Yoga, Health Proven Technique

 

Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west,[16] following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th and early 20th century.[16]In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of 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 HinduSamkhya philosophy.[18]

Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancerschizophreniaasthma, 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]

 

Etymology

Statue of Shiva in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, performing yogic meditation in the Pad asana posture.

In Vedic Sanskrit, yoga (from the root you) means “to add”, “to join”, “to unite”, or “to attach” in its most common literal sense. By figurative extension from the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses, the word took on broader meanings such as “employment, use, application, performance” (compare the figurative uses of “to harness” as in “to put something to some use”). All further developments of the sense of this word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods such as “exertion”, “Endeavour”, “zeal”, and “diligence” are also found in Indian epic poetry.[21]

There are very many compound words containing yoga in Sanskrit. Yoga can take on meanings such as “connection”, “contact”, “union”, “method”, “application”, “addition” and “performance”. In simpler words, Yoga also means “combined”. For example, guṇáyoga means “contact with a cord”; chakráyogahas a medical sense of “applying a splint or similar instrument by means of pulleys (in case of dislocation of the thigh)”; chandráyoga has the astronomical sense of “conjunction of the moon with a constellation”; puṃyoga is a grammatical term expressing “connection or relation with a man”, etc. Thus, bhaktiyoga means “devoted attachment” in the monotheistic Bhatia movement. The term kriyāyoga has a Yoga

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

a group of physical,mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated inancient India. There is a broad variety of Yoga schools, practices, and goals[2] in HinduismBuddhism, and Jainism.[3][4][5] Among the most well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga.[6]

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

Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west,[16] following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th and early 20th century.[16]In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exerciseacross 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 HinduSamkhya philosophy.[18]

Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancerschizophreniaasthma, 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]

Statue of Shiva in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, performing yogic meditation in the Pad asana posture.

In Vedic Sanskrit, yoga (from the root you) means “to add”, “to join”, “to unite”, or “to attach” in its most common literal sense. By figurative extension from the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses, the word took on broader meanings such as “employment, use, application, performance” (compare the figurative uses of “to harness” as in “to put something to some use”). All further developments of the sense of this word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods such as “exertion”, “Endeavour”, “zeal”, and “diligence” are also found in Indian epic poetry.[21]

There are very many compound words containing yoga in Sanskrit. Yoga can take on meanings such as “connection”, “contact”, “union”, “method”, “application”, “addition” and “performance”. In simpler words, Yoga also means “combined“. For example, guṇáyoga means “contact with a cord”; chakráyogahas a medical sense of “applying a splint or similar instrument by means of pulleys (in case of dislocation of the thigh)”; chandráyoga has the astronomical sense of “conjunction of the moon with a constellation”; puṃyoga is a grammatical term expressing “connection or relation with a man”, etc. Thus, bhaktiyoga means “devoted attachment” in the monotheistic Bhatt movement. The term kriyāyoga has a grammatical sense, meaning “connection with a verb”. But the same compound is also given a technical meaning in the Yoga Sutras (2.1), designating the “practical” aspects of the philosophy, i.e. the “union with the supreme” due to performance of duties in everyday life[22]

According to Pāṇini, a 6th-century BCE Sanskrit grammarian, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots,yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau (to concentrate).[23] In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samādhau (to concentrate) is considered by traditional commentators as the correct etymology.[24] In accordance withPāṇiniVyasa who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras,[25] states that yoga means samādhi(concentration).[26]

According to Dasgupta, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yogi yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau (to concentrate).[23] 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).[27]

Goals

The ultimate goal of Yoga is mocha (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:[28]

  1. Yoga, as a disciplined method for attaining a goal;
  2. Yoga, as techniques of controlling the body and the mind;
  3. Yoga, as a name of one of the schools or systems of philosophy (darśana);
  4. Yoga, in connection with other words, such as “hatha-, mantra-, and laya-,” referring to traditions specializing in particular techniques of yoga;
  5. Yoga, as the goal of Yoga practice.”[28]

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:[29]

  1. Yoga, is a meditative means of discovering dysfunctional perception and cognition, as well as overcoming it for release from suffering, inner peace and salvation; illustration of this principle is found in Hindu texts such as theBhagavad Gitaand Yoga sutras, in a number of Buddhist Mahāyāna works, as well as Jain texts;[30]
  2. Yoga, as the raising and expansion of consciousness from oneself to being coextensive with everyone and everything; these are discussed in sources such as in Hinduism Vedic literature and its EpicMahabharata, Jainism Praśamaratiprakarana, and Buddhist Nikaya texts;[31]
  3. Yoga, as a path to omniscience and enlightened consciousness enabling one to comprehend the impermanent (illusive, delusive) and permanent (true, transcendent) reality; examples are found in HinduismNyaya andVaisesika school texts as well as Buddhism Mādhyamaka texts, but in different ways;[32]
  4. Yoga, as a technique for entering into other bodies, generating multiple bodies, and the attainment of other supernatural accomplishments; these are, states White, described inTantric literature of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the Buddhist Sāmaññaphalasutta;[33] 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.[34]

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.[35]

Schools of Yoga

The term “yoga” has been applied to a variety of practices and methods, including Jain and Buddhist practices. In Hinduism these include Jnana YogaBhakti YogaKarma YogaLaya 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 theYoga Sutras of Pantajali.[36] The term raja yoga originally referred to the ultimate goal of yoga, which is usuallysamadhi,[37] but was popularised by Vivekananda as the common name for Ashtanga Yoga.[38]

the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Vasistha,[38] while Tantric Yoga and Hatha Yoga prevailed over Ashtanga Yoga.[38]

Ashtanga Yoga

Main articles: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Rāja yoga

Vivekananda equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[42]

Yoga as described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali refers to Astana Yoga.[38] TheYoga Sutras of Patanjali is considered as a central text of the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy,[43] It is often called “Rāja yoga”, “yoga of the kings,” a term which originally referred to the ultimate, royal goal of yoga, which is usually Samadhi,[37] but was popularized by Vivekananda as the common name for Astana Yoga.[38]

Ashtanga Yoga incorporates epistemology, metaphysics, ethical practices, systematic exercises and self-development techniques for body, mind and spirit.[44] Its epistemology (pramanas) is same as the Samkhya school. Both accept three reliable means to knowledge – perception (pratyākṣa, direct sensory observations), inference (alumna) and testimony of trustworthy experts (sabda, agama). Both these orthodox schools are also strongly dualistic. Unlike the Sāṃkhya school of Hinduism, which pursues a non-theistic/atheistic rationalist approach,[45][46] the Yoga school of Hinduism accepts the concept of a “personal, yet essentially inactive, deity” or “personal god”.[47][48] 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).[44][49][50]

 

.

Buddhism

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

16th century Buddhist artwork in Yoga posture.

Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of meditation techniques that aim to develop mindfulnessconcentrationsupramundane powerstranquility, and insight.

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

History

The origins of yoga are a matter of debate.[66] There is no consensus on its chronology or specific origin other than that yoga developed in ancient India. Suggested origins are the Indus Valley Civilization (3300–1900 BCE)[67] and pre-Vedic Eastern India,[68] the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE), and the śramaṇa movement.[69] 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.[70][note 6]

Pre-philosophical speculations of yoga begin to emerge in the texts of c. 500–200 BCE. Between 200 BCE–500 CE philosophical schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism were taking form and a coherent philosophical system of yoga began to emerge.[72] The Middle Ages saw the development of many satellite traditions of yoga. Yoga came to the attention of an educated western public in the mid 19th century along with other topics of Indian philosophy.

Pre-Vedic India

Main article: Indus Valley Civilization

Yoga may have pre-Vedic elements.[67][68] Some state yoga originated in the Indus Valley Civilization.[73] Marshall,[74]Eliade[9] and other scholars suggest that the Pashupati seal discovered in Indus Valley Civilization sites depict figures in positions resembling a common yoga or meditation pose. This interpretation is considered speculative and uncertain by more recent analysis of Srinivasan[9] and may be a case of projecting “later practices into archeological findings”.[75]

Vedic period (1700–500 BCE)

Main article: Vedic period

According to Crangle, Indian researchers have generally favoured a linear theory, which attempts “to interpret the origin and early development of Indian contemplative practices as a sequential growth from an Aryan genesis”,[76][note 7] just like traditional Hinduism regards the Vedas to be the source of all spiritual knowledge.[77][note 8]

Ascetic practices, concentration and bodily postures described in the Vedas may have been precursors to yoga.[80][81]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, Jainism and Ajivikas), probably in around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE.”[8]

According to Zimmer, Yoga philosophy is reckoned to be part of the non-Vedic system, which also includes theSamkhya school of Hindu philosophy, Jainism and Buddhism:[68] “[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, Snaky, and Buddhism, the other non-Vedic Indian systems.”[82][note 9]

Textual references

The first use of the root of word “yoga” is in hymn 5.81.1 of the Rig Veda, a dedication to rising Sun-god in the morning (Savior), where it has been interpreted as “yoke” or “yogically control”.[85][86][note 10]

The earliest evidence of Yogis and Yoga tradition is found in the Kevin 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.

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

Rigveda, however, does not describe yoga and there is little evidence as to what the practices were.[7] Early references to practices that later became part of yoga, are made in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the earliest Hindu Upanishad.[note 11] For example, the practice of pranayama (consciously regulating breath) is mentioned in hymn 1.5.23 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. ~ 900 BCE), and the practice of pratyahara (concentrating all of one’s senses on self) is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of Chandogya Upanishad (c. ~ 800–700 BCE).[89][note 12]

Vedic ascetic practices

Ascetic practices (tapas), concentration and bodily postures used by Vedic priests to conduct Yana (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.[80] Early Samhitas also contain references to other group ascetics such as munis, the keśin, and vratyas.[92] Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned in theBrahmanas (texts of the Vedic corpus, c. 1000–800 BCE) and the Atharvaveda.[80][93] Nasadiya Sukta of the Rig Vedasuggests the presence of an early contemplative tradition.[note 14]

Preclassical era (500–200 BCE)

Yoga concepts begin to emerge in the texts of c. 500–200 BCE such as the Pali Canon, the middle Upanishads, theBhagavad Gita and Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata.[96][note 15]

Upanishads

The first known appearance of the word “yoga”, with the same meaning as the modern term, is in the Katha Upanishad,[9][99] probably composed between the fifth and third century BCE,[100][101] where it is defined as the steady control of the senses, which along with cessation of mental activity, leading to a supreme state.[92][note 16] Katha Upanishad integrates the monism of early Upanishads with concepts of samkhya and yoga. It defines various levels of existence according to their proximity to the innermost being Ātman. Yoga is therefore seen as a process of interiorization or ascent of consciousness.[103][104] It is the earliest literary work that highlights the fundamentals of yoga. White states:

The earliest extant systematic account of yoga and a bridge from the earlier Vedic uses of the term is found in the Hindu Katha Upanisad (Ku), a scripture dating from about the third century BCE[…] [I]t describes the hierarchy of mind-body constituents—the senses, mind, intellect, etc.—that comprise the foundational categories of Sāmkhya philosophy, whose metaphysical system grounds the yoga of the Yogasutras, Bhagavad Gita, and other texts and schools (Ku3.10–11; 6.7–8).[105]

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.[106][104]

The Maitrayaniya Upanishad, likely composed in a later century than Katha and Shvetashvatara Upanishads but before Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, mentions sixfold yoga method – breath control (pranayama), introspective withdrawal of senses (pratyahara), meditation (dhyana), mind concentration (dharana), philosophical inquiry/creative reasoning (tarka), and absorption/intense spiritual union (samadhi).[9][104][107]

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.[108][109]

Sutras of Hindu philosophies

Yoga is discussed in the ancient foundational Sutras of Hindu philosophy. The Vaiśeṣika Sūtra of the Vaisheshikaschool of Hinduism, dated to have been composed sometime between 6th and 2nd century BCE discusses Yoga.[110][111][note 17] According to Johannes Bronkhorst, an Indologist known for his studies on early Buddhism and Hinduism and a professor at the University of Lausanne, Vaiśeṣika Sūtra describes Yoga as “a state where the mind resides only in the soul and therefore not in the senses”.[113] 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.[113]

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.[114] Brahma sutras are estimated to have been complete in the surviving form sometime between 450 BCE to 200 CE,[115][116] and its sutras assert that yoga is a means to gain “subtlety of body” and other powers.[114]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,[117][118] discusses yoga in sutras 4.2.38–50. This ancient text of the Nyaya school includes a discussion of yogic ethics, dhyana (meditation), samadhi, and among other things remarks that debate and philosophy is a form of yoga.[119][120][121]

Macedonian historical texts

Alexander the Great reached India in the 4th century BCE. Along with his army, he took Greek academics with him who later wrote memoirs about geography, people and customs they saw. One of Alexander’s companion was Onesicritus, quoted in Book 15, Sections 63–65 by Strabo, who describes yogins of India.[122] Onesicritus claims those Indian yogins (Mandanis ) practiced aloofness and “different postures – standing or sitting or lying naked – and motionless”.[123]

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”.[123] 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”.[122][123] These principles are significant to the history of spiritual side of yoga.[122] 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;[122] as well as the principle of Aparigraha (non-possessiveness, non-craving, simple living) and asceticism discussed in later Hinduism and Jainism.[citation needed]

Early Buddhist texts

Werner states, “The Buddha was the founder of his [Yoga] system, even though, admittedly, he made use of some of the experiences he had previously gained under various Yoga teachers of his time.”[124] He notes:[10]

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

The chronology of completion of these yoga-related Pali Canons, however, is unclear, just like ancient Hindu texts.[125][126] Early known Buddhist sources like the Majjhima Nikāya mention meditation, while the Anguttara Nikāyadescribes Jhāyins (meditators) that resemble early Hindu descriptions of MuniKesins and meditating ascetics,[127] but these meditation-practices are not called yoga in these texts.[128] The earliest known specific discussion of yoga in the Buddhist literature, as understood in modern context, is from the third- to fourth-century CE scriptures of the Buddhist Yogācāra school and fourth- to fifth-century Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa.[128]

A yoga system that predated the Buddhist school is Jain yoga. But since Jain sources postdate Buddhist ones, it is difficult to distinguish between the nature of the early Jain school and elements derived from other schools.[10] Most of the other contemporary yoga systems alluded in the Upanishads and some Pali canons are lost to time.[129][130][note 18]

The early Buddhist texts describe meditative practices and states, some of which the Buddha borrowed from the śramaṇa tradition.[132][133] 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.[134] However, there is no mention of the tongue being inserted into the nasopharynx as in true khecarī mudrā. The Buddha used a posture where pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to even modern postures used to stimulate Kundalini.[135]

Uncertainty with chronology

Alexander Wynne, author of The Origin of Buddhist Meditation, observes that formless meditation and elemental meditation might have originated in the Upanishadic tradition.[136] The earliest reference to meditation is in theBrihadaranyaka Upanishad, one of the oldest Upanishads.[92] 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.[80] Taittiriya Upanishad defines yoga as the mastery of body and senses.[137]

Bhagavad Gita

Krishna narrating the Gita to Arjuna.

Main article: Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita (‘Song of the Lord’), uses the term “yoga” extensively in a variety of ways. In addition to an entire chapter (ch. 6) dedicated to traditional yoga practice, including meditation,[138] it introduces three prominent types of yoga:[139]

The Gita consists of 18 chapters and 700 shlokas (verses),[143] with each chapter named as a different yoga, thus delineating eighteen different yogas.[143][144] 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 karmabhakti and jnana are found in all chapters.[143]

Mahabharata

Description of an early form of yoga called nirodhayoga (yoga of cessation) is contained in the Mokshadharma section of the 12th chapter (Shanti Parva) of the Mahabharata. The verses of the section are dated to c. 300–200 BCE.Nirodhayoga emphasizes progressive withdrawal from the contents of empirical consciousness such as thoughts, sensations etc. until purusha (Self) is realized. Terms like vichara (subtle reflection), viveka (discrimination) and others which are similar to Patanjali’s terminology are mentioned, but not described.[145] There is no uniform goal of yoga mentioned in the Mahabharata. Separation of self from matter, perceiving Brahman everywhere, entering intoBrahman etc. are all described as goals of yoga. Samkhya and yoga are conflated together and some verses describe them as being identical.[146] Mokshadharma also describes an early practice of elemental meditation.[147]

Mahabharata defines the purpose of yoga as the experience of uniting the individual ātman with the universal Brahmanthat pervades all things.[146]

Classical era (200 BCE – 500 CE)

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

Classical yoga

During the period between the Mauryan and the Gupta era (c. 200 BCE–500 CE) philosophical schools of Hinduism,Buddhism and Jainism were taking form and a coherent philosophical system of yoga began to emerge.[72]

Yoga as a philosophy is mentioned in Sanskrit texts dated to be completed between 200 BCE–200 CE. Kauṭilya’sArthasastra in verse 1.2.10, for example, states that there are three categories of anviksikis (philosophies) – Samkhya(nontheistic), Yoga (theistic) and Cārvāka (atheistic materialism).[148][149]

Samkhya

Further information: Samkhya

Many traditions in India began to adopt systematic methodology by about first century CE. Of these, Samkhya was probably one of the oldest philosophies to begin taking a systematic form.[150] 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.[151] 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.[45][152][153] Sometimes Patanjali’s system is referred to as Seshvara Samkhya in contradistinction to Kapila’s Nirivara Samkhya.[154]

The parallels between Yoga and Samkhya were so close that Max Müller says that “the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord.”[155]

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Main articles: Raja Yoga and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

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

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali[156]
Pada (Chapter) English meaning Sutras
Samadhi Pada On being absorbed in spirit 51
Sadhana Pada On being immersed in spirit 55
Vibhuti Pada On supernatural abilities and gifts 56
Kaivalya Pada On absolute freedom 34

In Hindu philosophy, yoga is the name of one of the six orthodox (which accept the testimony of Vedas) philosophical schools.[157][158] Karel Werner, author ofYoga And Indian Philosophy, believes that the process of systematization of yoga which began in the middle and Yoga Upanishads culminated with theYoga 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.[160] 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.[160] 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.[160] The third concept Yoga Sutras synthesize into its philosophy is the ancient ascetictraditions of meditation and introspection, as well as the yoga ideas from middle Upanishads such as Katha, Shvetashvatara and Maitri.[160]

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are widely regarded as the first compilation of the formal yoga philosophy.[161] The verses ofYoga Sutras are terse. Many later Indian scholars studied them and published their commentaries, such as the Vyasa Bhashya(c. 350–450 CE).[162] Patanjali’s yoga is also referred to as Raja yoga.[163] Patanjali defines the word “yoga” in his second sutra:

योग: चित्तवृत्ति निरोध:
(yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ)
– Yoga Sutras 1.2

This terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms. I. K. Taimni translates it as “Yoga is the inhibition (nirodhaḥ) of the modifications (vṛtti) of the mind (citta)”.[164] Swami Vivekananda translates the sutra as “Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Citta) from taking various forms (Vrittis).”[165] 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.”[44][166][167]

If the meaning of yoga is understood as the practice of nirodha (mental control), then it’s goal is “the unqualified state of niruddha (the perfection of that process)”,[168] 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.”[169]

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

  1. Yama(The five “abstentions”): Ahimsa (Non-violence, non-harming other living beings),[170] Satya (truthfulness, non-falsehood),[171] Asteya (non-stealing),[172] Brahmacharya (celibacy, fidelity to one’s partner),[172] andAparigraha (non-avarice, non-possessiveness).[171]
  2. Niyama(The five “observances”): Śauca (purity, clearness of mind, speech and body),[173] Santosha(contentment, acceptance of others and of one’s circumstances),[174] Tapas (persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity),[175] Svādhyāya (study of self, self-reflection, study of Vedas),[176] and Ishvara-Pranidhana (contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True Self).[174]
  3. Asana: Literally means “seat”, and in Patanjali’s Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation.
  4. Pranayama(“Suspending Breath”): Prāna, breath, “āyāma”, to restrain or stop. Also interpreted as control of the life force.
  5. Pratyahara(“Abstraction”): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.
  6. Dharana(“Concentration”): Fixing the attention on a single object.
  7. Dhyana(“Meditation”): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.
  8. Samadhi(“Liberation”): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.

Yoga and Vedanta

Yoga and Vedanta are the two largest surviving schools of Hindu traditions. They share many thematic principles, concepts and belief in self/soul, but diverge in degree, style and some of their methods. Epistemologically, Yoga school accepts three means to reliable knowledge, while Advaita Vedanta accepts six ways.[177] Yoga disputes the monism of Advaita Vedanta.[178] 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 ofmoksha, 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.[178]

Yoga Yajnavalkya

Main article: Yoga Yajnavalkya

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

Yoga Yajnavalkya[179]

The Yoga Yajnavalkya is a classical treatise on yoga attributed to the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya. It takes the form of a dialogue between Yajnavalkya andGargi, a renowned philosopher.[180] The text contains 12 chapters and its origin has been traced to the period between the second century BCE and fourth century CE.[181] Many yoga texts like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, theYoga Kundalini and the Yoga Tattva Upanishads have borrowed verses from or make frequent references to the Yoga Yajnavalkya.[182] The Yoga Yajnavalkya discusses eight yoga Asanas – Swastika, Gomukha, Padma, Vira, Simha, Bhadra, Mukta and Mayura,[183] numerous breathing exercises for body cleansing,[184] and meditation.[185]

Jainism

Main article: Jainism

Tirthankara Parsva in Yogic meditation in theKayotsarga posture.

According to Tattvarthasutra, 2nd century CE Jain text, yoga is the sum of all the activities of mind, speech and body.[5] Umasvati calls yoga the cause of “asrava” orkarmic influx[186] as well as one of the essentials—samyak caritra—in the path to liberation.[186] In his Niyamasara, Acarya Kundakunda, describes yoga bhakti—devotion to the path to liberation—as the highest form of devotion.[187] AcaryaHaribhadra 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.[188] The five yamas or the constraints of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjalibear a resemblance to the five major vows of Jainism, indicating a history of strong cross-fertilization between these traditions.[189][note 20]

Mainstream Hinduism’s influence on Jain yoga is noticed as Haribhadra founded his eightfold yoga and aligned it with Patanjali’s eightfold yoga.[191]

Yogacara school

Main article: Yogacara

In the late phase of Indian antiquity, on the eve of the development of Classical Hinduism, the Yogacara movement arises during the Gupta period (4th to 5th centuries). Yogacara received the name as it provided a “yoga,” a framework for engaging in the practices that lead to the path of the bodhisattva.[192] The yogacara sect teaches “yoga” as a way to reach enlightenment.[193]

Middle Ages (500–1500 CE)

Middle Ages saw the development of many satellite traditions of yoga. Hatha yoga emerged in this period.[194]

Bhakti movement

Main article: Bhakti Yoga

The Bhakti movement was a development in medieval Hinduism which advocated the concept of a personal God (or “Supreme Personality of Godhead“). The movement was initiated by the Alvars of South India in the 6th to 9th centuries, and it started gaining influence throughout India by the 12th to 15th centuries.[195] Shaiva and Vaishnavabhakti traditions integrated aspects of Yoga Sutras, such as the practical meditative exercises, with devotion.[196]Bhagavata Purana elucidates the practice of a form of yoga called viraha (separation) bhaktiViraha bhaktiemphasizes one pointed concentration on Krishna.[197]

Tantra

Tantra is a genre of yoga that arose in India no later than the 5th century CE.[198][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.[64] Over its history, some ideas of Tantra school influenced theHinduBonBuddhist, 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.[200][201]

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

Vajrayana Buddhism

Main article: Vajrayana

Vajrayana is also known as Tantric Buddhism and Tantrayāna. Its texts were compiled starting with 7th century and Tibetan translations were completed in 8th century CE. These tantra yoga texts were the main source of Buddhist knowledge that was imported into Tibet.[202] They were later translated into Chinese and other Asian languages, helping spread ideas of Tantric Buddhism. The Buddhist text Hevajra Tantra and Caryāgiti introduced hierarchies of chakras.[203] Yoga is a significant practice in Tantric Buddhism.[60][204][205]

[215]

Sikhism

Various yogic groups had become prominent in Punjab in the 15th and 16th century, when Sikhism was in its nascent stage. Compositions of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, describe many dialogues he had with Jogis, a Hindu community which practiced yoga.[216] Guru Nanak rejected the austerities, rites and rituals connected with Hatha Yoga.[217] He propounded the path of Sahaja yoga or Nama yoga (meditation on the name) instead.[218] 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.”[219]

Modern history

Reception in the West

 

 

 

Various yoga asanas

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

The first Hindu teacher to actively advocate and disseminate aspects of yoga to a western audience, Swami Vivekananda, toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s.[220] The reception which Swami Vivekananda received built on the active interest of intellectuals, in particular the New England Transcendentalists, among them R. W. Emerson (1803–1882), who drew on German Romanticism and the interest of philosophers and scholars like G.W.F. Hegel (1770–1831), the brothersAugust Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845) and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel (1772–1829), Max Mueller (1823–1900), Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) and others who had (to varying degrees) interests in things Indian.[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 (1897–1989) 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]

The West,[clarification needed] in the early 21st century typically associates the term “yoga” with Hatha yoga and its asanas(postures) or as a form of exercise.[228] During the 1910s and 1920s in the USA, yoga suffered a period of bad publicity due largely to the backlash against immigration, a rise in puritanical values, and a number of scandals. In the 1930s and 1940s yoga began to gain more public acceptance as a result of celebrity endorsement.[citation needed] In the 1950s the United States saw another period of paranoia against yoga,[222] but by the 1960s, western interest in Hindu spirituality reached its peak, giving rise to a great number of Neo-Hindu schools specifically advocated to a western public. During this period, most of the influential Indian teachers of yoga came from two lineages, those of Sivananda Saraswati (1887–1963) and of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888–1989).[229] Teachers of Hatha yoga who were active in the west in this period included B.K.S. Iyengar (1918–2014), K. Pattabhi Jois (1915–2009), Swami Vishnu-devananda (1927–1993), and Swami Satchidananda (1914–2002).[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 esotericismcircles, and unconnected to any religious denomination.[220] Numerous asanas seemed modern in origin, and strongly overlapped with 19th and early-20th century Western exercise traditions.[235]

A group of people practicing yoga in 2012.

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

Exercise and health applications

Main article: Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine

Yoga has been studied and is increasingly recommended to promote relaxation, reduce stress and some medical conditions such as premenstrual syndrome in Europe as well as in the United States.[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]

Potential benefits for adults

While much of the medical community regards the results of yoga research as significant, others point to many flaws which undermine results. Much of the research on yoga has taken the form of preliminary studies or clinical trials of low methodological quality, including small sample sizes, inadequate blinding, lack of randomization, and high risk of bias.[241][242][243] Long-term yoga users in the United States have reported musculoskeletal and mental health improvements, as well as reduced symptoms of asthma in asthmatics.[244] There is evidence to suggest that regular yoga practice increases brain GABA levels, and yoga has been shown to improve mood and anxiety more than some other metabolically-matched exercises, such as walking.[245][246] The three main focuses of Hatha yoga (exercise, breathing, and meditation) make it beneficial to those suffering from heart disease. Overall, studies of the effects of yoga on heart disease suggest that yoga may reduce high blood-pressure, improve symptoms of heart failure, enhance cardiac rehabilitation, and lower cardiovascular risk factors.[247] For chronic low back pain, specialist Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs has been found 30% more beneficial than usual care alone in a UK clinical trial.[248] Other smaller studies support this finding.[249][250] The Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs programme is the dominant treatment for society (both cheaper and more effective than usual care alone) due to 8.5 fewer days off work each year.[251] A research group from Boston University School of Medicine also tested yoga’s effects on lower-back pain. Over twelve weeks, one group of volunteers practiced yoga while the control group continued with standard treatment for back pain. The reported pain for yoga participants decreased by one third, while the standard treatment group had only a five percent drop. Yoga participants also had a drop of 80% in the use of pain medication.[252]

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.[253] 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.[254]

Yoga has also been studied as a treatment for schizophrenia.[255] Some encouraging, but inconclusive, evidence suggests that yoga as a complementary treatment may help alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia and improve health-related quality of life.[20]

 

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