Yoga

For modern yoga as exercise, see Yoga as exercise. For the use of yoga as therapy, see Yoga as therapy. For the ancient Indian philosophy, see Yoga (philosophy). For other uses, see Yoga (disambiguation).

Large outdoor concrete statue; see caption
Statue of Shiva performing yoga in the lotus position
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Traditional[a] yoga (Sanskrit: योग, /ˈjoʊɡə/,[1] Sanskrit pronunciation: [joːɡɐ] ⓘ, lit. "yoke" or "union") is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attaining various salvation goals,[2][3][4][b] as practiced in the Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions.[5][6]

Yoga may have pre-Vedic origins,[c] but is first attested in the early first millennium BCE. It developed as various traditions in the eastern Ganges basin drew from a common body of practices, including Vedic elements.[7][8] Yoga-like practices are mentioned in the Rigveda[9] and a number of early Upanishads,[10][11][12][d] but systematic yoga concepts emerge during the fifth and sixth centuries BCE in ancient India's ascetic and Śramaṇa movements, including Jainism and Buddhism.[13] The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the classical text on Hindu yoga, samkhya-based but influenced by Buddhism, dates to the early centuries of the Common Era.[14][15][e] Hatha yoga texts began to emerge between the ninth and 11th centuries, originating in tantra.[f]

Yoga is practiced worldwide,[16] but "yoga" in the Western world often entails a modern form of Hatha yoga and a posture-based physical fitness, stress-relief and relaxation technique,[17] consisting largely of asanas;[18] this differs from traditional yoga, which focuses on meditation and release from worldly attachments.[19][17][20][a] It was introduced by gurus from India after the success of Swami Vivekananda's adaptation of yoga without asanas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[21] Vivekananda introduced the Yoga Sutras to the West, and they became prominent after the 20th-century success of hatha yoga.[22]


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  1. ^ OED 0000.
  2. ^ Bowker 2000, p. entry "Yoga".
  3. ^ Keown 2004, p. entry "Yoga".
  4. ^ Johnson 2009, p. entry "Yoga".
  5. ^ Carmody & Carmody 1996, p. 68.
  6. ^ Sarbacker 2005, pp. 1–2.
  7. ^ Crangle 1994, pp. 1–6.
  8. ^ Crangle 1994, pp. 103–138.
  9. ^ Werner 1977.
  10. ^ Deussen 1997, p. 556.
  11. ^ Ayyangar 1938, p. 2.
  12. ^ Ruff 2011, pp. 97–112.
  13. ^ Samuel 2008, p. 8.
  14. ^ Bryant 2009, p. xxxiv.
  15. ^ Desmarais 2008, p. 16–17.
  16. ^ BBC 2017.
  17. ^ a b Burley 2000, pp. 1–2.
  18. ^ History 2019.
  19. ^ King 1999, p. 67.
  20. ^ Jantos 2012, pp. 362–363.
  21. ^ White 2011, p. xvi–xvii, 2.
  22. ^ White 2014, pp. xvi–xvii.