda Taijasa Tajjalan Tanmatra Tyāga Uparati Upekkhā Utsaha Vivartavada Viraj Yamas Yoga More... Worship in Hinduism Main topics Aarti Bhajan Darśana Deities Festivals Homa ( Yajna ) Kirtan Mantra Murti Tilaka Utsava Vrata Yatra Rituals Puja Abhisheka Bhog Naivedhya Panchamakara Panchamrita Parikrama Pranāma Prasad Pushpanjali Homa Yajna Agnicayana Agnihotra Agnikaryam Aupasana Dhuni Kaamya karma Pravargya Purushamedha Putrakameshti Viraja Homa Other Achamana Archana Ashirvad Ashvamedha Darśana Karmkand Kumbhabhishekham Nitya karma Ngejot Panchayatana puja Prana pratishta Sandhyavandanam Shuddhi Shrauta Upakarma Prayer Meditation Ajapa japa Bhajan Brahmamuhurtha Jagran Jai Sri Ram Japa Kirtan Om Sandhyavandanam Shaktipat Stotra Third eye Yoga Mantras Om Hare Krishna Om Namah Shivaya Gayatri Mantra Objects Puja thali Altar Banalinga Banana leaf Biruda Coconut Dhunachi Dhuni Dhupa Diya Cāmara Garland Ghanta Joss stick Kalasha Kamandalu Khirapat Kindi Paduka Palki Panchamrita Pandal Pinda Prayer beads Rangoli Shankha Tilaka Upanayana Uthsavar Yagnopaveetham Materials Agarwood Alta Camphor Charu Ghee Incense Kumkuma Marigold Milk Panchagavya Rudraksha Sandalwood Sindoor Soma Tulsi Turmeric Vibhuti Instruments Dholak Harmonium Karatalas Khol Manjira Mridangam Tabla Iconography Lingam Murti Om Pindi Shaligram Swastika Yoni more... Places Ashram Dwajasthambam Ghat Kalyani Matha Temple Pilgrimage sites Roles Guru Pandit Pujari Rishi Sadhu Sannyasa Swami Yogi more... Sacred animals Nāga Nag Panchami Nagaradhane Sacred plants Trees Akshayavat Ashoka Banyan Kadamba Kalpavriksha Parijaat Peepal Sacred groves Fruits and other plants Bael Kusha grass Lotus Tulsi ( Tulasi chaura Tulsi Vivah ) See also Firewalking Sanskara Temple dance Vishnu - bhakti, Vaishnava theology and Vaishnava philosophy Topics Bhakti Supreme Personality of Godhead Japa Yoga Meditation Hare Krishna Mantras Puja Arati Bhajan Kirtan Sattvic diet Ahimsa Rishis Tilaka Guru Diksha Acharyas A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Bhaktivinoda Thakur Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Avatars Matsya Kurma Varaha Krishna Balarama Rama Narasimha Vamana Buddha Parashurama Kalki Dhanvantari Kapila Holy texts Vedanta ( Dvaitadvaita * Dvaita * Vishishtadvaita * Shuddhadvaita * Achintya Bheda Abheda ) Bhagavad Gita Vedas Ramayana Mahabharata Puranas Shrimad Bhagavatam Upanishads Chaitanya Charitamrita Chaitanya Bhagavata Organizations Gaudiya Math ISKCON Sampradayas Sri Sampradaya ( Laxmi - Ramanuja ) Brahma Sampradaya ( Brahmā - Madhvacharya ) Rudra Sampradaya ( Rudra - Vishnuswami ) Nimbarka Sampradaya ( Four Kumāras - Nimbarka ) Chaitanya Vaisnava sampradaya Spiritual abodes Vaikuntha Goloka Vrindavana Ayodhya Holy attributes Lotus Sudarshana Chakra Narayanastra Kaumodaki Nandaka Sharangam Shankha Famous bhaktas Hanuman Arjuna Prahlada Narada Haridasa Six Goswamis of Vrindavana Alvars Holy days Ekadashi Rama Navami Janmashtami Gaura - purnima Writers Vyasa Valmiki Vrindavana Dasa Thakura Pancha - tattva Chaitanya Nityananda Advaita Acharya Gadadhara Pandita Srivasa Thakura Worship Karatalas Mridangam Harmonium Incense of India Om Hindu temple Japamala Other Jagannatha Narayana Brahman Paramatma Bhagavan Tulasi Devis list Tridevi Radharani Sita Deva Demigods list Trimurti Indian philosophy Dharma Artha Arthashastra Kama Indian idealism Varna Ashrama Swami Goswami Krishnology Vaishnava theology Hinduism by country Hindu cosmology Hindu units of time Hindu views on evolution Hindu calendar Hindu astrology List of numbers in Hindu scriptures Hinduism portal Meditation Main topics Brain activity and meditation History of meditation Meditation in popular culture Mind -- body interventions Research on meditation Traditions Anapanasati ( Buddhist breathing meditation ) Buddhist meditation Christian meditation Daoist meditation Dancemeditation Dhyāna ( Buddhist meditation ) Dhyāna ( Hindu meditation ) Islamic meditation Jain meditation Jewish meditation Muraqaba ( Sufi meditation ) New Age meditation Naam Japo ( Sikism meditation ) Neigong Pranayama ( yoga breathing practice ) Qigong Shikantaza ( Zen Buddhist seated meditation ) Silva Method Tantra Transcendental meditation ( TM ) Vipassanā ( Silent meditation ) Yoga Zazen ( Zen Buddhist seated meditation ) Zhan zhuang ( Qigong standing meditation ) 5Rhythms Techniques Biofeedback Brainwave entrainment Breathing Chanting Concentration Emptiness Guided meditation Higher consciousness Mantra Mindfulness Mudra Music Oneness Poetry Postures Prayer Relaxation Samyama Sexuality Silence Sound Trance Visualization Category Wikibooks Wikiversity Asanas Kriya Mudra Pranayama Surya Namaskara Asana Arm balance Ashtavakrasana Uttihista Sthiti ( Standing ) Ardha Chandrasana Malasana Purva Pratana Sthiti ( Backbend ) Chakrasana Uttanapadasana Sitting Navasana other Adho Mukha Shvanasana Eka pada prasaranasana Anantasana Anjaneyasana Ardha Matsyendrasana Akarna Dhanurasana Adho Mukha Vrkshasana Baddha Konasana Bakasana Balasana Bharadvajasana Bhekasana Bhujangasana Bhujapidasana Dandasana Chaturanga Dandasana Dhanurasana Dvi Pada Viparita Dandasana Eka Pada Kaundinyasana I Eka Pada Kaundinyasana II Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana Garbhasana Garudasana Gomukhasana Halasana Hanumanasana Hasta Uttanasana Janushirshasana Karnapidasana Kakasana Kapotasana Kukkutasana Kurmasana Lolasana Makarasana Matsyasana Mayurasana Natarajasana Padahastasana Padmasana Parivrtta trikonasana Paschimottanasana Pashasana Pavanamuktasana Rajakapotasana Shalabhasana Samakonasana Sarvangasana Shavasana Siddhasana Simhasana Shirshasana Sukhasana Supta Virasana Svastikasana Tadasana Trikonasana Tulasana Urdhva Hastasana Urdhva mukha shvanasana Ushtrasana Utkatasana Uttana Shishosana Uttanasana Utthita Parsvakonasana Utthita Trikonasana Vajrasana Virasana Virabhadrasana I Virabhadrasana II Virabhadrasana III Viparita Karani Vrksasana Physical exercise Types Aerobic exercise Cycling Distance running Endurance training Hiking Jogging Swimming Walking Anaerobic exercise Sprinting Strength training Bodyweight exercise Weight training Other Aerobics Circuit training Cross-training Interval training Physical therapy Stretching Yoga See also Category : Physical exercise Exercise equipment Exercise physiology Outline of exercise Physical fitness Neurobiological effects of physical exercise Yoga Yoga physiology Three bodies Five sheaths Chakra Nadi Hinduism Four Yogas Karma yoga Bhakti yoga Jnana yoga Raja yoga Classical yoga Yoga ( philosophy ) Bhagavad Gita Yoga Vasistha History of yoga Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Eight Limbs Yama Niyama Āsana Prāṇāyāma Pratyahara Dhāraṇā Dhyāna Samādhi Mantra Yoga Pranava yoga Nāda yoga Tantra Yogi Yogini Siddhi Shaiva Siddhanta Kundalini Chakra Subtle body Hatha yoga Hatha Yoga Pradipika Gherand Samhita Shiva Samhita Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine Chair Yoga Anti-gravity yoga Mudras List of asanas List of styles Contemporary yoga styles and schools Ananda Marga Yoga Ananda Yoga Anusara Yoga Ashtanga vinyasa yoga Bihar School of Yoga Bikram Yoga Forrest Yoga Hot yoga Integral yoga Integral yoga ( Satchidananda ) Isha Yoga Iyengar Yoga Jivamukti Yoga Kripalu Yoga Kriya Yoga Kundalini Yoga Sahaj Marg Satyananda Yoga Sivananda Yoga Svādhyāya Viniyoga Vinyāsa Buddhism Theravada Samatha Samadhi ( Buddhism ) Vipassana Anapanasati Visuddhimagga Mahayana Yogacara Zazen Vajrayana Indian Buddhist Tantra Anuttarayoga Tantra Tibetan Buddhism Trul khor Six Yogas of Naropa Tummo Dream yoga Ösel China Tangmi Japan Shingon Buddhism Tendai Indonesia Kebatinan Subud Related Yoga texts International Yoga Day Shinshin - tōitsu - dō Book Commons Wikiquote Wikisource texts Category Portal LCCN : sh85149174 GND : 4067199 - 9 BNF : cb11933824d ( data ) NDL : 00574263 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yoga&oldid=802590209 '' Categories : Yoga Āstika Hindu philosophical concepts Hindu philosophy Indian inventions Indian philosophy Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Meditation Mind -- body interventions Nondualism Physical exercise Spiritual practice Yoga styles Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages Use dmy dates from June 2016 Use Indian English from June 2016 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2016 Articles with unsourced statements from February 2017 Articles containing Sanskrit - language text Articles with unsourced statements from November 2013 Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Good articles Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia Wikibooks Wikiquote Wikivoyage Afrikaans Alemannisch Aragonés অসমীয়া Asturianu Azərbaycanca বাংলা Bân - 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Question: yoga is derived from the sanskrit word meaning
Answer: Listen