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The yoga is a yoga exercise that primarily targets the abs and to a lesser degree also targets the abs, biceps, calves, chest, forearms, glutes, groin, hamstrings, hip flexors, lats, lower back, middle back, neck, obliques, outer thighs, quads, shoulders, traps and triceps ...more

The yoga is a yoga exercise that primarily targets the abs and to a lesser degree also targets the abs, biceps, calves, chest, forearms, glutes, groin, hamstrings, hip flexors, lats, lower back, middle back, neck, obliques, outer thighs, quads, shoulders, traps and triceps.

The only yoga equipment that you really need is the following: . There are however many different yoga variations that you can try out that may require different types of yoga equipment or maye even require no equipment at all.

Learning proper yoga form is easy with the step by step yoga instructions, yoga tips, and the instructional yoga technique video on this page. The yoga is a exercise for those with a intermediate level of physical fitness and exercise experience. Watch the yoga video, learn how to do the yoga, and then be sure and browse through the yoga workouts on our workout plans page!

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Yoga | Exercise.com

Ashtanga Yoga is a form of classical yoga developed and taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. It comes from the teachings of Vamana Rishi recorded in the Yoga Korunta. This text was given to Sri T. Krishnamacharya by his teacher R. Mohan Bramachari. Krishnamacharya then passed the teachings on to K. Pattabhi Jois (affectionately known by his students as Guruji) who organized it into the system that we know and practice today.

As taught by Guruji from the scripture, Ashtanga is a form of vinyasa yoga. This means that movement and breathing are used together in synchronization. From the beginning of the practice until the end the breath flows freely and deliberately, creating change in the body through the resulting tapasya (purificatory heat).

tristhana(three supports)describes the three pillars of the physical practice:

(1) asana is the physical practice used to cleanse and purify the physical body. Ashtanga Yoga uses six series of postures. The first, or Primary Series is the sequence practiced by the majority of the Ashtanga community around the world.

(2) ujjayi pranayama is the breathing practice used to cleanse and stabilize the emotional body. An Ashtanga practitioner breathes through only the nose during physical practice, allowing the breath to flow freely and deliberately. The flow of breath is controlled by using the throat as a valve, creating a characteristic hissing sound.

(3) drishti is the gazing place, perhaps the subtlest of the three pillars. In each position of the practice there is a particular direction in which the focus should be directed. The most common gazing places are down towards the tip of the nose or up toward the third eye.

It is very important to remember that there is far more to yoga than what occurs on a yoga mat. What many people call yoga is in fact only asana, and it would be useful for yoga practitioners, as they become more familiar with the teachings, to correct their language. asana is only one part of a much larger practice. The wordashtau means eight, and the word anga means limb. So Ashtanga Yoga is Eight-Limbed Yoga, of which asana is just one limb.

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About - North Country Yoga

There are many styles of yoga classes taught today. Some are very physically challenging and will leave you sweating; others are gentle and restorative. Some teachers play music in class; others dont. Some classes include references to yoga philosophy and spirituality; others dont.

Here are a few types of classes your yoga studio or gym may offer:

Hatha: Most yoga styles being taught in America today are a form of hatha yoga, which is a general term that refers to the physical part of yoga, rather than yoga philosophy or meditation. A Hatha yoga class is likely to be a combination of poses and breathing exercises, but its hard to know whether it will be challenging or gentle. Check with the school or the teacher to find more about the level of classes that are described only as Hatha yoga.

Ashtanga Yoga: This is a challenging style of yoga that is centered around a progressive series of yoga sequences that, traditionally, students practice on their own under the guidance of a teacher. If you think that yoga is not a workout, you havent tried an Ashtanga class. Classes include advanced poses such as arm balances and inversions including headstands and shoulder stands. Beginner students are strongly advised to study with an experienced teacher. Ashtanga classes will also often include teachings in yoga philosophy.

Power Yoga: As its name suggests, power yoga is a challenging style of yoga aimed at strength-building. These classes will include advanced poses and inversions like headstands and handstands that require a lot of strength.

Vinyasa or Flow: These classes usually consist of a fairly energetic flowing sequence of yoga poses that will include depending on the level advanced poses, such as arm balances, headstands, shoulder stands and handstands. Many vinyasa classes have musical accompaniment of the teachers choosing.

Iyengar: Love learning about how your muscles and joints work together? This is the yoga for you. Iyengar yoga focuses on the precision of your yoga poses. Iyengar classes are known for their use of props, including blankets, blocks, straps and bolsters, to help students do poses that they wouldnt be able to do otherwise. Classes can also include ropes that are anchored to the walls to do inversions and other poses. They also tend to include breathing exercises and references to yoga philosophy.

Bikram or Hot Yoga: Like the heat? Bikram yoga is a set series of 26 poses performed in a room heated to 105 degrees, which is said to allow for deeper stretching and provide for a better cardiovascular workout. Unlike most yoga classes, Bikram classes are always done in rooms with mirrors. Hot yoga refers to any yoga class that is done in a heated room generally from 80 to 100 degrees.

Restorative Yoga: If you are looking for a little more relaxation from your yoga class, restorative yoga is for you. This yoga style usually involves a few restful poses that are held for long periods of time. Restorative poses include light twists, seated forward folds and gentle back-bends, usually done with the assistance of many props, including blankets, blocks and bolsters.

Yin Yoga: Looking for a new kind of stretching experience? Yin yoga is aimed at stretching the connective tissue around the pelvis, sacrum, spine and knees to promote flexibility. Poses are held for a longer amount of time in yin yoga classes, generally from three to five minutes. It is a quiet style of yoga, and will quickly show you how good you are at sitting still.

Note: Its a good idea to try several yoga classes. How much you enjoy any class will come down to how much you like the teacher, not how its labeled.

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Yoga for Everyone: A Beginner's Guide - Well Guides - The New ...

Deciding that you want to start doing yoga is the first step. Now you need to follow through with finding the right yoga class and practicing yoga at home. See how to take the next steps and start enjoying the pleasures and benefits of yoga.

You'll see there are many types yoga classes, and some won't be the right match for your personality and physical fitness level. Take a few minutes touring anoverview of yoga styles.

For most beginners, a hatha or vinyasa class will be most appropriate, depending on whether you want a slow or fast-paced class. These are basic styles, and you can always try something fancier later.

While many great yoga books and videos are available, there is no substitute for learning directly from a good teacher in a yoga class. If you cannot get to a yoga class, start with any beginner's video, as this will give you more visuals to follow than a book.

You canfind a yoga class in your area by checking local alternative newspapers or wellness magazines for listings. If you belong to agym, many offer yoga classes. Make sure you start with a basic level class; finding a good teacher will help you stick with it. If you don't click with the first teacher you go to, keep trying until you find one you like.

On the first day, you will not need to bring much except some comfortable, breathable clothing.

Read up on basic yoga equipment you will encounter. Most studios have yoga mats that can be rented.

In a typical yoga class, the students place their mats facing the front of the room (often identifiable by a small altar or by the teacher's mat) in a loose grid. It's best not to line up your mat exactly with the one next to it because you and your neighbor will need some space in certain poses.

The students often sit in a cross-legged position waiting for class to start or do some gentle stretching.

Here is how a typical class flows:

Yoga seems to be everywhere but it still can be tough to get out a mat and to begin to put poses together. This 30-day schedule is designed to get you going by providing specific yoga routines for each day and laying out a schedule of increasingly challenging workouts. Once you start enjoying all the benefits of yoga, you'll want to keep doing it, so make this the first month of your new life as a yogi.

Tips to get started:

Yoga doesn't require too much equipment, but there are a few things you'll want to gather ahead of time. First and foremost is a yoga mat. Beginners practicing at home can also benefit from having a block, a strap, and a blanket handy.

This daily stretch routine will be the backbone of your home practice.

This sequence can be done in 10 to 15 minutes and is designed to wake up the spine, relieve minor back pain, and stretch the hamstrings. Doing these stretches in the morning is a great way to get your day going. You'll do this routine each day for the next 30 days to maintain the continuity of your practice between longer routines done three times a week.

Sun salutations will form the basis of your thrice weekly longer yoga routines. It may look confusing at first, but it will soon be second nature.

Over the course of your first week, you'll do the daily stretch routine each day. Add in sun salutations every other day. Plan on incorporating standing poses and seated stretches to make a longer workout at least three times a week. Don't forget to spend a few minutes in corpse pose at the end of each session.

Think about what time of day you plan to do your practice. It's nice to do it in the morning if you have time so that you can start your day stretched out and stress-free, but pick the time that works best for you.

Schedule for the first week:

For the remainder of your month-long introduction, you'll continue the rhythm of a daily short stretching routine while adding some variations to your longer sequences.

By completing this 30-day introduction, you'll get into the habit of doing a daily yoga practice. Continue to practice your short stretch routine daily and a longer practice three times a week and you will be well on your way to establishing a long-term yoga regime that will improve your health and physical fitness.

Use these tips to prepare for class or your practice at home:

You may feel awkward or intimidated when you start practicing yoga, but joining in a live class is the best way learn to do the poses correctly. Everyone there was once a beginner. By knowing what to expect, you can focus on learning the techniques. After you have learned the basics, you can practice at home and make progress with yoga.

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How to Start Doing Yoga - verywell.com

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Yoga is a physical and mental practise that originated from Hinduism in ancient India. Get the benefits of yoga; Relax in a few minutes with an easy yoga series. Learn yoga from a video with beautiful music. The first ten minutes we learn some basic yoga exercises and the last minutes we meditate with some mantras and the muscle relaxation. If you have little time, make only the yoga exercises or the meditation. Do yoga at least twice a week so that you stay healthy, fit and happy.

1

Lie down on your back and relax. Feel the air around you, and breathe it in and out. Try to relax your body, and clear your mind of thoughts.

2

Raise the outstretched right leg and hold it in the air. Then raise the left leg in the air and hold it.

3

Raise both legs and the head in the air. Hold it as long as possible and breathe, relaxed, on your belly.

4

Go into the candle, raise the butt and the legs to the sky. The hands will strengthen your back. Move your feet and relax a minute in the candle.

5

Lie down again and rotate the spine some times. Turn the pelvis to the right and the head to the left. And the other way round. Twist the spine as far as possible.

6

Turn in the prone position and raise the right outstretched leg. Hold it and breathe, relaxed, in your belly. Then raise the left leg and hold it in the air.

7

Put your head backwards and bring your feet as far as possible to the head. The legs are in the air and the hands lie beside the body on the ground. They support the position. We hold the bow, breath relaxed into the belly and move the feet.

8

Lie the head on your hands, move your feet and relax.

9

Sit cross-legged or in the heel seat. The back is straight and the belly relaxed. Think one minute, the mantra "Om Shanti", an important Hindu chant. Think it so fast, that all thoughts come to rest. Then move a hand in blessing and think: "I send light to (name). May all people be happy. May the world be happy."

10

Lie down and make the muscles relax. Tense the muscles of the legs and feet. Relax. Tense the muscles of the arms and hands. Relax. Tense the muscles of the head and the face. Relax. Tense the muscles of the whole body. Relax. Move the feet. Relax completely for some minutes. Go peacefully and happy your way.

Is it bad for me to criss cross my legs?

wikiHow Contributor

No, only if you feel extreme pain or discomfort while doing it, then just criss-cross them as comfortably as possible.

How can I do yoga when my body is not flexible?

wikiHow Contributor

Be patient, and respect your body's limits. If you approach yoga too aggressively, you won't see much improvement, and might hurt yourself. A skilled yoga teacher can help you adjust each pose to work within your limits, and gradually expand them. Many poses have several variations, and the goal is to pick the variation where you can stay relaxed with good form but still be challenged. Don't be afraid to pick an "easier" variation, but perform it well, instead of straining through something too advanced. Learn how to use props (blocks, bolsters and straps) to support your body.

Please tell me that how many days and how much time is required for each step?

Do yoga every day for a quarter of an hour.

What if I can't put my head to my feet?

wikiHow Contributor

It's okay if you can't put your head to your feet, everyone's body is different. Go as far as you comfortably can, the idea is to get a good stretch. You may find you become more flexible over time.

Whats are the benefits of yoga exercise?

wikiHow Contributor

It helps to relax your body and remove stress. If you do yoga regularly, you will feel calmer and less angry or stressed.

Will yoga help strengthen my body?

wikiHow Contributor

Yes, yoga will strengthen your muscles and increase your flexibility.

Dose yoga help with heart problems, diabetes, and high blood pressure?

Yoga can be helpful with a lot of medical problems. Yoga is used for relaxation, strength, flexibility, and posture correction. That said, it should NEVER be used to replace medication.

How many calories does yoga burn?

wikiHow Contributor

The number of calories you'll expend doing yoga is based on your body weight and workout duration. If you weigh 125 pounds, you'll burn about 120 calories, and if you weigh 185 pounds you'll expend 178 calories in 30 minutes doing yoga, according to Harvard Health Publications.

How do I relax before a musical recital?

wikiHow Contributor

Go to your happy place, a place that calms you down and relaxes you and when you get on stage and you are feeling, then nervous go back to that place.

My mind is always running and I can't relax. Any tips for relaxing?

wikiHow Contributor

Try chakra meditation, as well as meditation. Healing your chakras will especially help.

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Johns Creek Yoga is the fulfillment of a long-held dream for Sheila. She began practicing yoga in 2000 with the idea that the postures would help stretch the muscles that were contracting as she trained for a half-marathon. What she discovered is that yoga stretched her mind and soul as much as it did her muscles. Her greatest pleasure is the opportunity to share the gift of yoga, and in that spirit, she resolved to bring a studio to her community in Johns Creek. In addition to daily classes at the studio, she facilitates Yoga teacher training and offers retreats and workshops both locally and internationally. Sheilas classes are focused on alignment and infused with spirit and soulful exploration of the body, but they are also light-hearted and fun. She relishes the playfulness of the practice and encourages her students to be fearless and attempt new things in a safe and supported atmosphere. As a former Professor of American literature, Sheila loves to explore the connections between philosophy, poetry, religion and yoga, often building class around a specific theme or ending with a favorite poem or quotation. Sheila completed her 200 hour teacher training at Peachtree Yoga Center in Sandy Springs, and she completed her 500 hour training at the Kripalu Center in Massachusettes. She has trained with many incredible teachers, and she is honored to carry forth the wisdom and guidance that she received from them. She continues to take advantage of every opportunity to train and learn and will forever consider herself a student of this beautiful and ancient practice.

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Home - Johns Creek Yoga

How It Works

Workout fads come and go, but virtually no other exercise program is as enduring as yoga. It's been around for more than 5,000 years.

Yoga does more than burn calories and tone muscles. It's a total mind-body workout that combines strengthening and stretching poses with deep breathing and meditation or relaxation.

There are more than 100 different forms of yoga. Some are fast-paced and intense. Others are gentle and relaxing.

Examples of different yoga forms include:

The intensity of your yoga workout depends on which form of yoga you choose. Techniques like hatha and iyengar yoga are gentle and slow. Bikram and power yoga are faster and more challenging.

Core: Yes. There are yoga poses to target just about every core muscle. Want to tighten those love handles? Then prop yourself up on one arm and do a side plank. To really burn out the middle of your abs, you can do boat pose, in which you balance on your "sit bones" (the bony prominences at the base of your pelvic bones) and hold your legs up in the air.

Arms: Yes. With yoga, you don't build arm strength with free weights or machines, but with the weight of your own body. Some poses, like the plank, spread your weight equally between your arms and legs. Others, like the crane and crow poses, challenge your arms even more by making them support your full body weight.

Legs: Yes. Yoga poses work all sides of the legs, including your quadriceps, hips, and thighs.

Glutes: Yes. Yoga squats, bridges, and warrior poses involve deep knee bends, which give you a more sculpted rear.

Back: Yes. Moves like downward-facing dog, child's pose, and cat/cow give your back muscles a good stretch. It's no wonder that research finds yoga may be good for relieving a sore back.

Flexibility: Yes. Yoga poses stretch your muscles and increase your range of motion. With regular practice, they'll improve your flexibility.

Aerobic: No. Yoga isn't consideredaerobic exercise, but the more athletic varieties, like power yoga, will make you sweat. And even though yoga is not aerobic, some research finds it can be just as good as aerobic exercise for improving health.

Strength: Yes. It takes a lot of strength to hold your body in a balanced pose. Regular practice will strengthen the muscles of your arms, back, legs, and core.

Sport: No. Yoga is not competitive. Focus on your own practice and don't compare yourself to other people in your class.

Low-Impact: Yes. Although yoga will give you a full-body workout, it won't put any impact on your joints.

Cost. Varies. If you already know your way around a yoga mat, you can practice for free at home. Videos and classes will cost you various amounts of money.

Good for beginners? Yes. People of all ages and fitness levels can do the most basic yoga poses and stretches.

Outdoors. Yes. You can do yoga anywhere, indoors or out.

At home. Yes. All you need is enough space for your yoga mat.

Equipment required? No. You don't need any equipment because you'll rely on your own body weight for resistance. But you'll probably want to use a yoga mat to keep you from sliding around in standing poses, and to cushion you while in seated and lying positions. Other, optional equipment includes a yoga ball for balance, a yoga block or two, and straps to help you reach for your feet or link your hands behind your back.

There are many types of yoga, from the peaceful hatha to the high-intensity power yoga. All types take your workout to a level of mind-body connection. It can help you relax and focus while gaining flexibility and strength. Yoga can also boost your mood.

Even though there are many instructional books and DVDs on yoga, it is well worth it to invest in some classes with a good instructor who can show you how to do the postures.

Chances are, there's a type of yoga that suits your needs and fitness level. It's a great choice if you want a holistic approach to mind and body strength.

Yoga is not for you if you like a fast-moving, competitive workout. Be open-minded, since there are physical and mental benefits you can gain by adding some yoga into your fitness plan, even if it isn't your main workout.

Is It Good for Me If I Have a Health Condition?

Yoga is a great activity for you if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease. It gives you strength, flexibility, and mind-body awareness. You'll also need to do something aerobic (like walking, biking, or swimming) if you're not doing a fast-moving type of yoga.

If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart problems, ask your doctor what you can do. You may need to avoid certain postures, like those in which you're upside down or that demand more balance than you have right now. A very gentle program of yoga, coupled with a light aerobic activity like walking or swimming, may be the best way to start.

Do you have arthritis? Yoga can help you stay flexible and strong without putting added stress on your joints. You get the added benefit of a mind-body approach that can help you relax and energize.

If you're pregnant, yoga can help keep you relaxed, strong, and in shape. If you're new to yoga or have any health or pregnancy related problems, talk to your doctor before you give it a try. Look for an instructor who's experienced in teaching prenatal yoga.

You'll need to make some adjustments as your baby and belly grow and your center of gravity shifts. After your first trimester, dont do any poses that have you lying on your back. And dont try to stretch any further than you did before pregnancy. Your pregnancy hormones will loosen up your joints and make you more likely to get injured.

While you're pregnant, avoid postures that put pressure on your belly or low back. Don't do "hot" yoga, where the room temperature is very high.

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Yoga: Benefits, Intensity Level, and More - webmd.com

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

Yoga (;[1]Sanskrit, 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.[3][4][5] Among the most well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rja yoga.[6]

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

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.[15] Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is more than physical exercise; it has a meditative and spiritual core.[17] One of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called Yoga, which has its own epistemology and metaphysics, and is closely related to Hindu Samkhya philosophy.[18]

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

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.[22]

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

According to Pini, a 6th-century BCE Sanskrit grammarian, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samdhau (to concentrate).[24] In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samdhau (to concentrate) is considered by traditional commentators as the correct etymology.[25] In accordance with Pini, Vyasa who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras,[26] states that yoga means samdhi (concentration).[27]

According to Dasgupta, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samdhau (to concentrate).[24] Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment is called a yogi (may be applied to a man or a woman) or yogini (traditionally denoting a woman).[28]

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

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

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:

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.

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.

Yoga is considered as a philosophical school in Hinduism.[40] Yoga, in this context, is one of the six stika schools of Hinduism (those which accept the Vedas as source of knowledge).[41][42]

Due to the influence of Vivekananda, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are nowadays considered as the foundational scripture of classical yoga, a status which it only acquired in the 20th century. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of meditation techniques that aim to develop mindfulness, concentration, supramundane powers, tranquility, and insight.

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

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

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.[66]

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 (33001900 BCE) and pre-Vedic Eastern states of India, the Vedic period (1500500 BCE), and the ramaa 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.[note 6]

Pre-philosophical speculations of yoga begin to emerge in the texts of c. 500200 BCE. Between 200 BCE500 CE philosophical schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking form and a coherent philosophical system of yoga began to emerge.[73] The Middle Ages saw the development of many satellite traditions of yoga. Yoga came to the attention of an educated western public in the mid 19th century along with other topics of Indian philosophy.

Yoga may have pre-Vedic elements. Some state yoga originated in the Indus Valley Civilization. Marshall,[75] Eliade[10] 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[10] and may be a case of projecting "later practices into archeological findings".

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",[note 7] just like traditional Hinduism regards the Vedas to be the ultimate source of all spiritual knowledge.[note 8] 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.[81]

Ascetic practices, concentration and bodily postures described in the Vedas may have been precursors to yoga.[82][83] 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."[note 9]

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".[87][88][note 10]

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

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

Rigveda, however, does not describe yoga and there is little evidence as to what the practices were.[7] Early references to practices that later became part of yoga, are made in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the earliest Hindu Upanishad.[note 11] For example, the practice of pranayama (consciously regulating breath) is mentioned in hymn 1.5.23 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 900 BCE), and the practice of pratyahara (concentrating all of one's senses on self) is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of Chandogya Upanishad (c. 800700 BCE).[91][note 12]

Ascetic practices (tapas), concentration and bodily postures used by Vedic priests to conduct yajna (sacrifice), might have been precursors to yoga.[note 13]Vratya, a group of ascetics mentioned in the Atharvaveda, emphasized on bodily postures which may have evolved into yogic asanas.[82] Early Samhitas also contain references to other group ascetics such as munis, the kein, and vratyas.[94] Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned in the Brahmanas (texts of the Vedic corpus, c. 1000800 BCE) and the Atharvaveda.[82][95]Nasadiya Sukta of the Rig Veda suggests the presence of an early contemplative tradition.[note 14]

Yoga concepts begin to emerge in the texts of c. 500200 BCE such as the Pali Canon, the middle Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata.[98][note 15]

The first known appearance of the word "yoga", with the same meaning as the modern term, is in the Katha Upanishad,[10] probably composed between the fifth and third century BCE,[102][103] where it is defined as the steady control of the senses, which along with cessation of mental activity, leading to a supreme state.[94][note 16]Katha Upanishad integrates the monism of early Upanishads with concepts of samkhya and yoga. It defines various levels of existence according to their proximity to the innermost being tman. Yoga is therefore seen as a process of interiorization or ascent of consciousness.[105][106] 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 constituentsthe senses, mind, intellect, etc.that comprise the foundational categories of Smkhya philosophy, whose metaphysical system grounds the yoga of the Yogasutras, Bhagavad Gita, and other texts and schools (Ku3.1011; 6.78).

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.[108][106]

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).[10][106][109]

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.[110][111]

Yoga is discussed in the ancient foundational Sutras of Hindu philosophy. The Vaieika Stra of the Vaisheshika school of Hinduism, dated to have been composed sometime between 6th and 2nd century BCE discusses Yoga.[note 17] According to Johannes Bronkhorst, an Indologist known for his studies on early Buddhism and Hinduism and a professor at the University of Lausanne, Vaieika Stra describes Yoga as "a state where the mind resides only in the soul and therefore not in the senses".[115] 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.[115]

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.[116]Brahma sutras are estimated to have been complete in the surviving form sometime between 450 BCE to 200 CE,[117][118] and its sutras assert that yoga is a means to gain "subtlety of body" and other powers.[116] 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,[119][120] discusses yoga in sutras 4.2.3850. 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.[121][122][123]

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 6365 by Strabo, who describes yogins of India.[124] Onesicritus claims those Indian yogins (Mandanis ) practiced aloofness and "different postures standing or sitting or lying naked and motionless".[125]

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".[125] 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".[124][125] These principles are significant to the history of spiritual side of yoga.[124] 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;[124] as well as the principle of Aparigraha (non-possessiveness, non-craving, simple living) and asceticism discussed in later Hinduism and Jainism.[citation needed]

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."[126] He notes:[127]

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.[127]

The chronology of completion of these yoga-related Pali Canons, however, is unclear, just like ancient Hindu texts.[129] Early known Buddhist sources like the Majjhima Nikya mention meditation, while the Anguttara Nikya describes Jhyins (meditators) that resemble early Hindu descriptions of Muni, Kesins and meditating ascetics,[130] 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 Yogcra 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.[127] Most of the other contemporary yoga systems alluded in the Upanishads and some Pali canons are lost to time.[132][133][note 18]

The early Buddhist texts describe meditative practices and states, some of which the Buddha borrowed from the ramaa tradition.[135][136] 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.[137] However, there is no mention of the tongue being inserted into the nasopharynx as in true khecar mudr. The Buddha used a posture where pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to even modern postures used to stimulate Kundalini.[138]

Alexander Wynne, author of The Origin of Buddhist Meditation, observes that formless meditation and elemental meditation might have originated in the Upanishadic tradition.[139] The earliest reference to meditation is in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, one of the oldest Upanishads.[94]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.[82]Taittiriya Upanishad defines yoga as the mastery of body and senses.[140]

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,[141] it introduces three prominent types of yoga:[142]

The Gita consists of 18 chapters and 700 shlokas (verses),[146] with each chapter named as a different yoga, thus delineating eighteen different yogas.[146][147] 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.[146]

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. 300200 BCE[citation needed]. 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.[148] 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.[149] Mokshadharma also describes an early practice of elemental meditation.[150]

Mahabharata defines the purpose of yoga as the experience of uniting the individual tman with the universal Brahman that pervades all things.[149]

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.

During the period between the Mauryan and the Gupta eras (c. 200 BCE500 CE) philosophical schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking form and a coherent philosophical system of yoga began to emerge.[73]

Yoga as a philosophy is mentioned in Sanskrit texts dated to be completed between 200 BCE200 CE. Kauilya's Arthashastra in verse 1.2.10, for example, states that there are three categories of anviksikis (philosophies) Samkhya (nontheistic), Yoga (theistic) and Crvka (atheistic materialism).[151][152]

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.[153] 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.[154] The two schools have some differences as well. Yoga accepted the conception of "personal god", while Samkhya developed as a rationalist, non-theistic/atheistic system of Hindu philosophy.[46][155][156] Sometimes Patanjali's system is referred to as Seshvara Samkhya in contradistinction to Kapila's Nirivara Samkhya.[157]

The parallels between Yoga and Samkhya were so close that Max Mller says that "the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord."[158]

In Hindu philosophy, yoga is the name of one of the six orthodox (which accept the testimony of Vedas) philosophical schools.[160][161] Karel Werner, author of Yoga And Indian Philosophy, believes that the process of systematization of yoga which began in the middle and Yoga Upanishads culminated with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[note 19]

There are numerous parallels in the concepts in ancient Samkhya, Yoga and Abhidharma Buddhist schools of thought, particularly from 2nd century BCE to 1st century AD, notes Larson.[163] 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.[163] 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.[163] 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.[163]

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are widely regarded as the first compilation of the formal yoga philosophy.[164] The verses of Yoga Sutras are terse. Many later Indian scholars studied them and published their commentaries, such as the Vyasa Bhashya (c. 350450 CE).[165] Patanjali's yoga is also referred to as Raja yoga.[166] Patanjali defines the word "yoga" in his second sutra:

(yoga citta-vtti-nirodha)- 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 (nirodha) of the modifications (vtti) of the mind (citta)".[167]Swami Vivekananda translates the sutra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Citta) from taking various forms (Vrittis)."[168]Edwin Bryant explains that, to Patanjali, "Yoga essentially consists of meditative practices culminating in attaining a state of consciousness free from all modes of active or discursive thought, and of eventually attaining a state where consciousness is unaware of any object external to itself, that is, is only aware of its own nature as consciousness unmixed with any other object."[45][169][170]

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)",[171] 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."[172]

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:

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.[180] Yoga disputes the monism of Advaita Vedanta.[181] 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.[181]

sayogo yoga ityukto jvtma-paramtmanoYoga is union of the individual self (jivtma) with the supreme self (paramtma).

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.[183] The text contains 12 chapters and its origin has been traced to the period between the second century BCE and fourth century CE.[184] 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.[185] The Yoga Yajnavalkya discusses eight yoga Asanas Swastika, Gomukha, Padma, Vira, Simha, Bhadra, Mukta and Mayura,[186] numerous breathing exercises for body cleansing,[187] and meditation.[188]

According to Tattvarthasutra, 2nd century CE Jain text, yoga is the sum of all the activities of mind, speech and body.[5]Umasvati calls yoga the cause of "asrava" or karmic influx[189] as well as one of the essentialssamyak caritrain the path to liberation.[189] In his Niyamasara, Acarya Kundakunda, describes yoga bhaktidevotion to the path to liberationas the highest form of devotion.[190] 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.[191] 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.[192][note 20]

Mainstream Hinduism's influence on Jain yoga can be see in Haribhadra's Yogadisamuccaya which outlines an eightfold yoga influenced by Patanjali's eightfold yoga.[194]

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.[195] The yogacara sect teaches "yoga" as a way to reach enlightenment.[196]

Middle Ages saw the development of many satellite traditions of yoga. Hatha yoga emerged in this period.[197]

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.[198] Shaiva and Vaishnava bhakti traditions integrated aspects of Yoga Sutras, such as the practical meditative exercises, with devotion.[199]Bhagavata Purana elucidates the practice of a form of yoga called viraha (separation) bhakti. Viraha bhakti emphasizes one pointed concentration on Krishna.[200]

Tantra is a genre of yoga that arose in India no later than the 5th century CE.[201][note 21] George Samuel states, "Tantra" is a contested term, but may be considered as a school whose practices appeared in mostly complete form in Buddhist and Hindu texts by about 10th century CE. 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.[14][15]

Vajrayana is also known as Tantric Buddhism and Tantrayna. 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.[205] They were later translated into Chinese and other Asian languages, helping spread ideas of Tantric Buddhism. The Buddhist text Hevajra Tantra and Carygiti introduced hierarchies of chakras.[206] Yoga is a significant practice in Tantric Buddhism.[61][207][208]

The earliest references to hatha yoga are in Buddhist works dating from the eighth century.[209] 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.[210] Hatha yoga synthesizes elements of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras with posture and breathing exercises.[211] It marks the development of asanas (plural) into the full body 'postures' now in popular usage[212] and, along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate with the word yoga today.[213]

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.[214] Guru Nanak rejected the austerities, rites and rituals connected with Hatha Yoga.[215] He propounded the path of Sahaja yoga or Nama yoga (meditation on the name) instead.[216] 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."[217]

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.[218] The reception which Swami Vivekananda received built on the active interest of intellectuals, in particular the New England Transcendentalists, among them Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882), who drew on German Romanticism and the interest of philosophers and scholars like G. W. F. Hegel (17701831), the brothers August Wilhelm Schlegel (17671845) and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel (17721829), Max Mueller (18231900), Arthur Schopenhauer (17881860), and others who had (to varying degrees) interests in things Indian.[219][220]

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.[221]

Theosophists also had a large influence on the American public's view of Yoga.[222] 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.[223] The reception of Yoga and of Vedanta thus entwined with each other and with the (mostly Neoplatonism-based) currents of religious and philosophical reform and transformation throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. M. Eliade, himself rooted in the Romanian currents of these traditions,[citation needed] brought a new element into the reception of Yoga with the strong emphasis on Tantric Yoga in his seminal book: Yoga: Immortality and Freedom.[note 22] With the introduction of the Tantra traditions and philosophy of Yoga, the conception of the "transcendent" to be attained by Yogic practice shifted from experiencing the "transcendent" ("Atman-Brahman" in Advaitic theory) in the mind to the body itself.[224]

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.[225]

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 (18971989) and Swami Kuvalayananda.[226] Western medical researchers came to Swami Kuvalayananda's Kaivalyadhama Health and Yoga Research Center, starting in 1928, to study Yoga as a science.[227]

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.[228] 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.[222] 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 (18871963) and of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (18881989).[229] Teachers of Hatha yoga who were active in the west in this period included B.K.S. Iyengar (19182014), K. Pattabhi Jois (19152009), Swami Vishnu-devananda (19271993), and Swami Satchidananda (19142002).[230][231][232]Yogi Bhajan brought Kundalini Yoga to the United States in 1969.[233] 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.[234]

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.[218] Numerous asanas seemed modern in origin, and strongly overlapped with 19th and early-20th century Western exercise traditions.[235]

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".[236]

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.[237]

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.[238] 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.[238] Yoga has also been used as a complete exercise program and physical therapy routine.[238]

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."[239]

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.[240]

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.[241][242][243] 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.[244]

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.[245]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.[246]

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Yoga - Wikipedia

Hatha yoga is a branch of yoga that emphasizes physical exercises to master the body along with mind exercises to withdraw it from external objects. The word haha means "force" in Sanskrit, and may have this association because the early Indians believed that its practice was challenging and "forced its results to happen" on the yogi. The term "Hatha yoga" connotes a system of supplementary physical techniques within the broader concept of Yoga.[3]:770,[4]:527

The Hatha yoga origins have been credited by some scholars to the Nath yogi tradition of Shaivism, particularly to Gorakhnath.[5] However, according to James Mallinson, Hatha yoga has more ancient roots and the oldest known twenty texts on Hatha yoga suggest this attribution to the Naths is incorrect. Hatha yoga was a broad movement that developed over a range of sectarian yoga traditions in India, one that was available to all and in some formulations and could be practiced by the householders (grihastha).[5][6] Important innovations in Hatha yoga, for example, are associated with the Dashanami Sampradaya and the mystical figure of Dattatreya.[7][8]

The Hatha yoga practice emphasizes proper diet, processes to internally purify the body, proper breathing and its regulation particularly during the yoga practice, and the exercise routine consisting of asanas (bodily postures). The methodology sometimes includes sequences such as the Surya Namaskara, or "salute to the sun", which consists of several asanas performed as a fluid movement sequence.

The aims of Hatha yoga have traditionally been the same as those of other varieties of yoga. They include physical siddhis (special powers or bodily benefits such as slowing age effects) and spiritual liberation (moksha, mukti). In the 20th century, techniques of Hatha yoga particularly the asanas (physical postures) became popular throughout the world as a form of physical exercise for relaxation, body flexibility, strength and personal concentration. It is now colloquially termed as simply "yoga". It has also developed into new movements and styles, such as the Iyengar Yoga, but these are not same as the traditional Hatha yoga.

According to Mallinson, an Oxford scholar known for his studies on Hatha yoga, its techniques can be traced back to the 1st millennium BCE texts such as the Sanskrit epics (Hinduism) and the Pali canon (Buddhism).[3]:770 However, the first explicit use of the phrase "Hatha yoga" appears for the first time in Sanskrit texts of about the 11th-century CE.

The Vedic era sage Kapila of Samkhya school fame is attributed in section 29 of the Dattatreya yogasasta text to have developed early Hatha yoga techniques. Kapila's methods, states this text, contrasted with the eight fold yoga methodology of another Vedic sage named Yajnavalkya.[10] Hathayoga, states Mallinson, overlapped with major traditions of Hinduism of the 1st millennium, and elements of Hatha yoga can be traced to the Vedic religion, Vaishnavism and Shaivism of that era.

Ancient Sanskrit texts do not use the phrase "Hatha yoga", but their verses describe physical exercises and postures (asanas) that appear in later Hatha yoga texts, though sometimes in a different poetic meter.[12] For example, the Agama texts of Vaishnavism called Pancaratrika teach non-seated asanas such as mayurasana in section 96 of Vimanarcanakalpa patala (9th-century), section 1.21-22 of Padma samhita yogapada and section 12.31-37 of Ahirbudhnya samhita.[12] According to Nicholas Tarling, the Pancaratrika doctrines crystallized by the first two centuries of the common era.[14] Gerald Larson and other scholars date the yoga-containing Vaishnava Pancaratra text Ahirbudhnya Samhita to somewhere between 300 and 800 CE.

In the earliest texts, Hatha Yoga is not opposed to Patanjali Yoga, nor is it ranked superior or inferior as it was presented in the 19th century.[3]:770-771 Rather it is supplementary, with a different aim. Hatha Yoga in these texts aim to conserve physical essence of life, which these texts call as bindu (semen) and far less discussed rajas (menstrual fluid). In contrast, later texts describe kundalini energy through a system of cakras. The texts state that being able to preserve and use this energy through Yoga is a means to achieve various siddhi (special powers).[3]:770-771

The Pali canon (Suttanipata) contains three passages in which Khecharividya, the practice of pressing the tongue against the palate, are mentioned. Two of these state that they help bring "mind under control", while the third passage states it suppresses thirst and hunger.[16] These Buddhist texts state that the Buddha tried the Khecharividya practice as well as a posture where pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to even modern postures used to stimulate Kundalini. The canon also mentions the Hatha yoga-style practices of Ajivika ascetics an ancient Indian tradition that became extinct.[17]

Prior to the composition of the Hathapradpik (also called the Hatha Yoga Pradipika), all medieval Hatha Yoga literature is in Sanskrit.[note 1]

Some medieval Hatha yoga-related texts include:

The methods of the Amtasiddhi, Datttreyayogastra and Vivekamrtaa are used to conserve bindu, although the Vivekamrtaa also involves raising kundalini.[3]:771 The Goraksaataka and Khecarvidy involve raising kualin.[3]:771

The only other texts older than the Hathapradpik to teach Hatha Yoga mudrs are the Shiva Samhita, Yogabja, Amaraughaprabodha, and rgadharapaddhati.[3]:771-772

According to British indologist James Mallinson, some scholars have been falsely associating the origin of hatha yoga with the Nath yogis, in particular Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath.[35] In his view, the origins of hatha yoga should be associated with the Dashanami Sampradaya of Advaita Vedanta (Hinduism), the mystical figure of Dattatreya,[37] and the Rmnands.[38]

The Hathapradpik, also called Hatha Yoga Pradipika, is an important and one of the most influential texts of the Hatha yoga.[39] It was compiled by Svtmrma in the 15th century CE from earlier hatha yoga texts.[3]:772 These earlier texts were of Vedanta or non-dual Shaiva orientation.[40] From both, the Hathapradpik borrowed non-duality (advaita) philosophies. According to James Mallinson, this reliance on non-dualism helped Hatha Yoga thrive in the medieval period as non-dualism became the "dominant soteriological method in scholarly religious discourse in India".[40]

Hatha Yoga Pradipika lists 35 great yoga siddhas starting with Adi Natha (Hindu god Shiva) followed by Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath.[41] It includes information about shatkarma (six acts of self purification), 15 asana (postures: seated, laying down, and non-seated), pranayama (breathing) and kumbhaka (breath retention), mudras (internalized energetic practices), meditation, chakras (centers of energy), kundalini, nadanusandhana (concentration on inner sound), and other topics.

Hathapradipika is the best known and most widely used Hatha yoga text. It consists of 389 shlokas (verses) in four chapters:

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Gheranda samhita are derived from older Sanskrit texts. In Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Swatmarama introduces his system as preparatory stage for physical purification that the body practices for higher meditation or Yoga. It is based on asanas (postures) and pranayama (breathing techniques).[citation needed]

Post-Hathapradipika texts on Hatha yoga include:[3]:773-774

Historically, Hatha yoga has been a broad movement across the Indian traditions, openly available to anyone.[6]

Hatha Yoga, like other methods of yoga, can be practiced by all, regardless of sex, caste, class, or creed. Many texts explicitly state that it is practice alone that leads to success. Sectarian affiliation and philosophical inclination are of no importance. The texts of Hatha Yoga, with some exceptions, do not include teachings on metaphysics or sect-specific practices.

According to Mallinson, the Hatha yoga represented a trend towards democratisation of yoga insights and religion similar to the Bhakti movement. It eliminated the need for "either ascetic renunciation or priestly intermediaries, ritual paraphernalia and sectarian initiations".[6] This led to its broad historic popularity in India. Later in the 20th-century, states Mallinson, this disconnect of Hatha yoga from religious aspects and the democratic access of Hatha yoga enabled it to spread worldwide.

Between the 17th and 19th-century, however, the various urban Hindu and Muslim elites and ruling classes viewed Yogis with derision. They were persecuted in the Mughal era, with Aurangzeb beheading their leaders. Hatha yoga remained popular in rural India. They were viewed as champions of the persecuted, their Hatha yoga practice becoming an alibi for training in militant resistance groups that were armed, violent "akharas" targeting the ruling officials.[54] Negative impression for the Hatha yogis continued during the British colonial rule era. According to Mark Singleton, this historical negativity and colonial antipathy likely motivated Swami Vivekananda to make an emphatic distinction between "merely physical exercises of Hatha yoga" and the "higher spiritual path of Raja yoga". This common disdain by the officials and intellectuals slowed the study and adoption of Hatha yoga.[note 4]

Modern hatha yoga, of the type seen in the West, has been greatly influenced by the school of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who taught from 1924 until his death in 1989. Among his students prominent in popularizing yoga in the West were K. Pattabhi Jois famous for popularizing the vigorous Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga style, B. K. S. Iyengar who emphasized alignment and the use of props, Indra Devi and Krishnamacharya's son T. K. V. Desikachar.

Another better known school of Hatha yoga in the 20th-century has been the Divine Life Society founded by Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh (18871963) and his many disciples including, among others, Swami Vishnu-devananda founder of International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres; Swami Satyananda of the Bihar School of Yoga; and Swami Satchidananda of Integral Yoga. After about 1975, yoga techniques have become increasingly popular globally, in both developed and developing countries.[60]

The Bihar School of Yoga has been one of the largest Hatha yoga teacher training center in India, but is little known in Europe and the Americas. In the West, Krishnamarcharya-linked schools have been historically more well known. Examples of other branded forms of yoga, with some controversies, that contain Hatha yoga methodologies include Anusara Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Integral Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Jivanmukti Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Kripalu Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Siddha Yoga, Viniyoga, Vinyasa Yoga and White Lotus Yoga.

Hatha yoga practice has many elements, both behavioral and of practice. The Hatha yoga texts state that a successful yogi has certain characteristics. Section 1.16 of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, for example, states these characteristics to be utsaha (enthusiasm, fortitude), sahasa (courage, optimistic attitude), dhairya (patience, persistence), jnana tattva (essence for knowledge), nishcaya (resolve, determination) and tyaga (solitude, renunciation).[41]

In the Western culture, Hatha yoga is typically understood as asanas and it can be practiced as such. In the Indian and Tibetan traditions, Hatha yoga is much more. It extends well beyond being a sophisticated physical exercise system, and integrates ideas of ethics, diet, cleansing, pranayama (breathing exercises), meditation and a system for spiritual development of the yogi.[65]

The Hatha yoga texts place major emphasis on mitahara, which connotes "measured diet" or "moderate eating". For example, sections 1.58 to 1.63 and 2.14 of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and sections 5.16 to 5.32 of Gheranda samhita discuss the importance of proper diet to the body. They link the food one eats and one's eating habits to balancing the body and to gaining most benefits from the practice of Hatha Yoga. Eating, states Gheranda samhita, is a form of a devotional act to the temple of body, as if one is expressing affection for the gods. Similarly, sections 3.20 and 5.25 of the Shiva Samhita text on Hatha Yoga includes mitahara as an essential part of a Hatha yoga holistic practice.

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Verses 1.57 through 1.63 of the critical edition of Hathayoga Pradipika suggests that taste cravings should not drive ones eating habits, rather the best diet is one that is tasty, nutritious and likable as well as sufficient to meet the needs of ones body and for ones inner self.[70] It recommends that one must eat only when one feels hungry and neither overeat nor eat to completely fill the capacity of ones stomach; rather leave a quarter portion empty and fill three quarters with quality food and fresh water.[70]

According to another Hatha Yoga classic Gorakshasataka, eating a controlled diet is one of the three important parts of a complete and successful practice. The text does not provide details or recipes. The text states, according to Mallinson, "food should be unctuous and sweet", one must not overeat and stop when still a bit hungry (leave quarter of the stomach empty), and whatever one eats should aim to please the Shiva.

Hatha yoga teaches various steps of inner body cleansing with consultations of one's yoga teacher. Its texts vary in specifics and number of cleansing methods, ranging from simple hygiene practices to the peculiar exercises such as reversing seminal fluid flow. The most common list is called shat-karmani, or six cleansing actions: dhauti (cleanse teeth and body), vasti (cleanse bladder), neti (cleanse nasal passages), trataka (cleanse eyes), nauli (abdominal massage) and kapala-bhati (cleanse phelgm). The actual procedure for cleansing varies by the Hatha yoga text, with some suggesting water wash and others describing the use of cleansing aids such as cloth.

Pryma is made out of two Sanskrit words pra (, breath, vital energy, life force)[75] and yma (, restraining, extending, stretching).[77]

Some Hatha yoga texts teach breath exercises but do not refer to it as Pranayama. For example, Gheranda samhita in section 3.55 calls it Ghatavastha (state of being the pot). In others, the term Kumbhaka or Prana-samrodha replaces Pranayama. Regardless of the nomenclature, proper breathing and the use of breathing techniques during a posture is a mainstay of Hatha yoga. Its texts state that proper breathing exercises cleanses and balances the body.

Pranayama is one of the core practices of Hatha yoga, found in its major texts as one of the limbs regardless of whether the total number of limbs taught are four or more. It is the practice of consciously regulating breath (inhalation and exhalation), a concept shared with all schools of yoga.[85] This is done in several ways, inhaling and then suspending exhalation for a period, exhaling and then suspending inhalation for a period, slowing the inhalation and exhalation, consciously changing the time/length of breath (deep, short breathing), combining these with certain focussed muscle exercises.Pranayama or proper breathing is an integral part of asanas. According to section 1.38 of Hatha yoga pradipka, the siddhasana is the most suitable and easiest posture to learn breathing exercises.

The different Hatha yoga texts discuss pranayama in various ways. For example, Hatha yoga pradipka in section 2.71 explains it as a threefold practice: recaka (exhalation), puraka (inhalation) and kumbhaka (retention). During the exhalation and inhalation, the text states that three things move: air, prana and yogi's thoughts, and all three are intimately connected. It is kumbhaka where stillness and dissolution emerges. The text divides kumbhaka into two kinds: sahita (supported) and kevala (complete). Sahita kumbhaka is further sub-divided into two types: retention with inhalation, retention with exhalation. Each of these breath units are then combined in different permutations, time lengths, posture and targeted muscle exercises in the belief that these aerate and assist blood flow to targeted regions of the body.

Before starting yoga practice, state the Hatha yoga texts, the yogi must establish a suitable place for the yoga practice. This place is away from all distractions, preferably a mathika (hermitage) that is distant from falling rocks, fire and a damp shifting surface.

Once a peaceful stable location has been set, the yogi begins the posture exercises called asanas. These Hatha yoga postures come in numerous forms. For a beginner yogi, states Mircea Eliade, these asanas are uncomfortable, typically difficult, cause the body shakes and typically unbearable to hold for extended periods of time. However, with repetition and persistence, as the muscle tone improves, the effort reduces and posture improves. According to the Hatha yoga texts, each posture becomes perfect when the "effort disappears", one no longer thinks about the posture and one's body position, breathes normally per pranayama, and is able to dwell in one's meditation (anantasamapattibhyam).

The asanas discussed in different Hatha yoga texts vary significantly. Unlike ancient yoga texts of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, it is the Hatha yoga texts that provide step by step methodology on how to enter into an asana. The Hindu text Gheranda samhita, for example, in section 2.8 describes the padmasana for meditation. Most asanas are inspired by nature, such as a form of union with symmetric, harmonious flowing shapes of animals, birds or plants.

Early hatha yoga aimed at preserving and raising vital energies, which was stated to be the bindu (semen) and the less discussed rajas (menstrual fluid).[100] In the early formulation of their methods, Hatha yogis aimed to use move this "physical essence of life" along their spine through breathing exercises. Alternatively, they would stand on their head to reverse the dripping down of their vital energies (vipartakaran).

In later formulations, they developed the concept of kundalini (sleeping serpent goddess) and a system of chakras within the body, and the exercises were a means to awaken the sleeping kundalini and rejuvenate the body. The idea of vital energy or principle was linked to jiva (prana, life force), and the aim was to move this "vital energy" with mudras, access amta the stated nectar of immortality situated in the head and flooding it into the body.[102] The later formulations of Hatha yoga thus differed from the early hatha yoga aims of preserving bindu.

Accessing and moving the stated vital life essence has been a part of the Hatha Yoga literature. The two techniques they taught, one being mechanical asana and the other through pranayama, were linked to yogic mudra (literally, "seal"). These mudras in Buddhist and Hindu Hatha yoga literature are described as means to "access and manipulate the dormant vital energies within the body".[103] Eleven mudras are commonly described in Hatha Yogas classical synthesis, though only eight are found in the Hatha yoga pradipika. These are mahamudra, mahavedha, mahabandha, khecarimudra, jalandharabandha, uddiyanabandha, mulabandha, viparitakarani, vajroli, sakticalani and yonimudra. The last two in particular, sakticalani and yonimudra, are stated to awaken the kundalini. However, this awakening is the aim of all mudras according to the Hatha yoga pradipika.

The Hatha yoga pradipika text dedicates almost a third of its verses to meditation. Similarly, other major texts of Hatha yoga such as Shiva samhita and Gheranda samhita discuss meditation. In all three texts, meditation is the ultimate goal of all the preparatory cleansing, asanas, pranayama and other steps. The aim of this meditation is to realize Nada-Brahman, or the complete absorption and union with the Brahman through inner mystic sound. According to Guy Beck a professor of Religious Studies known for his studies on Yoga and music, a Hatha yogi in this stage of practice seeks "inner union of physical opposites", into an inner state of samadhi that is described by Hatha yoga texts in terms of divine sounds, and as a union with Nada-Brahman in musical literature of ancient India.

The aims of Hatha yoga in various Indian traditions have been the same as those of other varieties of yoga. These include physical siddhis (special powers, bodily benefits such as slowing age effects, magical powers) and spiritual liberation (moksha, mukti). According to Mikel Burley, some of the siddhis are symbolic references to the cherished soteriological goals of Indian religions. For example, the Vayu Siddhi or "conquest of the air" literally implies rising into the air as in levitation, but it likely has symbolic meaning of "a state of consciousness into a vast ocean of space" or "voidness" ideas found respectively in Hinduism and Buddhism.

Some traditions such as the Kaula tantric sect of Hinduism and Sahajiya tantric sect of Buddhism pursued more esoteric goals such as alchemy (Nagarjuna, Carpita), magic, kalavancana (cheating death) and parakayapravesa (entering another's body).[107] 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.[109] The majority of historic Hatha yoga texts do not give any importance to siddhis. The mainstream practice considered the pursuit of magical powers as a distraction or hindrance to Hatha yoga's ultimate aim of spiritual liberation, self knowledge or release from rebirth that the Indian traditions call mukti or moksha.

The goals of Hatha yoga, in its earliest texts, were linked to mumukshu (seeker of liberation, moksha). The later texts added and experimented with the goals of bubhukshu (seeker of enjoyment, bhoga).

Hatha yoga is a branch of yoga. It shares numerous ideas and doctrines with other forms of yoga, such as the more ancient Yoga system taught by Patanjali. The differences are in the addition of some limbs, and different emphasis on other limbs. For example, pranayama is crucial in all yogas, but it is the main stay of Hatha yoga. Mudras and certain kundalini-related ideas are included in Hatha yoga, but not mentioned in the Yoga sutras of Patanjali. Patanjali yoga considers asanas important but dwells less on various asanas, unlike Hatha yoga texts. In contrast, the Hatha yoga texts consider meditation as important but dwell less on meditation methodology, unlike the Patanjali yoga.

The Hatha yoga texts acknowledge and refer to Patanjali yoga, attesting to the latter's antiquity. However, this acknowledgement is in the passing, and the Hatha Yoga texts offer no serious commentary or exposition of the Patanjali's system. This suggests that Hatha yoga likely developed as a satellite branch of the more ancient yoga. According to P.V. Kane, Patanjali yoga concentrates more on the yoga of the mind, while Hatha yoga focuses on body and health. Some Hindu texts do not recognize this distinction. For example, the Yogatattva Upanishad teaches a system that includes all limbs of the Yogasutras of Patanjali, and all additional elements of Hatha yoga practice.

The impact of Hatha yoga on physical and mental health has been a topic of systematic studies. Some scholars state that a regular and proper yoga practice yields health benefits.[119][120] Others state that 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.[121][122]

Yoga's combined focus on mindfulness, breathing and physical movements brings health benefits with regular participation. Yoga participants report better sleep, increased energy levels and muscle tone, relief from muscle pain and stiffness, improved circulation and overall better general health. The breathing aspect of yoga can benefit heart rate and blood pressure.[123]

The 2012 "Yoga in America" survey, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Yoga Journal, shows that the number of adult practitioners in the US is 20.4 million, or 8.7 percent. The survey reported that 44 percent of those not practicing yoga said they are interested in trying it.[124]

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Yoga is a physical and mental practise that originated from Hinduism in ancient India. Get the benefits of yoga; Relax in a few minutes with an easy yoga series. Learn yoga from a video with beautiful music. The first ten minutes we learn some basic yoga exercises and the last minutes we meditate with some mantras and the muscle relaxation. If you have little time, make only the yoga exercises or the meditation. Do yoga at least twice a week so that you stay healthy, fit and happy.

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How can I do yoga when my body is not flexible?

wikiHow Contributor

Be patient, and respect your body's limits. If you approach yoga too aggressively, you won't see much improvement, and might hurt yourself. A skilled yoga teacher can help you adjust each pose to work within your limits, and gradually expand them. Many poses have several variations, and the goal is to pick the variation where you can stay relaxed with good form but still be challenged. Don't be afraid to pick an "easier" variation, but perform it well, instead of straining through something too advanced. Learn how to use props (blocks, bolsters and straps) to support your body.

Is it bad for me to criss cross my legs?

wikiHow Contributor

No, only if you feel extreme pain or discomfort while doing it, then just criss-cross them as comfortably as possible.

What if I can't put my head to my feet?

wikiHow Contributor

It's okay if you can't put your head to your feet, everyone's body is different. Go as far as you comfortably can, the idea is to get a good stretch. You may find you become more flexible over time.

Please tell me that how many days and how much time is required for each step?

Do yoga every day for a quarter of an hour.

Whats are the benefits of yoga exercise?

wikiHow Contributor

It helps to relax your body and remove stress. If you do yoga regularly, you will feel calmer and less angry or stressed.

Will yoga help strengthen my body?

wikiHow Contributor

Yes, yoga will strengthen your muscles and increase your flexibility.

How do I relax before a musical recital?

wikiHow Contributor

Go to your happy place, a place that calms you down and relaxes you and when you get on stage and you are feeling, then nervous go back to that place.

How many calories does yoga burn?

wikiHow Contributor

The number of calories you'll expend doing yoga is based on your body weight and workout duration. If you weigh 125 pounds, you'll burn about 120 calories, and if you weigh 185 pounds you'll expend 178 calories in 30 minutes doing yoga, according to Harvard Health Publications.

My mind is always running and I can't relax. Any tips for relaxing?

wikiHow Contributor

Try chakra meditation, as well as meditation. Healing your chakras will especially help.

How old should I be to do yoga?

wikiHow Contributor

Yoga can be done in any age, however, if you have medical issues whatever be the age, it is safe to ask your doctor first.

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How to Do Yoga for Absolute Beginners