For other uses, see Yoga (disambiguation).

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This article contains Indic text.Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.

Yoga (Sanskrit:

pronunciation (helpinfo)) is the physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines

which originated in ancient India with a view to attain a state of permanent peace of mind in order to [1][2] experience one's true self. The term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga (to yoke) [3] or yuj samdhau (to concentrate). The Yoga Stras of Patajali defines yoga as "the stilling of the [1] changing states of the mind" (Sanskrit: : :). Yoga has also been popularly defined as "union with the divine" in other contexts and traditions.
[4] [5][6][7][6]

Various traditions of yoga are found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In Hinduism, yoga is one [8] [9] of the six stika schools (accepts authority of Vedas) of Hindu philosophy. Yoga is also an important [10][11][12] part of Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. Prephilosophical speculations and diverse ascetic practices of first millennium BCE were systematized [13] into a formal philosophy in early centuries CE by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. By the turn of the first [14][15] millennium, hatha yoga emerged from tantra. It, along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate with the word yoga today. Vajrayana Buddhism, founded by the [16] [12] Indian Mahasiddhas, has a parallel series of asanas and pranayamas, such as cal and trul khor. Gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west, following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the [17] late 19th and early 20th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. This form of yoga is often called Hatha yoga. Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, [18][19][20][21] asthma, and heart disease. In a national survey, long-term yoga practitioners in the United [22] States reported musculoskeletal and mental health improvements.
Contents
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[17]

1 Terminology 2 Purpose 3 History

o o o

3.1 Origins 3.2 Indus Valley Civilization 3.3 Vedic period

3.3.1 Textual references 3.3.2 Ascetic practices

3.4 Preclassical era

3.4.1 Upanishads

3.4.2 Bhagavad Gita 3.4.3 Mahabharata

3.5 Classical yoga

3.5.1 Early Buddhist texts 3.5.2 Samkhya 3.5.3 Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 3.5.4 Yoga Yajnavalkya 3.5.5 Jainism 3.5.6 Yogacara school

3.6 Middle Ages

3.6.1 Bhakti movement 3.6.2 Tantra 3.6.3 Vajrayana 3.6.4 Hatha Yoga 3.6.5 Sikhism

3.7 Modern history

3.7.1 Reception in the West 3.7.2 Medicine

3.7.2.1 Potential benefits for adults 3.7.2.2 Physical injuries 3.7.2.3 Pediatrics

4 Yoga compared with other systems of meditation

o o o o

4.1 Zen Buddhism 4.2 Tibetan Buddhism 4.3 Christian meditation 4.4 Islam

5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 Sources 9 External links