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74-619: The Anusara style emphasizes a set of Universal Principles of Alignment which underlie all of the physical asanas and are connected to philosophical aspects of the practice. The school's ideology is "grounded in a Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness". The term "Anusara (a-nu-sar-a), means 'flowing with Grace,' 'flowing with Nature' and 'following your heart,'" as interpreted from the Sanskrit anusāra (अनुसार), meaning "custom, usage, natural state or condition". Instructors who are certified to teach Anusara are exclusively associated with

148-465: A Wiccan coven made up of Anusara teachers and employees, and that Friend engaged in sexual relations with women in the coven, several of whom were married. Friend was also accused of de-funding employees' benefits plans without notifying them, and for arranging delivery of marijuana shipped for his own use to Anusara's main office. Friend soon announced his resignation as officer and director of Anusara Inc. In September 2012, Friend returned to teaching

222-802: A 19th-century Scandinavian tradition of gymnastics dating back to Pehr Ling , and "found their way to India" by the early 20th century. Yoga asanas were brought to America in 1919 by Yogendra , sometimes called "the Father of the Modern Yoga Renaissance", his system influenced by the physical culture of Max Müller . In 1924, Swami Kuvalayananda founded the Kaivalyadhama Health and Yoga Research Center in Maharashtra . He combined asanas with Indian systems of exercise and modern European gymnastics, having according to

296-501: A central link between the manifest body and the unmanifest spirit. Therefore it should not be the sense-attached, bodily-involved consciousness that motivates yoga practice, but spiritual thoughts. According to Grill, this path from above to below is essential, because “the soul lives in the receptivity of giving and not in the receptivity of earthly taking.” For the practice he has written a book called The Souldimension of Yoga , which has already been translated into many languages. Since

370-506: A few being ancient, some being medieval, and a growing number recent. Some that appear traditional, such as Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I), are relatively recent: that pose was probably devised by Krishnamacharya around 1940, and it was popularised by his pupil, Iyengar. A pose that is certainly younger than that is Parivritta Parsvakonasana (Revolved Side Angle Pose): it was not in the first edition of Pattabhi Jois's Yoga Mala in 1962. Viparita Virabhadrasana (Reversed Warrior Pose)

444-414: A methodical way of freeing up the spine, limbs, and breathing so that the yogi can spend extended periods of time in a seated position." Iyengar observed that the practice of asanas "brings steadiness, health, and lightness of limb. A steady and pleasant posture produces mental equilibrium and prevents fickleness of mind." He adds that they bring agility, balance, endurance, and "great vitality", developing

518-627: A prototype of the god Shiva , recognised by being three-faced; in a yoga position as the Mahayogin, the god of yoga; having four animals as Pashupati , the Lord of Beasts; with deer beneath the throne, as in medieval depictions of Shiva; having a three-part headdress recalling Shiva's trident; and possibly being ithyphallic , again like Shiva. If correct, this would be the oldest record of an asana. However, with no proof anywhere of an Indus Valley origin for Shiva, with multiple competing interpretations of

592-553: A secular context, the journalists Nell Frizzell and Reni Eddo-Lodge have debated (in The Guardian ) whether Western yoga classes represent "cultural appropriation". In Frizzell's view, yoga has become a new entity, a long way from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and while some practitioners are culturally insensitive, others treat it with more respect. Eddo-Lodge agrees that Western yoga is far from Patanjali, but argues that

666-503: A set hatha yoga sequence of 108 asanas called "The Roots" based on Anusara's Universal Principles of Alignment. Asana Traditional An āsana ( Sanskrit : आसन ) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose , and later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise , to any type of position, adding reclining, standing , inverted, twisting, and balancing poses. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define "asana" as "[a position that]

740-502: A single asana by name, merely specifying the characteristics of a good asana: स्थिरसुखमासनम् ॥४६॥ sthira sukham āsanam Asana means a steady and comfortable posture. Yoga Sutras 2:46 The Sutras are embedded in the Bhasya commentary, which scholars suggest may also be by Patanjali; it names 12 seated meditation asanas including Padmasana , Virasana , Bhadrasana , and Svastikasana . The 10th–11th century Vimanarcanakalpa

814-459: A stick, Chakrasana , Yogapattasana which requires the use of a strap , and a hand-standing inverted pose with a stick, as well as several unidentified poses. By the 17th century, asanas became an important component of Hatha yoga practice, and more non-seated poses appear. The Hatha Ratnavali by Srinivasa (17th century) is one of the few texts to attempt an actual listing of 84 asanas, although 4 out of its list cannot be translated from

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888-445: A variety of claims for the benefits brought by the asanas, both spiritual and physical. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (HYP) states that asanas in general, described as the first auxiliary of hatha yoga, give "steadiness, good health, and lightness of limb." (HYP 1.17) Specific asanas, it claims, bring additional benefits; for example, Matsyendrasana awakens Kundalini and makes the semen steady; (HYP 1.27) Paschimottanasana "stokes up

962-412: A yoga blanket to prevent overstretching of the neck area". In Owerko's words, "Iyengar yoga is very cautious and mindful." Dunn stated that "People have incorrectly pigeonholed Iyengar Yoga into 'alignment, technique, props' rather than 'learning, experiencing, integrating'—which I think are the real words". Until 2019, Iyengar teachers had to complete at least two years of yoga teacher training for

1036-474: Is a form of yoga as exercise that has an emphasis on detail, precision and alignment in the performance of yoga postures ( asanas ). The style often makes use of props , such as belts, blocks, and blankets, as aids in performing the asanas. The props enable beginning students, the elderly, or those with physical limitations to perform the asanas correctly, minimising the risk of injury or strain. B. K. S. Iyengar learnt yoga from Tirumalai Krishnamacharya at

1110-501: Is a form of yoga as exercise with a focus on the structural alignment of the physical body through the practice of asanas . It differs from other styles of yoga in three ways: precision, sequence and use of props . According to the Iyengar Yoga Institute, unlike more experiential approaches where students are encouraged to independently "find their way" to the asanas by imitating the teacher, an Iyengar Yoga class

1184-690: Is evidence that practice of asanas improves birth outcomes and physical health and quality of life measures in the elderly, and reduces sleep disturbances and hypertension . Iyengar yoga is effective at least in the short term for both neck pain and low back pain. The National Institutes of Health notes that yoga is generally safe "when performed properly", though people with some health conditions, older people, and pregnant woman may need to seek advice. For example, people with glaucoma are advised not to practise inverted postures. The Yoga Journal provides separate lists of asanas that it states are "inadvisable" and should be avoided or modified for each of

1258-455: Is inherently Hindu, making Christian yoga an evident contradiction or indeed "diametrically opposed to Christianity". A similar debate has taken place in a Muslim context; under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman , yoga, formerly banned as a Hindu practice, has been legalised, while mainly-Hindu Bali has held a yoga competition in defiance of a ruling by Indonesia's Muslim Ulema Council. In

1332-456: Is precise, with misalignments and errors actively explained and corrected. It states that the style "emphasises precision and alignment", and prioritises correct movement over quantity, i.e. moving a small amount in the right direction is preferred to moving more but in other directions. Postures are held for a relatively long period of time compared to other schools of yoga; this allows the muscles to relax and lengthen, and encourages awareness in

1406-471: Is steady and comfortable". Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of the eight limbs of his system . Asanas are also called yoga poses or yoga postures in English. The 10th or 11th century Goraksha Sataka and the 15th century Hatha Yoga Pradipika identify 84 asanas; the 17th century Hatha Ratnavali provides a different list of 84 asanas, describing some of them. In

1480-530: Is still more recent, and may have been created after 2000. Several poses that are now commonly practised, such as Dog Pose and standing asanas including Trikonasana (triangle pose), first appeared in the 20th century, as did the sequence of asanas, Surya Namaskar (Salute to the Sun). A different sun salutation, the Aditya Hridayam , is certainly ancient, as it is described in the "Yuddha Kaanda" Canto 107 of

1554-418: Is symbolic rather than literal, indicating completeness and sacredness. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (15th century) specifies that of these 84, the first four are important, namely the seated poses Siddhasana, Padmasana, Bhadrasana and Simhasana . The pillars of the 16th century Achyutaraya temple at Hampi are decorated with numerous relief statues of yogins in asanas including Siddhasana balanced on

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1628-559: Is the first manuscript to describe a non-seated asana, in the form of Mayurasana (peacock) – a balancing pose. Such poses appear, according to the scholar James Mallinson , to have been created outside Shaivism , the home of the Nath yoga tradition, and to have been associated with asceticism ; they were later adopted by the Nath yogins. The Goraksha Sataka (10–11th century), or Goraksha Paddhathi , an early hatha yogic text, describes

1702-555: The Ramayana . Surya Namaskar in its modern form was created by the Raja of Aundh , Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi ; K. Pattabhi Jois defined the variant forms Surya Namaskar A and B for Ashtanga Yoga, possibly derived from Krishnamacharya. Surya Namaskar can be seen as "a modern, physical culture -oriented rendition" of the simple ancient practice of prostrating oneself to the sun. In 1966, Iyengar's classic Light on Yoga

1776-594: The Buddha , Jain tirthankaras , and Shiva in lotus position and other meditation seats, and in the "royal ease" position, lalitasana . With the popularity of yoga as exercise, asanas feature commonly in novels and films , and sometimes also in advertising . The central figure in the Pashupati seal from the Indus Valley civilization of c.  2500 BC was identified by Sir John Marshall in 1931 as

1850-496: The "tantric manipulation of the subtle body", and at a more physical level, destroying poisons. Singleton describes Hatha Yoga's purpose as "the transmutation of the human body into a vessel immune from mortal decay", citing the Gheranda Samhita 's metaphor of an earthenware pot that requires the fire of yoga to make it serviceable. Mallinson and Singleton note that the purposes of asana practice were, until around

1924-690: The 1930s, creating "a marriage of hatha yoga, wrestling exercises, and modern Western gymnastic movement, and unlike anything seen before in the yoga tradition." Sjoman argues that Krishnamacharya drew on the Vyayama Dipika gymnastic exercise manual to create the Mysore Palace system of yoga. Singleton argues that Krishnamacharya was familiar with the gymnastics culture of his time, which was influenced by Scandinavian gymnastics; his experimentation with asanas and innovative use of gymnastic jumping between poses may well explain, Singleton suggests,

1998-417: The 19th century, is from Sanskrit : आसन āsana "sitting down" (from आस् ās "to sit down"), a sitting posture, a meditation seat. The eight limbs are, in order, the yamas (codes of social conduct), niyamas (self-observances), asanas (postures), pranayama (breath work), pratyahara (sense withdrawal or non-attachment), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (realization of

2072-521: The 20th century, Indian nationalism favoured physical culture in response to colonialism . In that environment, pioneers such as Yogendra , Kuvalayananda , and Krishnamacharya taught a new system of asanas (incorporating systems of exercise as well as traditional hatha yoga). Among Krishnamacharya's pupils were influential Indian yoga teachers including Pattabhi Jois , founder of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga , and B.K.S. Iyengar , founder of Iyengar yoga . Together they described hundreds more asanas, revived

2146-575: The Anusara School of Hatha Yoga, formed in 2012, after John Friend and Anusara Inc. were embroiled in a scandal that resulted in Friend's stepping down from his role in Anusara. Friend transferred all rights to the name “Anusara” to the newly formed school and dissolved Anusara, Inc. The Anusara School of Hatha Yoga (ASHY) became a non-profit corporation in 2017 and is recognized as a 501(c)(3) by

2220-834: The British, a belief reinforced by then-current ideas of Lamarckism and eugenics . This culture was taken up from the 1880s to the early 20th century by Indian nationalists such as Tiruka , who taught exercises and unarmed combat techniques under the guise of yoga. Meanwhile, proponents of Indian physical culture like K. V. Iyer consciously combined "hata yoga" [ sic ] with bodybuilding in his Bangalore gymnasium. Singleton notes that poses close to Parighasana , Parsvottanasana , Navasana and others were described in Niels Bukh 's 1924 Danish text Grundgymnastik eller primitiv gymnastik (known in English as Primary Gymnastics ). These in turn were derived from

2294-709: The Iyengar Yoga Institute (IYI) in Maida Vale , London, in 1983. The old IYI building was replaced in 1994, and the new one was officially opened by Iyengar in person in 1997. Iyengar Yoga had however been taught in London before that, in evening classes run by the Inner London Education Authority starting in 1968. From the start, Iyengar personally assessed the quality of the teaching every year. The first Iyengar Yoga Institute in America

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2368-461: The Mysore Palace, as did Pattabhi Jois ; Iyengar Yoga and Jois's Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga are thus branches of the same yoga lineage, sharing many of the same asanas. Iyengar began teaching yoga as exercise gradually, starting with individual pupils such as the violinist Yehudi Menuhin , whom he met in 1952; Menuhin's fame helped to propel Iyengar Yoga as a brand in the Western world. A landmark

2442-574: The Pashupati seal and no obvious way of deciding between these, there is no reliable evidence that it is actually a yoga pose that is depicted in the seal. Asanas originated in India. In his Yoga Sutras , Patanjali (c. 2nd to 4th century CE) describes asana practice as the third of the eight limbs ( Sanskrit : अष्टाङ्ग, aṣṭāṅga , from अष्ट् aṣṭ , eight, and अङ्ग aṅga , limb) of classical, or raja yoga . The word asana, in use in English since

2516-756: The Pune institute. In 2019, the Iyengar National Association of the United States decertified one of its most senior teachers, Manouso Manos, for repeated sexual assaults, and updated its ethics standards based on the Yamas and Niyamas in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as a result. Iyengar Yoga (like Iyengar's Light on Yoga ) has the following invocation to Patanjali : The yoga scholar Suzanne Newcombe notes that despite

2590-412: The Sanskrit, and at least 11 are merely mentioned without any description, their appearance known from other texts. The Gheranda Samhita (late 17th century) again asserts that Shiva taught 84 lakh of asanas, out of which 84 are preeminent, and "32 are useful in the world of mortals." The yoga teacher and scholar Mark Singleton notes from study of the primary texts that "asana was rarely, if ever,

2664-562: The United States Internal Revenue Service. It has over 800 teachers worldwide. John Friend (born May 30, 1959) started practicing yoga postures as shown in the book Integral Yoga Hatha by Swami Satchidananda at age 13. He lived in Ohio until 19 years old, and then moved to Texas . Before becoming a yoga teacher, Friend worked as a financial analyst until he quit in 1986 to teach yoga full-time. In

2738-577: The West, yoga is practiced mainly by women. For example, in Britain in the 1970s, women formed between 70 and 90 percent of most yoga classes, as well as most of the yoga teachers. It has been suggested that yoga was seen as a support for women in the face of male-dominated medicine, offering an alternative approach for chronic medical conditions, as well as to beauty and ageing, and it offered a way of meeting other women. Singleton notes that women in yoga are in

2812-403: The asanas, Iyengar states, dualities like gain and loss, or fame and shame disappear. Sjoman argues that the concept of stretching in yoga can be looked at through one of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras , 2.47, which says that [asanas are achieved] by loosening ( śaithilya ) the effort ( prayatna ) and meditating on the endless ( ananta ). Sjoman points out that this physical loosening is to do with

2886-517: The asanas. The graph shows the rapid growth in number of asanas in the 20th century. The asanas of hatha yoga originally had a spiritual purpose within Hinduism , the attainment of samadhi , a state of meditative consciousness. The scholar of religion Andrea Jain notes that medieval Hatha Yoga was shared among yoga traditions, from Shaivite Naths to Vaishnavas, Jains and Sufis ; in her view, its aims too varied, including spiritual goals involving

2960-523: The benefits of a wider variety of asanas via fully "supported" methods requiring less muscular effort. Yoga Journal notes that in contrast to other styles, beginners in Iyengar Yoga are introduced early on to standing poses (such as Trikonasana and Virabhadrasana ), executed with careful attention to detail. For example, in Trikonasana, the feet are often jumped apart to a wide stance,

3034-492: The body to a "fine physique which is strong and elastic without being muscle-bound". But, Iyengar states, their real importance is the way they train the mind, "conquer[ing]" the body and making it "a fit vehicle for the spirit". Iyengar saw it as significant that asanas are named after plants, insects, fish and amphibians, reptiles, birds, and quadrupeds; as well as "legendary heroes", sages, and avatars of Hindu gods, in his view "illustrating spiritual evolution". For instance,

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3108-445: The body's position (like Utthita Parsvakonasana , "Extended Side Angle Pose"); these are, he suggests, the ones "that have been developed later". A name following this pattern is Shatkonasana, "Six Triangles Pose", described in 2015. Mittra illustrated 908 poses and variations in his 1984 Master Yoga Chart , and many more have been created since then. The number of asanas has thus grown increasingly rapidly with time, as summarised in

3182-603: The changes cannot be undone, whether people use it "as a holier-than-thou tool, as a tactic to balance out excessive drug use, or practised similarly to its origins with the spirituality that comes with it". From a Hindu perspective, the practice of asanas in the Western world as physical exercise is sometimes seen as yoga that has lost its way. In 2012, the Hindu American Foundation ran a "Take Back Yoga" campaign to emphasise yoga's roots in Hinduism. In

3256-604: The digestive fire, slims the belly and gives good health"; (HYP 1.29) Shavasana "takes away fatigue and relaxes the mind"; (HYP 1.32) Siddhasana "bursts open the door to liberation"; (HYP 1.35) while Padmasana "destroys all diseases" (HYP 1.47) and if done together with retention of the breath in pranayama confers liberation. (HYP 1.44–49) These claims lie within a tradition across all forms of yoga that practitioners can gain supernatural powers , but with ambivalence about their usefulness, since they may obstruct progress towards liberation. Hemachandra 's Yogashastra (1.8–9) lists

3330-575: The effects of the set of asanas on 25 healthy women who were between 35 and 37 weeks pregnant. The authors noted that apart from their experimental findings, they had been unable to find any scientific evidence that supported the previously published concerns, and that on the contrary there was evidence including from systematic review that yoga was suitable for pregnant women, with a variety of possible benefits. Iyengar yoga Iyengar Yoga , named after and developed by B. K. S. Iyengar , and described in his bestselling 1966 book Light on Yoga ,

3404-480: The following medical conditions: asthma ; back injury ; carpal tunnel syndrome ; diarrhoea ; headache ; heart problems ; high blood pressure ; insomnia ; knee injury ; low blood pressure ; menstruation ; neck injury ; pregnancy ; and shoulder injury . The practice of asanas has sometimes been advised against during pregnancy , but that advice has been contested by a 2015 study which found no ill-effects from any of 26 asanas investigated. The study examined

3478-490: The forward foot is turned out, and the centre of the forward heel is exactly aligned with the centre of the arch of the other foot. The New York Times writes that Iyengar Yoga is distinctive in its diversity of sequencing and choice of asanas. This, suggests Carrie Owerko, an Iyengar Yoga teacher, helps reduce injury. Owerko states that the style emphasises the inversion poses , headstand ( Sirsasana ) and shoulderstand ( Sarvangasana ), more than other styles, "insist[ing] on

3552-673: The fourteenth century, firstly to form a stable platform for pranayama, mantra repetition ( japa ), and meditation, practices that in turn had spiritual goals; and secondly to stop the accumulation of karma and instead acquire ascetic power, tapas , something that conferred " supernatural abilities ". Hatha Yoga added the ability to cure diseases to this list. Not all Hindu scriptures agreed that asanas were beneficial. The 10th century Garuda Purana stated that "the techniques of posture do not promote yoga. Though called essentials, they all retard one's progress," while early yogis often practised extreme austerities (tapas) to overcome what they saw as

3626-650: The introductory certificate, with additional assessments for intermediate and senior levels of certification, potentially entailing a decade or more of training. The system was replaced from 2019, with a requirement for at least six years of practice, including three years of mentoring, before assessment. Practitioners in the West can attend the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Institute (RIMYI) in Pune , Maharashtra, India once they have practised yoga for eight years. A "Protocol" governs attendance at

3700-499: The lion pose, Simhasana , recalls the myth of Narasimha , half man, half lion, and an avatar of Vishnu , as told in the Bhagavata Purana . The message is, Iyengar explains, that while performing asanas, the yogi takes the form of different creatures, from the lowest to the highest , not despising any "for he knows that throughout the whole gamut of creation ... there breathes the same Universal Spirit." Through mastery of

3774-428: The magical powers, which include healing, the destruction of poisons, the ability to become as small as an atom or to go wherever one wishes, invisibility, and shape-shifting. The asanas have been popularised in the Western world by claims about their health benefits, attained not by medieval hatha yoga magic but by the physical and psychological effects of exercise and stretching on the body. The history of such claims

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3848-482: The mid-20th century, asanas have been used, especially in the Western world , as physical exercise . In this context, their "overtly Hindu" purpose is masked but its "ecstatic ... transcendent ... possibly subversive" elements remain. That context has led to a division of opinion among Christians , some asserting that it is acceptable as long as they are aware of yoga's origins, others stating that hatha yoga's purpose

3922-435: The mind's letting go of restrictions, allowing the natural state of "unhindered perfect balance" to emerge; he notes that one can only relax through effort, "as only a muscle that is worked is able to relax (that is, there is a distinction between dormancy and relaxation)." Thus asanas had a spiritual purpose, serving to explore the conscious and unconscious mind. Heinz Grill considers the soul in our human existence to be

3996-422: The obstacle of the body in the way of liberation. The yoga scholar and practitioner Theos Bernard , in his 1944 Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personal Experience , stated that he was "prescribed ... a group of asanas calculated to bring a rich supply of blood to the brain and to various parts of the spinal cord .. [and] a series of reconditioning asanas to stretch, bend, and twist the spinal cord" followed when he

4070-470: The origin of the 84 classic asanas said to have been revealed by the Hindu deity Lord Shiva . Observing that there are as many postures as there are beings and asserting that there are 84 lakh or 8,400,000 species in all, the text states that Lord Shiva fashioned an asana for each lakh, thus giving 84 in all, although it mentions and describes only two in detail: Siddhasana and Padmasana . The number 84

4144-506: The physical practice of asanas. It became a bestseller, selling three million copies, and was translated into some 17 languages. In 1984, Dharma Mittra compiled a list of about 1,300 asanas and their variations, derived from ancient and modern sources, illustrating them with photographs of himself in each posture; the Dharma Yoga website suggests that he created some 300 of these. The asanas have been created at different times,

4218-566: The popularity of yoga and brought it to the Western world. In 1960, Vishnudevananda Saraswati , in the Sivananda yoga school, published a compilation of sixty-six basic postures and 136 variations of those postures in The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga . In 1966, Iyengar published Light on Yoga : Yoga Dipika , illustrated with some 600 photographs of Iyengar demonstrating around 200 asanas; it systematised

4292-637: The popularity of yoga, and brought it to the Western world. Many more asanas have been devised since Iyengar's 1966 Light on Yoga which described some 200 asanas. Hundreds more were illustrated by Dharma Mittra . Asanas were claimed to provide both spiritual and physical benefits in medieval hatha yoga texts. More recently, studies have provided evidence that they improve flexibility, strength, and balance; to reduce stress and conditions related to it; and specifically to alleviate some diseases such as asthma and diabetes. Asanas have appeared in culture for many centuries. Religious Indian art depicts figures of

4366-572: The pose. Props including belts, blocks and blankets are freely used to assist students in correct working in the asanas. The New Yorker writes that Iyengar Yoga is characterized by great attention to detail and precise focus on body alignment. Iyengar pioneered the use of "props" such as cushions, benches, blocks, straps and sand bags, which function as aids allowing beginners to experience asanas more easily and fully than might otherwise be possible without several years of practice. Props also allow elderly, injured, tired or ill students to experience

4440-493: The presence of known contraindications. A 2014 study indicated that different asanas activated particular groups of muscles, varying with the skill of the practitioners, from beginner to instructor. The eleven asanas in the Surya Namaskar sequences A and B (of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga ) were performed by beginners, advanced practitioners and instructors. The activation of 14 groups of muscles was measured with electrodes on

4514-426: The primary feature of the significant yoga traditions in India." The scholar Norman Sjoman comments that a continuous tradition running all the way back to the medieval yoga texts cannot be traced, either in the practice of asanas or in a history of scholarship. From the 1850s onwards, a culture of physical exercise developed in India to counter the colonial stereotype of supposed "degeneracy" of Indians compared to

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4588-634: The resemblances between modern standing asanas and Scandinavian gymnastics. Krishnamacharya, known as the father of modern yoga, had among his pupils people who became influential yoga teachers themselves: the Russian Eugenie V. Peterson, known as Indra Devi ; Pattabhi Jois , who founded Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in 1948; B.K.S. Iyengar , his brother-in-law, who founded Iyengar Yoga ; T.K.V. Desikachar , his son, who continued his Viniyoga tradition; Srivatsa Ramaswami ; and A. G. Mohan , co-founder of Svastha Yoga & Ayurveda. Together they revived

4662-577: The scholar Joseph Alter a "profound" effect on the evolution of yoga. In 1925, Paramahansa Yogananda , having moved from India to America, set up the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles, and taught yoga, including asanas, breathing, chanting and meditation, to tens of thousands of Americans, as described in his 1946 Autobiography of a Yogi . Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888–1989) studied under Kuvalayananda in

4736-500: The skin over the muscles. Among the findings, beginners used pectoral muscles more than instructors, whereas instructors used deltoid muscles more than other practitioners, as well as the vastus medialis (which stabilises the knee). The yoga instructor Grace Bullock writes that such patterns of activation suggest that asana practice increases awareness of the body and the patterns in which muscles are engaged, making exercise more beneficial and safer. Medieval hatha yoga texts make

4810-434: The table. Sjoman notes that the names of asanas have been used "promiscuous[ly]", in a tradition of "amalgamation and borrowing" over the centuries, making their history difficult to trace. The presence of matching names is not proof of continuity, since the same name may mean a different pose, and a pose may have been known by multiple names at different times. The estimates here are therefore based on actual descriptions of

4884-416: The tradition of Mollie Bagot Stack 's 1930 League of Health and Beauty, influenced by Stack's visit to India in 1912 when she learnt some asanas, and in turn of Genevieve Stebbins 's Harmonic Gymnastics. Asanas have, or are claimed to have, multiple effects on the body, both beneficial and harmful. These include the conscious usage of groups of muscles, effects on health, and possible injury especially in

4958-452: The true Self or Atman , and unity with Brahman , ultimate reality). Asanas, along with the breathing exercises of pranayama , are the physical movements of hatha yoga and of modern yoga . Patanjali describes asanas as a "steady and comfortable posture", referring to the seated postures used for pranayama and for meditation , where meditation is the path to samadhi, transpersonal self-realization. The Yoga Sutras do not mention

5032-700: The years following he traveled to California to study with Judith Lasater, and began to focus on Iyengar yoga. Friend was a popular teacher in the Iyengar style and, during the 1990s, served on the board of the Iyengar Yoga Organization for four years before leaving to found Anusara, Inc. in 1997. Since 2012, Friend has had no role in Anusara nor the training and certifying of teachers in the Anusara School of Hatha Yoga. In February 2012 an anonymous author published online accusations against Friend. The allegations accused Friend of being associated with

5106-509: The yoga scholar Elliott Goldberg have described it as the bible of modern yoga ; the book has sold over three million copies, and has been translated into at least 23 languages. Iyengar Yoga became an institution with the 1975 founding of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, named in memory of his wife. A further major step was the founding of the first of many institutes abroad,

5180-407: Was able to describe some 200 asanas, consisting of about 50 main poses with their variations. Sjoman observes that whereas many traditional asanas are named for objects (like Vrikshasana , tree pose), legendary figures (like Matsyendrasana , the sage Matsyendra 's pose), or animals (like Kurmasana , tortoise pose), "an overwhelming eighty-three" of Iyengar's asanas have names that simply describe

5254-746: Was founded in San Francisco in 1976 by Mary Dunn , Judith Lasater , and others; Iyengar visited the area that year. Further Iyengar Yoga Institutes have been opened in 1984 in Los Angeles, and in 1987 in New York. National Iyengar Yoga Associations have been created in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and New Zealand. Iyengar Yoga

5328-571: Was reviewed by William J. Broad in his 2012 book The Science of Yoga . Broad argues that while the health claims for yoga began as Hindu nationalist posturing, it turns out that there is ironically "a wealth of real benefits". Physically, the practice of asanas has been claimed to improve flexibility, strength, and balance; to alleviate stress and anxiety, and to reduce the symptoms of lower back pain . Claims have been made about beneficial effects on specific conditions such as asthma , chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , and diabetes . There

5402-602: Was strong enough by the meditation asanas. Bernard named the purpose of Hatha Yoga as "to gain control of the breath" to enable pranayama to work, something that in his view required thorough use of the six purifications . Asanas work in different ways from conventional physical exercises, according to Satyananda Saraswati "placing the physical body in positions that cultivate awareness, relaxation and concentration". Leslie Kaminoff writes in Yoga Anatomy that from one point of view, "all of asana practice can be viewed as

5476-499: Was the publication of Iyengar's bestselling book Light on Yoga in 1966, describing over 200 asanas in "unprecedented" detail. The yoga scholar Andrea Jain called the book "arguably the most significant event in the process of elaborating the [Iyengar Yoga] brand". Jain and others have noted that the book's biomedical claims , such as of toning up various organs of the body, were attractive to its audience but were stated directly without any supporting evidence. Authorities such as

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