Ṇá- Monotheistic Bhakti Movement. the Term Kriyā in Hindu Philosophy

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In Vedic Sanskrit, the more commonly used, literal meaning of the Sanskrit word yoga wwhichhich is "to add", "to join", "to unite", or "to attach" from the root yuj, already had a much more figurative sense,sense, where the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses takes on broader meanings such as "employment,"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 thisthis word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods such aass "exertion", "endeavour", "zeal" and "diligence" are also found in Epic Sanskrit.[citation needed]

There are very many compound words containing yog in Sanskrit. Yoga can take on meanings such as "connection", "contact", "method", "application", "addition" and "performance". For example, guṇṇá-á- yoga means "contact with a cord"; cchakrá-yogahakrá-yoga has a medical sense of "applying a splintsplint or similar instrument by means of pulleys (in case of dislocation of the thigh)"; chandrá-yoga has the astronomicastronomicalal sense of "conjunction of the moon with a constellatconstellation";ion"; puṃṃ-yoga is a grammatical term expressing "connection or relation with a man", etc. Thus, bhakti-yoga means "devoted attachment" in the monotheistic Bhakti movement. The term kriyā-yoga has a grammatical sense, meaning "connection with a verb". But the same compound is also given a technical meaning in the YogaYoga Sutras (2.1), designating the "practical" aspects of the philosophy, i.e. the "union with the Supreme" due toto

performance of duties in everyday life[13]

InIn Hindu philosophy, the word yoga is used to refer to one of the six orthodox (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy.*note 1+ The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are often labelled as Rāja yoga.*15+ 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).*16+ In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samādhau (to concentrate) is considered by traditional commentatorscommentators as the correct etymology.*17+ In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasa (c. 4th or 5th century CE), who wrote ththee first commentary on the Yoga Sutras,*18+ states that yoga means samādhi (concentration).*19+ In other texts and contexts, such as the Bhagavad Gītā and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the word yoga has been used in conformity with yujir yoge (to yoke).[20]

Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philphilosophyosophy with a high level of cocommitmentmmitment is called a yogi or yogini.[21]

Purpose

Generally put, yoga is a disciplined method utilized for attattainingaining a goal.[14] The ultimate goal of YoYogaga is moksha though the exact definition of what form this taketakess depends on the philosophical or theological system with which it is conjugated. Bhakti schools of Vaishnavism combine yoga with devotion ttoo enjoy an eternal presence of VVishnu.[22]ishnu.[22] In Shaiva theology,theology, yoga is used to unitunitee kundalini with Shiva.[23]

Mahabharata defines the purpose of yoga as the expeexperiencerience of Brahman or Ātman pervading all things.[24]

In the specific sense of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, yogayoga is defined as citta-vṛṛtti-nirodhaḥḥ (the cessation of the perturbations of consciousness).[14] This is described by Patanjali as the necessary cconditionondition for transcending discursive knowledge and to be one with the divinely understood "spirit" ("purusha"): "Absolute freedom occurs when the lucidity of material nature and spirit are in pure equilibrium."[25] In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali indicates that the ultimultimateate goal of yoga is a state of permanent peace or Kaivalya.[26]

Apart from the spiritual goals the physical posturespostures of yoga are used to alleviate healthhealth problems, reduce stress and make the spine supple in contemporarycontemporary times. Yoga is also ususeded as a complete exercise program and physical therapy routine.[27]

History

Prehistory

Male figure in a crossed legs posture on a mold of a seal from the Indus valley civilizationcivilization

Several seals discovered at Indus Valley Civilization sites, dating to the mid 3rd millennium BCE, depictdepict figures in positions resembling a common yoga or meditation pose, showing "a form of ritual discipline,discipline, suggesting a precursor of yoga," accoraccordingding to archaeologistarchaeologist Gregory Possehl.[28] RamaprasadRamaprasad Chanda, who supervised Indus Valley Civilization excavations, states that, “Not only the seated deities on somesome of the Indus seals are in yoga posture and bear witnesswitness to the prevalence of yoga in the IIndusndus Valley Civilization in that remote age, the ststandinganding deitiesdeities on the seals also show Kayotsarga (a standing

posture of meditation) position. It is a posture not of sitting but of standing."[29] Some type of connection between the Indus Valley seals and later yoga and meditation practices is speculated upon by many scholars, though there is no coconclusivenclusive evievidence.[notedence.[note 2]

Ascetic practices (tapas), concentration and bodily postures used by Vedic priests to conduct yajna (Vedic ritual of fire sacrifice) might have been precursorsprecursors to yoga.[note 3] Vratya, a grogroupup of ascetics mentioned in the Atharvaveda, emphasized on bodily postures which probably evolved into yogic asanas.[37] Early Vedic Samhitas also contain references to other group ascetics such as, Munis, the Keśin, and Vratyas.*39+ Techniques for controlling breath and vvitalital energies are mentioned in the Brahmanas (ritualistic texts of the Vedic corpus, c. 1000 – –800 BCE) and the Atharvaveda.[37][40]

Nasadiya Sukta of the Rig Veda suggests the presencpresencee of an early contemplative tradition.[note 4]

Alexander Wynne, author of The Origin of Buddhist Meditation,Meditation, observes that formless meditationmeditation and elemental meditation might have originated in the Upanishadic tradition.[43] The earliest referreferenceence to meditation is in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, one of the oldest Upanishads.[39] Chandogya Upanishad describes the five kinds of vital energies (prana). Concepts used later in many yoga traditions such asas internal sound and veins (nadis) are also described in the UUpanishad.[37]panishad.[37] Taittiriya UpanishadUpanishad defines yoga as the mastery of body and senses.[44]

Preclassical era

Diffused pre-philosophical speculations of yoga begin to emerge in the textextsts of c. 500 – –200 BCE such as the middle Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and Mokshadharma of the Mahabharata. The terms samkhya and yoga in these texts rreferefer to spiritual methodolmethodologiesogies rather than the philosophicalphilosophical systems which developed centuries later.[45]

Upanishads

The term "yoga" first appears in the Hindu scripturescripture Katha Upanishad (a primary UpanishadUpanishad c. 400 BCE) where it is defined as the steady control of the sesenses,nses, which along with ccessessationation of mental activity, leads to the supreme state.[39][note 55]] Katha UpanishadUpanishad integrates the monism of early UpanishadsUpanishads 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 asas a process of interiorization or ascent of consciousness.[47][48] It is the earliest literary work tthathat highlights the fundamentals of yoga. Shvetashvatara Upanishad (c. 400-200 BCE) elaborates on the rerelationshiplationship between thought and breath, control of mind, and the benefits of yoga.[48] Like the Katha Upanishad the transcendent Self is seenseen as the goal of yoga. This text also recommends meditatmeditationion on Om as a path to liberation.[49]liberation.[49] Maitrayaniya Upanishad (c. 300 BCE) formalizes the sixfold form of yoga.[48] Physiological theories of latlaterer yoga makemake an appearance in this text.[50][51] Further systematizationsystematization of yoga is continued in the Yoga UpUpanishadanishadss

of the Atharvaveda.[52] The concepts of Chakra and Kundalini are first mentioned in these Upanishads.[53]

Bhagavad Gita

Krishna narrating the Gita to Arjuna.

Main article: Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita ('Song of the Lord'), uses the termterm "yoga" extensively in a variety of waways.ys. In addition to an entire chapter (c(ch.h. 6) dedicated to traditiontraditionalal yoga practice, includingincluding meditation,[54] it introduces

three prominent types of yoga:[note 6]

Karma yoga: The yoga of action.[note 7]

Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion.[note 8]

Jnana yoga: The yoga of knowledge.[note 9]

In Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna explains to Arjuna about the essence of yoga as practiced in daily lives:

 ::             ।।

 ::         ।।।।

(yoga-sthaḥḥ kuru karmani sanyugam tyaktvā dhananjay

siddhy-asiddhyoḥḥ samo bhutvā samatvam yoga ucyate)

- Bhagavad Gita 2.48

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada translates it as "Be steadfast in yoga (yoga-sthaḥḥ), O Arjuna. Perform your duty (kuru karmani) and abandon all attachment (sangam) to success oorr failure (siddhy- asiddhyoḥḥ). Such evenness of mind (samatvam) is called yoga."[59]

Madhusudana Sarasvati (b. circa 1490) divided the Gita into three sections, with the first six chapterchapterss dealing with Karma yoga, the middle six with Bhakti yoga, and the last six with Jnana (knowledge(knowledge).[60]).[60] Other commentators ascribe a different 'yoga' to eaeachch chapter, delineating eighteen different yogyogas.[6as.[61]1] Aurobindo, a freedom fighter and philosopher, describes the yoga of tthehe Gita as "a large, flexible and many-sided system with various elements, which are all successfully harmonized by a sort of natural andand living assimilation".[62]

Mahabharata

Description of an early form of yoga ccalledalled nirodha – –yoga (yoga of cessation) is contained in the Mokshadharma section of the 12th chapter (Shanti Parva) of tthehe Mahabharata epic. The verses of the section are dated to c. 300 – –200 BCE. Nirodha – –yoga 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.[63] 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 anandd yoga are conflated togettogetherher and some verses describe them as being identical.[24] Mokshadharma also describes an early practice of elemental

meditation.[64] Classical yoga

During the period between the Mauryan and the Gupta era (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.[65]

Early Buddhist texts

Amitabha depicted in yogic meditation, Kamakura, Japan

Early Buddhist Pali canons (c. 29 – –17 BCE)[66][note 10] are the oldest surviving texts to describe a systematic and comprehensive yoga discipline. The only other Indian texts with an aantiquityntiquity comparable to the Pali canons are tthehe Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.Patanjali. Most of the other contemporarycontemporary yoga systems alluded in the Upanishads and some Pali canons are lost to ttime.[68]ime.[68] Another 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 earearlyly Jain schoolschool and elements derived from other schools.[69]schools.[69]

The early Buddhist texts describe meditative practices and states, some of which the Buddha borrowed

from the ascetic (shramana) tradition.[70][71] One key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative absorption must be combined with liberating cognition.[72] Meditative states alone are not an end, for according to tthehe Buddha, even the highesthighest meditative state is not liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place: a liberating cognition, based on the practice of mindful awareness.[73] The BBuddhauddha also departed from earlier yogic thought in discarding the early Brahminic notion of liberation at death.[74] While tthehe Upanishads thought liberation to be a realization at death of a nondual meditative state where the ontolontologicalogical duality between subject and object was abolished, BBuddha'suddha's theory of liberation depended uponupon this duality because liberation to him was an insight into the subject's experience.[74]

The Pali canon contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate for the purposes of controlling hunger or thethe mind, depending on the passage.[75] However there is no mention of the tongue being inserted into the nasopharynx as in true khecarī mudrā. The Mahāsīhanadāsutta (Majjhima Nikaya 1:78) mentions the Buddha using a posture where pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar even to modernmodern postures intended to stimulastimulatete kundalini.[76]

Samkhya

Further information: Samkhya

Samkhya was the oldest of Indian schools to take a coherent form in first century CE.[77] WWhenhen PatanjaliPatanjali systematized the conceptions of yoga, he set them forthforth on the background of the metmetaphysicsaphysics of samkhya, which he assumed with slight variations. 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 tthehe Sankhya Philosophy), brings out the intimate relation between the two systems.[78] Yoga agreagreeses with the essential metaphysics of samkhya, but differs from it in that while samkhya holds thathatt knowledge is the means of liberation, yogayoga is a system of active striving, mental discipline, and dutiful action. Yoga also introduces the coconceptionnception of god. Sometimes Patanjali's system is referred to as Seshvara Samkhya in contradistinction to Kapila'sKapila's Nirivara Samkhya.[79]

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Main articles: Raja Yoga and Yoga Sutras of PatanjaPatanjalili

Traditional Hindu depiction of Patanjali as an avatar of the divine serpent Shesha.

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali[80]

Pada (Chapter) English meaning Sutras

Samadhi Pada On being absorbed in spirit

5151

Sadhana Pada On being immersed in spirit

5555

Vibhuti Pada On supernatural abilities and gifts

5656

Kaivalya Pada On absolute freedom

3434

In Hindu philosophy, yoga is the name of one of tthehe six orthodox (which accept the testimony of Vedas)Vedas) philosophical schools[81][82] founded by Patanjali. Karel Werner, author of Yoga And Indian Philosophy, believes that the process of systematization of yoga which begbeganan in the middle and Yoga Upanishads culminated with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[note 11] Scholars also note the influence of Samkhyan andand Buddhist ideas on the Yoga Sutras.[83][note 12] The yoga school accepts the samkhya psychology and metaphysics, but is more theistic than the samkhya, as evidenced by the addition of a divine entityentity to the samkhya's twenty-five elements of reality.[85][86] The parallels between yoga and samkhya were so close that Max Müller says that "the two philosophiphilosophieses were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord...."[87]Lord...."[87] The intimate relationship between samsamkhyakhya and yoga is explained by Heinrich Zimmer:

These two are regarded in India as twins, the two aspects of a single discipline. Sāṅkhya provides a basic theoretical exposition of human nature, enumerating and defining its elements, analyzing their manner of co-operation in a state of bondage ("band("bandha"),ha"), and describing their state ooff disentanglement or separation in release ("mokṣṣa"), while yoga treats specifically of the dynamics of the process for the disentanglement, and outlines practical techniques for the gaining of rerelease,lease, or "isolation-integrati"isolation-integration"on" ("kaivalya").

——[88]

Patanjali is widely regarded as the compiler ooff the formal yoga philosophy.[89] The verses of YogaYoga SutSutrasras are terse and are therefore read together with the Vyasa Bhashya (c. 350 – –450 CE), a commentary on the Yoga Sutras.[90] Patanjali's yoga is known as Raja yoga, wwhichhich is a system for control of thethe mind.[91] Patanjali defines the word "yoga" in his second sutra, which is the definitional sutra for his entire work:

 ::  --     ::

(yogaś citta-v-vṛṛtti-nirodhaḥḥ))

- Yoga Sutras 1.2

This terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms. I. K. Taimni translates it as "Yo"Yogaga is the inhibition (nirodhaḥḥ) of the modifications (vṛṛtti) of the mind (citta)".[92] The use of the word nirodhaḥḥ in the opening definition of yoga is an example of tthehe important role that Buddhist technical

terminology and concepts play in the Yoga Sutras; this role suggests that Patanjali was aware of

Buddhist ideas and wove them into his system.[93] Swami Vivekananda translates the sutra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Citta) from taking various forms (Vrittis)."[94]

A sculpture of a Hindu yogi in the Birla Mandir, DeDelhilhi

Patanjali's writing also became the basis for a systemsystem referred to as "Ashtanga Yoga" ("Eight-Limbed("Eight-Limbed Yoga"). This eight-limbed concept derived from the 29th Sutra of the 2nd book, and is a core characteristic of practically every Raja yoga variationvariation taught today. The Eight Limbs are:

Yama (The five "abstentions"): Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (Truth, non-lying), Asteya (non- covetousness), Brahmacharya (non-sensuality, celibacy), and Aparigraha (non-possessiveness).

Niyama (The five "observances"): SShaucha(purity),haucha(purity), SSantosha(contentment),antosha(contentment), Tapas (auste(austerity),rity), Svadhyaya (study of the Vedic scriptures to know ababoutout God and the soul), and Ishvara-Pranidhana (surrender to God).

Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation.

Pranayama ("Suspending Breath"): Prāna, breath, "āyāma", to restrain or stop. Also interpreted as control of the life force.

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.

In the view of this scschool,hool, the highest attainment does not reveal the exexperiencedperienced diversity of the world to be illusion. The everyday world is real. Furthermore, the highest attainment is the event of one of many individual selves discovering itself; there is no single universal self shared by all persons.[95]

Jainism

Tirthankara Parsva in Yogic meditation in the Kayotsarga posture.

According to Tattvarthasutra, 2nd century CE Jain text,text, yoga is the sum of all the activities of mind, speech and body.[7] Umasvati calls yoga the cause of "asrava" or karmic influx[96] as well as one of tthehe

essentials——samyak caritra——in the path to liberation.[96] In his Niyamasara, AAcaryacarya Kundakunda, describes yoga bhakti——devotion to the path to liberation——as the highest form of devotion.[97] 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,essentially, a system of yogic thinking that grew into a full-fledgedfull-fledged religion.[98] The five yamas or the constraints of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali bear a resemblance to the five major vows of Jainism, indicatingindicating a history of

strong cross-fertilization between these traditions.[99][note 13] Yogacara school

Main article: Yogacara

In the late phase of Indian antiquity, on the eve ofof the development of Classical Hinduism, the YogacaraYogacara 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.[101] The yogacara sect teaches "yoga" as a way to reach enlightenment.[102]

Middle Ages

Middle Ages saw the development of many satesatellitellite traditionstraditions of yoga. Hatha yoga emerged as a dominant practice of yoga in this period.[103]

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 AAlvarslvars of South India in the 6th to 9th centuries, and it stastartedrted gaining influence throughoutthroughout India by the 12th to 15th centuries.[104] Shaiva and Vaishnava bhakti traditions integrated aspects of Yoga Sutras, such as the practical meditative exercises, wwithith devotion.[105]devotion.[105] Bhagavata Purana elucidates the practice of a form of yoga called viraha (separation) bhakti. Viraha bhakti emphasizes one pointed concentration on Krishna.[106]

Vajrayana

Main article: Vajrayana

While breath channels (nāḍis) of yogic practices had already been discussed iinn the classical Upanishads, it was not until Tantric works, such as the eighth-ceeighth-century Buddhist Hevajra Tantra and Caryāgiti, that hierarchies of chakras were introduced.[107]

Hatha Yoga

Main articles: Hatha yoga and Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The basic tenets of Hatha yoga werweree formulated by ShaivaShaiva ascetics Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath c. 900 CE. Hatha yoga synthesizes eelementslements of Patanjali'sPatanjali's Yoga Sutras with posture and breathing exercises.[108] Hatha yoga is also defined in the 11th11th century Buddhist text Vimalaprabha, which defines it in relation to the center channel, bindu etc.[109] Hatha yoga, sometimes referred to as the "psychophysical yoga",[110] was further elaborated by Yogi Swatmarama, compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika in 15th century CE. This yoga differs substantially from the Raja yoga of Patanjali in that it focuses on shatkarma, the purification of the physical body as leading to the purification of the mind (ha), and prana, or vital energy (tha).[111][112] ComparedCompared to the seated asana, or ssittingitting meditation posture, of Patanjali's Raja yoga,[113] it mmarksarks ththee development of asanas (plural) into the fufullll body 'postures' now in popular usage[11] and, along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate with the word yoga today.[114]

      

sasaṁyogo yoga ityukto jīvātma--paramātmanoḥ

Union of the self (jivātma) with the Divine (paramātma) is said to be yoga.

——Yoga Yajnavalkya I.43[115]

It is similar to a diving board – – preparing the body for purification, so that it may be ready to receive higher techniques of meditation. The word "Hatha" comes from "Ha" which means Sun, and "Tha" which means Moon.[116] The Yoga Yajnavalkya is a classical treatise on Hatha yoga attributed ttoo the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya. It takes the form ooff a dialogue betweenbetween Yajnavalkya and his wife Gargi,Gargi, a renowned female philosopher.[117] The text contains 12 chapters and it probably originated c. 13th century CE.[118] Many Hatha yoga texts like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Yoga Kundalini and the YogaYoga Tattva Upanishads have borrowed verses from or make frequefrequentnt references to the Yoga Yajnavalkya.[119] InIn the Yoga Yajnavalkya, yoga is defined as jivatmaparamatmasamyogah, or the union between the individual self (jivatma) and the Divine (paramatma(paramatma).[115]).[115]

Sikhism

Various yogic groups had become prominent in Punjab in the 15th and 16th century, when SikhismSikhism 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.[120] Guru Nanak rejected the austerities, ritesrites and rituals connected with Hatha Yoga.[121] He propounded the path of Sahaja yoga or Nama yoga (meditation on the name) instead.[122] 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,understands, he also sees. Good deeds help one merge into Divination."

——[123]

Modern history

Reception in the West

An early illustration of Indians performing Yoga Asana in 1688

Yoga came to the atteattentionntion of an educated western ppublicublic in the mid 19th century along with other topics of Hindu philosophy. Thus 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 was Swami Vivekananda, who toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s.[124] The reception which Swami Vivekananda received is inconceivable without the active interest of intellectuals, in particular the New England Transcendentalists, among them R.W. Emerson, who drew on German Romanticism and the interest of philosophers and scholars like G.F.W. Hegel, the Schlegel brothers, Max Mueller, A. Schopenhauer and others who found Vedanta in agreement with their own ideas and a cherished source of rereligious-philosligious-philosophicalophical inspiration.[125]

Esoteric views current at the end of the 19th century were a further basis for the reception of Vedanta and of Yoga with its theory and practice of correspondencecorrespondence between the spiritual and the physical.[126]physical.[126] The reception of Yoga and of VeVedantadanta are thus entwinedentwined with each other and withwith ththee (mostly Neo- platonically based) currents of religious and philosophicalphilosophical reform and transformationtransformation throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. M. Eliade, who wwasas rootedrooted in the Romanian currents of these traditionstraditions brought a new element into tthehe reception of Yoga by the ststrongrong emphasis on TantricTantric Yoga in his seminal book: Yoga - Immortality and Freedom,[note 14] By introducingintroducing the Tantra traditions and philosophy of

Yoga the conception of the "transcendent" to be attattainedained by Yogic practice shifted from experiencingexperiencing the "transcendent" ("Atman-Brahman" in Advaitic theory) in the mind to the body itself.[127]

In the West, the term "yoga" is today typically assassociatedociated with HathaHatha yoga and its asanas (postures) oror asas a form of exercise.[128] In the 1960s, western inteinterestrest in Hindu spiritualityspirituality reached its peak, giving rriseise to a great number of Neo-Hindu schools specifically advocated to a wewesternstern public. During this period, most of the influential Indian teachers of yoga came from two lineages: Sivananda Saraswati (1887- 1963) and Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888-1989).[129] Among the teachers of Hatha yoga who were active in the west in this period were B.K.S. Iyengar,Iyengar, K. PatPattabhitabhi Jois,Jois, and Swami Vishnu-devananda, and Swami Satchidananda.[130][131][132] Kundalini Yoga was brought to the United States by Yogi Bhajan in 1969.[133]

A second "yoga boom" followed in the 1980s, as Dean Ornish, a follower of Swami SatcSatchidananda,hidananda, connected yoga to heart health, legitimizing yoga asas a purely physical systsystemem of health exercexercisesises outside of counter culture or esotericesotericismism circles, and unconnectedunconnected to a religiousreligious denomination.[124]denomination.[124] Numerous asanas seemed modern in origin, and strongly overlapped 19th and eearlyarly 20th century Western exercise traditions.[134]

Since 2001, the popularity of yoga in the USA has beenbeen on the constant rise. The numbernumber of people who practiced some form of yoga has grown from 4 millionmillion (in 2001) to 20 millionmillion (in 2011).2011).

A western style Hatha yoga class.

In 2013, for the White House, "Yoga has become a universaluniversal language of spiritual exerciseexercise 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 PALPALAA (Presidential Active Lifestyle Award), so show your support for yoga and answer the challenge." at a time some schools in America are railing against thethe ancient Indian practice, saying it promotes Hinduism.[135]

Medicine

Main article: Yoga as exercise or alternative medicinemedicine

Potential Benefits for Adults

Long-term yoga practitioners in the United States havehave reported musculoskeletal and mental healthhealth improvements, as well as reduced symptoms of asthma in asthmatics.[12] Regular yoga practice increases brain GABA levels and has beebeenn shown to improveimprove mood and anxiety more than some other metabolically matched exercises, such as walking.[136][137] The three main focuses of Hatha yoga (exercise, breathing, and meditation) make it beneficial to tthosehose suffering from heart disease. Overall,Overall, studies of the effects of yoga on heart disease suggestsuggest that yoga may reduce high bloodblood pressure,

improve symptoms of heart failure, enhance cardiac rehabilitation, and lower ccardiovascularardiovascular risk factors.[138] For chronic low back pain, specialist Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs has been found 30% more beneficial than usual care alone in a UUKK clinicalclinical trial.[139] Other smaller studies supportsupport this finding.[140][141] The Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs programme is the dominant treatment for society (both cheaper and more effective than usual care alone) due to 8.5 fewer days off work each year.[142] A research group from Boston University School of MedicineMedicine also tested yoyoga’sga’s effects on lower back pain. Over twelve weeks, one group of volunteers practicedpracticed yoga while the control grgroupoup continuedcontinued with standard treatment for back pain. The reported pain for yoga participants decreased by one third, while the standard treatment group had only a five percentpercent drop. Yoga participants also had a dropdrop of 8080%% in pain medication use.[143]

There has been an emergemergenceence of studies investigatininvestigatingg yoga as a complementarycomplementary intervention for ccancerancer patients. Yoga is used for treatment of cancer patientspatients to decrease depression, insomnia, pain,pain, and fatigue and increase anxiety control.[144] Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs include yoga as a mind-body technique to reduce ststress.ress. A studystudy found that after seven weeks the groupgroup 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, anandd spiritual growth in cancer patients.[145]

Researchers at Washington State University conducted a study in 2007 to see if there was a link

between yoga and the health ooff breast cancer patienpatients.ts. Their results showed that Iyengar yoga could help reduce the inflammation caused by therapy. The ten women in the yoga group participated in 90--90 minute yoga sessions three times a weeweekk for eight cconsecutiveonsecutive weeks, while the others concontinuedtinued with their normal routines and treatments. At the end of the eight weeks, the researchers compared blood tests and quality-of-life surveys of the yoga group and control group. The researchers noted that the majority of the test subjects were clinically depressed prior to the trial, but after eight weeks of yoga, the yoga group reported less fatigue and better moods.[146]moods.[146]

Other researchers have looked into yoga as a supplementarysupplementary or alternative treatment for arthritis.arthritis. Researchers in the United Arab EmEmiratesirates studied a ggrouproup of over forty rrheumatoidheumatoid arthritisarthritis patients to

see if yoga could be effeceffectivetive in treating the disease.disease. The yoga grogroupup completedcompleted twelve sessions of Raj yoga, which combines exercise and brebreathingathing techniqtechniques.ues. The yoga group showed improvementimprovement in

disease activity scores, but there was no statisticallystatistically significant evidence to show that their qualityquality of life improved.[147]

Yoga has also been studied as a treatmetreatmentnt for schizophrenia.[148]schizophrenia.[148] Yoga is found to improve cognitive functions and reduce stress in schizophrenia, a condition associated with cognitive deficits and stress-stress- related relapse. In one study, at the end of four months those patients treated with yoga were better in their social and occupational functions and quality of life.[149] The practice of yoga in Hindu tradition also has psychological benefits, allowing one to develop control over one's mind and body. Rather tthanhan adapting the sick or mentally ill mind (the primary focus of modermodernn psychology), traditional Hindu psychology focuses on enhancing the normal and healthy mind through the practice of meditative techniques such as yoga.[150]

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.[151]

Physical injuries

Main article: Sports injury

Since a small percentage ooff yoga practitioners each year suffer physical injuinjuriesries analogous to sports injuries;[152] caution and common sense are recommended.[153] Yoga has been criticized for being potentially dangerous and being a cause for a rrangeange of serious medical conditions including thoracicthoracic outlet syndrome, degenerative arthritis of the cervicalcervical spine, spinal stenosis, retinal tears, damagedamage to the common fibular nerve, so called "Yoga foot drop,"[154] etc. An exposé of these problems by William Broad published in January, 2012 in The New York Times Magazine[155] resulted in controversy within the international yoga community. Broad, a science writewriter,r, yoga practitioner, and author of The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the RewarRewards,[156]ds,[156] had suffersuffereded a back injury while performingperforming a yoga posture.[157] Torn muscles, knee injuries,[158] and headaches are common ailments which may result from yoga practice.[159]

An extensive survey of yoga practitioners in AustraAustralialia showed that about 20% had suffered somesome physical injury while practicing yoga. In the previous 12 months 44.6%.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.[152]

Some yoga practitioners do not recommend cecertainrtain yogayoga exercises for women during menstruation, for pregnant women, or for nursing mothers. However, meditation,meditation, breathing exercises, and certain postures which are safe and beneficial for women in these categories are encouraged.[160]

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, ofoftenten with relatively littlelittle training. Not every newly certified instructor can evaluate the condition of every new trainee in their class and rrecommendecommend refraining from doing certain poses or using appropriate props to avoid injuries. In tturn,urn, a beginning yoga student can overestimate the abilities ooff theitheirr body and strive to do advanced poses before their body is flexible or strong enough to perfoperformrm them.[them.[155][159]155][159]

Vertebral artery dissection, a tetearar in the arteries in the necneckk which provide blood to the brain can result

from rotation of the neck while the neck is extended.extended. This can occuroccur in a variety ooff contexts, for example, in a beauty shop while your hair is being rinsed, but is an event which could occur in some yoga practices. This is a very seseriousrious condition whichwhich can result in a stroke.[161][stroke.[161][162]162]

Acetabular labral tears, damage to the structure joiningjoining the femur and the hip, have been reported to have resulted from yoga practice.[163]

Pediatrics

The American Yoga Association states, "Yoga exercises are not recommended for children under 16 because their bodies’ nervous and glandular systems are ststillill growing, and the effect of Yoga exercises on these systems may interfere with natural growth."growth." However, meditation and simple brebreathingathing exercises (without breath-holding) are safe and can help children to manage stress, impulsiveness, and emotional situations.[160]

Yoga compared with other systems of meditation

Tantra

Tantrism is a practice that is supposed to altealterr thethe relation of its practitioners to the ordinary social,

religious, and logical reality in which they live. Through Tantric practice, an individual perceives rrealityeality as maya, illusion, and the individual achieves liberation from it.[164] Both Tantra and yoga offer paths that

relieve a person from depending on the world. Where yoga relies on progrprogressiveessive restriction of inputs from outside; Tantra relies on transmutation of all external inputs so tthathat one is no longer dependent on them, but can take tthemhem or leave them at will. They both mmakeake a person independent.[165] This particular path to salvation among the several offered by Hinduism, links Tantrism to those practices of Indian religions, such as yoga, meditation, and social renunciation, which are based oonn temporary or permanent withdrawal from social relationships and modes.[164]

As Robert Svoboda attempts to summarize the three majormajor paths of the VVedicedic knowledge, he exclaiexclaims:ms:

Because every embodied individual is composed of a body, a mind and a spirit, the ancient Rishis of India who developed the Science of Life organized theirtheir wisdom into three bodies of knowledge:knowledge: Ayurveda, which deals mainly with the physical body; yoga, which deals mainly with spirit; and Tantra, which is mainly concerned with the mind. The philosophy of all three is identical; their manifestationsmanifestations differ because of their differing emphases. Ayurveda is most coconcernedncerned with the physical basis of life,life, concentrating on its harmony of mind and spirit. Yoga controls body and mind to enable them to harmonize with spirit, and Tantra seeks to use the mind to balance the demands of body and spirit.

——[165]

During tantric practices and studies, the student iiss instructed further in meditation technique,technique, particularly chakra meditation. This is often in a limited form in comparison with the wwayay this kind oof f meditation is known and used by Tantric practitioners and yogis elsewhere, but is more elaborate than the initiate's previous meditation. It is considered to be a kind of Kundalini yoga for the purpose of of moving the Goddess into the chakra located in the ""heart",heart", for meditation and worship.[166]

Buddhism

Further information: Dhyāna in Buddhism

Zen Buddhism

Zen (the name of which derives from the Sanskrit "dhyaana""dhyaana" via the Chinese "ch'an"[note"ch'an"[note 15] is a form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana school of Buddhism is noted for its proximity with yoga.[168] In the west, Zen is ooftenften set alongside yoga; the two schools of meditatmeditationion display obvious family resemblances.[169] This phenomenon merits special attention since yogic practices have some ooff their roots in the Zen Buddhist school.[note 16] Certain eessentialssential elements of yoga are important both for Buddhism in general and for Zen in particular.[170]

Tibetan Buddhism

Yoga is central to Tibetan Buddhism. In the Nyingma tradition, the path of meditation practice is dividividedded into nine yanas, or vehicles, which are said to be increasingly profound.[171] The last six are describeddescribed as "yoga yanas": "Kriya yoga," "Upa yoga," "Yoga yana," "Mahā yoga," "Anu yoga" and the ultimate practice, "Ati yoga."[172] The Sarma trtraditionsaditions alsoalso include Kriya, Upa (called "Charya"), and Yoga, withwith the Anuttara yoga class substituting for Mahayoga and Atiyoga.[173]

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 centrcentree the practitioner.[174] 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 cacaṇḍalī (Tib. "tummo"), the generation of heat in one'sone's own body, as being "the very foundation of thethe whole of Tibetan yoga."[175] Chang also claims that Tibetan yoga involves reconciliation of apparent polarities, such as prana and mind, relating this to theoretheoreticaltical implications of tantrism.

Christian meditation

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.meditation. ThisThis has been attributed to a desire to experience God inin a moremore complete way.[176] The Roman Catholic Church, and some other Christian organizations have expressed coconcernsncerns and disapproval with respect to some eastern and New Age practices that include yoga and meditation.[177][17meditation.[177][178][179]8][179]

In 1989 and 2003, the Vatican issued two documents: Aspects of ChristianChristian meditation andand "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.[180] The Vatican warned that concentration on the physical aspects ofof meditation "can degenerate into a cult ooff 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.[176] The letter also says, "one can seseee if and how [prayer] might be enriched by meditationmeditation methods developed in other religions and cultures"[181] but maintains the idea that "there must be some fit between the nature of [other approaches to]to] prayer and ChristiaChristiann beliefs about ultimate

reality."[176] 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.[182]

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." [183]

Sufism

The development of Sufism was considerably influenced by Indian yogic practises, where they adapted both physical postures (asanas) and breath control (pranayama).[184] The ancient Indian yogic text Amritakunda ("Pool of Nectar)" was translated into Arabic and Persian as eearlyarly as the 11th century. Several other yogic texts were appropriated by Sufi tradition, but typically the texts juxtapose yoga

materials alongside Sufi practices without any real attempt at integration or synthesis. Yoga became known to Indian Sufis gradually over time, but eengangagementgement with yoga is not found at the historical beginnings of the tradition.[185]

Sunni Islam

Malaysia's top Islamic body in 2008 passed a fatwa, which is legally non-binding, against Muslims practicing yoga, saying it had elements of "Hindu spiritual teachings" and that its practice was blasphemy and is therefore haraam. Muslim yoga teachers in Malaysia criticized the decdecisionision as "insulting."[186] Sisters in Islam, a women's rights group in Malaysia, also expressed disappointment and said that its members would continue with ttheirheir yoga classes.[187]

The fatwa states that yoga practicepracticedd only as physicalphysical exercise is permissible, but prohibitsprohibits the chantingchanting of religious mantras,[188] and states that teacteachinghingss such as the uniting of a human with God is notnot consistent with Islamic philosophy.[189] In a similar vein, the Council of Ulemas, an Islamic body in Indonesia, passed a fatwa banning yoga on the groundsgrounds that it contains "Hindu elements"[190] TheseThese fatwas have, in turn, been criticized by Darul UlooUloomm Deoband, a Deobandi Islamic seminary in India.[191]

In May 2009, Turkey's head of the Directorate of Religious AffaiAffairs,rs, Ali Bardakoğlu, discounted personalpersonal development techniques such as yoga as commercial ventures tthathat could lead to extremism. His

comments were made in the ccontextontext of yoga possibly competing with and eroding participation in Islamic practice.[192]