81-409: Sivananda Yoga is a spiritual yoga system founded by Vishnudevananda ; it includes the use of asanas (yoga postures) but is not limited to them as in systems of yoga as exercise . He named this system, as well as the international Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres organization responsible for propagating its teachings, after his guru, Sivananda with the mission 'to spread the teachings of yoga and
162-653: A Romanian yoga instructor, born as Narcis Tarcău , who is the founder and leader of the Agama Yoga center on the island of Koh Pha Ngan in Thailand was accused by at least 14 yoga students of sexual assault and rape. Yoga Journal accused K. Pattabhi Jois , founder of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga , of making different adjustments of yoga postures for his female students than for men. YogaDork stated that Jois touched women inappropriately, as did Yoga Journal , The Walrus magazine, and YogaCity NYC . Yoga to
243-449: A complaint about such treatment, and the equality and diversity policy states that disciplinary action will be taken if the policy is violated. A particular issue is a yoga teacher's use of touch to adjust a client in a pose. This can present ethical challenges, and has long been controversial. In the specific context of trauma-sensitive yoga , touch is explicitly excluded, as it could remind clients of their traumas. In other contexts,
324-631: A composite model in which a pre-Aryan yoga prototype existed in the pre-Vedic period and was refined during the Vedic period. According to Gavin D. Flood, the Upanishads differ fundamentally from the Vedic ritual tradition and indicate non-Vedic influences. However, the traditions may be connected: [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
405-707: A group of twelve āsanas as basic. Emphasis is on mastering these twelve basic āsanas first, from which variations are then added to further deepen into the practice. The twelve asanas in the Sivananda Yoga system follow a precise order, allowing for a systematic balanced engagement of every major part of the body - with the primary intention being to allow the prana, or life force energy, to circulate more freely. A session of hatha yoga typically starts with practitioners resting in śavāsana , continuing onto prāṇāyāma (breathing exercises) kapalabhati and anuloma viloma , followed by 6-8 rounds of sūrya namaskār , before
486-519: A guru and his or her spiritual wares is not necessarily quantitatively or qualitatively different than surrender to a brand", both being linked to a person such as a guru, business leader, or "simply a celebrity". The yoga teacher Matthew Remski , who has written a book on the abuse and cult dynamics in Jois's Ashtanga yoga, suggests in an interview with the Mindful Yoga teacher Cyndi Lee that
567-416: A person's sexual experiences. The Yoga Alliance notes that it does not have the powers or resources of a country's law enforcement agencies, and encourages people to make use of those systems. Violations of the policy can be punished by actions from education incorrect conduct up to "revocation of Yoga Alliance membership and credentials". The British Wheel of Yoga 's 'Equality and Diversity Policy' contains
648-538: A section on harassment , which describes the types of conduct that the British Wheel of Yoga, as the governing body of yoga in Britain, considers inappropriate for yoga teachers. It defines harassment as "any form of unwanted or unwelcome behaviour that violates people’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment." A complaints procedure enables any person to raise
729-578: A sequential growth from an Aryan genesis"; traditional Hinduism regards the Vedas as the source of all spiritual knowledge. Edwin Bryant wrote that authors who support Indigenous Aryanism also tend to support the linear model. The twentieth-century scholars Karel Werner , Thomas McEvilley , and Mircea Eliade believe that the central figure of the Pashupati seal is in a Mulabandhasana posture, and
810-600: A seven-year-old" child, although no finding was made against Satyananda in the Commission's final report. Shankarananda was reported to have had "tantric" sex with some 40 of his yoga school pupils. The Guardian records that John Battista, an Agni Yoga guru in New York State, was charged with sexually abusing four of his female followers in 1993. Harbhajan Singh Khalsa (Yogi Bhajan) has been posthumously accused of sexual misconduct; an investigation found
891-481: A specific tradition: According to Knut A. Jacobsen , yoga has five principal meanings: David Gordon White writes that yoga's core principles were more or less in place in the 5th century CE, and variations of the principles developed over time: According to White, the last principle relates to legendary goals of yoga practice; it differs from yoga's practical goals in South Asian thought and practice since
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#1732794102584972-682: Is available in the Vedas themselves is scanty and indirect. Nevertheless the indirect evidence is strong enough not to allow any doubt about the existence of spiritually highly advanced wanderers. According to Whicher (1998), scholarship frequently fails to see the connection between the contemplative practices of the rishis and later yoga practices: "The proto-Yoga of the Vedic rishis is an early form of sacrificial mysticism and contains many elements characteristic of later Yoga that include: concentration, meditative observation, ascetic forms of practice ( tapas ), breath control practiced in conjunction with
1053-551: Is considered the correct etymology by traditional commentators. In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasa (who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras ) says that yoga means samadhi (concentration). Larson notes that in the Vyāsa Bhāsy the term "samadhi" refers to "all levels of mental life" (sārvabhauma), that is, "all possible states of awareness, whether ordinary or extraordinary." A person who practices yoga, or follows
1134-411: Is difficult to distinguish between the early Jain school and elements derived from other schools. Most of the other contemporary yoga systems alluded to in the Upanishads and some Buddhist texts have been lost. The Upanishads, composed in the late Vedic period , contain the first references to practices recognizable as classical yoga. The first known appearance of the word "yoga" in the modern sense
1215-500: Is in the Katha Upanishad (probably composed between the fifth and third centuries BCE), where it is defined as steady control of the senses which – with cessation of mental activity – leads to a supreme state. The Katha Upanishad integrates the monism of the early Upanishads with concepts of samkhya and yoga. It defines levels of existence by their proximity to one's innermost being . Yoga
1296-556: Is the exploitation of the position of trust occupied by a master of any branch of yoga for personal sexual pleasure. Allegations of such abuse have been made against modern yoga gurus such as Bikram Choudhury , Kausthub Desikachar , Yogi Bhajan , Amrit Desai , and K. Pattabhi Jois . There have been some criminal convictions and lawsuits for civil damages . The Indian Express , listing allegations of sexual abuse against multiple yoga gurus ( Bikram Choudhury , creator of Bikram Yoga ; Kausthub Desikachar , grandson of
1377-628: Is the yoga system of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre organization and is based on Sivananda's teachings to synthesize the principles of the four paths of yoga ( Yoga of Synthesis ) along with the five points of yoga compiled by Vishnudevananda. The four classical paths of yoga consist of Karma Yoga , Bhakti Yoga , Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga . These are Proper Exercise ( āsana ), Proper Breathing ( prāṇāyāma ), Proper Relaxation ( śavāsana ), Proper Diet and Positive Thinking ( vedānta ) and Meditation ( dhyāna ). Starting in 2019,
1458-547: Is upright, the breath is restrained and the mind is meditatively focused, preferably in a cave or a place that is simple and quiet. The Maitrayaniya Upanishad , probably composed later than the Katha and Shvetashvatara Upanishads but before the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , mentions a sixfold yoga method: breath control, introspective withdrawal of the senses, meditation ( dhyana ), mental concentration , logic and reasoning , and spiritual union . In addition to discussions in
1539-472: Is viewed as a process of interiorization, or ascent of consciousness. The upanishad is the earliest literary work which highlights the fundamentals of yoga. According to White, 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
1620-673: The Satipatthana Sutta (the four foundations of mindfulness sutta) and the Anapanasati Sutta (the mindfulness of breathing sutta). The chronology of these yoga-related early Buddhist texts, like the ancient Hindu texts, is unclear. Early Buddhist sources such as the Majjhima Nikāya mention meditation; the Aṅguttara Nikāya describes jhāyins (meditators) who resemble early Hindu descriptions of muni ,
1701-762: The Atharvaveda and in the Brahmanas (the second layer of the Vedas, composed c. 1000–800 BCE). According to Flood, "The Samhitas [the mantras of the Vedas] contain some references ... to ascetics, namely the Munis or Keśins and the Vratyas." Werner wrote in 1977 that the Rigveda does not describe yoga, and there is little evidence of practices. The earliest description of "an outsider who does not belong to
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#17327941025841782-703: The Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy ; and Swami Akhandananda at one of Swami Satyananda 's ashrams, noting "the deafening silence in the US yoga community [about sexual abuse by yoga gurus] and widespread failure to acknowledge these allegations." The Daily Telegraph , reporting on the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse , stated that Swami Satyananda "engaged in 'aggressive, violent sex' with numerous women and may have raped
1863-516: The Hindu , Jain , and Buddhist traditions. Yoga may have pre- Vedic origins, 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. Yoga-like practices are mentioned in the Rigveda and a number of early Upanishads , but systematic yoga concepts emerge during
1944-471: The Katha Upanishad , dated to the fifth to first centuries BCE. Systematic yoga concepts begin to emerge in texts dating to c. 500–200 BCE, such as the early Buddhist texts , the middle Upanishads, and the Mahabharata 's Bhagavad Gita and Shanti Parva . According to Geoffrey Samuel , the "best evidence to date" suggests that yogic practices "developed in the same ascetic circles as
2025-565: The Mahabharata contains no uniform yogic goal, the separation of self from matter and perception of Brahman everywhere are described as goals of yoga. Samkhya and yoga are conflated , and some verses describe them as identical. Mokshadharma also describes an early practice of elemental meditation. The Mahabharata defines the purpose of yoga as uniting the individual ātman with the universal Brahman pervading all things. Sexual abuse by yoga gurus Sexual abuse by yoga gurus
2106-408: The individualisation of the religious (finding "one's own truth") that they call "spiritual empiricism", also militate against respecting gurus, or indeed having one at all; the prevailing attitude is, they suggest, summed up in the title of the psychiatrist Anthony Storr 's 1997 study of gurus, Feet of Clay . In India, too, the great wealth of some celebrity gurus has attracted suspicion, just as in
2187-442: The jnana yoga of Vedanta . While yoga is often conflated with the "classical yoga" of Patanjali's yoga sutras, Karen O'Brien-Kop notes that "classical yoga" is informed by, and includes, Buddhist yoga. Regarding Buddhist yoga, James Buswell in his Encyclopedia of Buddhism treats yoga in his entry on meditation, stating that the aim of meditation is to attain samadhi, which serves as the foundation for vipasyana , "discerning
2268-429: The modern guru-follower relationship lacks the checks and balances of traditional systems: a yoga master in a local monastery has a reputation, as he and his family are known personally. Further, he suggests, westerners attracted by an Indian wisdom tradition have no effective tools to use to judge whether a supposed guru is competent, as the whole tradition is unfamiliar to them. The psychotherapist Josna Pankhania and
2349-430: The "father of modern yoga" Krishnamacharya ; and Swami Satchidananda ), noted that several other gurus had been similarly accused, but released "without a befitting punishment". Other sources listed those same gurus, and named others including John Friend , Satya Sai Baba ; Amrit Desai , creator of Kripalu Yoga ; Muktananda , founder of Siddha Yoga ; Swami Shyam , a Vedic meditation guru; Swami Rama , founder of
2430-417: The 2010s, and another list of those of an earlier generation in the 20th century. The yoga scholar Andrea Jain cites what Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad wrote in their 1994 book The Guru Papers , that the guru-disciple relationship is dangerous because it embodies "the seductions, predictable patterns, and corruptions contained in any essentially authoritarian form". Jain however suggests that "surrender to
2511-507: The Brahminic establishment" is found in the Keśin hymn 10.136, the Rigveda 's youngest book, which was codified around 1000 BCE. Werner wrote that there were ... individuals who were active outside the trend of Vedic mythological creativity and the Brahminic religious orthodoxy and therefore little evidence of their existence, practices and achievements has survived. And such evidence as
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2592-547: The Buddha borrowed from the śramaṇa tradition. The Pāli Canon contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate to control hunger or the mind, depending on the passage. There is no mention of the tongue inserted into the nasopharynx , as in khecarī mudrā . The Buddha used a posture in which pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to modern postures used to evoke Kundalini . Suttas which discuss yogic practice include
2673-508: The Kesin and meditating ascetics, but the meditation practices are not called "yoga" in these texts. The earliest known discussions of yoga in Buddhist literature, as understood in a modern context, are from the later Buddhist Yogācāra and Theravada schools. Jain meditation is a yoga system which predated the Buddhist school. Since Jain sources are later than Buddhist ones, however, it
2754-550: The People , an American chain of yoga studios, was closed in 2020 following "hundreds" of accusations of abuse. There have been some criminal convictions and lawsuits for civil damages . For example, a guru, Asaram Bapu , who has some 400 ashrams around the world, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018 for rape by a court in Jodhpur , and at least six women have brought sexual assault lawsuits against Choudhury. In 2016 he
2835-683: The Principal Upanishads, the twenty Yoga Upanishads and related texts (such as Yoga Vasistha , composed between the sixth and 14th centuries CE) discuss yoga methods. Alexander the Great reached India in the 4th century BCE. In addition to his army, he brought Greek academics who wrote memoirs about its geography, people, and customs. One of Alexander's companions was Onesicritus (quoted in Book 15, Sections 63–65 by Strabo in his Geography ), who describes yogis. Onesicritus says that
2916-471: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre since its being established in 1959 until shortly before his death in 1993, when he assigned the responsibility of spreading the Sivananda Yoga teachings to an executive board of loyal disciples. The executive board now includes eight yoga acharyas, a term that means 'spiritual teacher'. Like many spiritual teachers, these acharyas are referred to by their spiritual names given to them as part of this particular tradition rather than
2997-501: The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres have dealt with widespread allegations of sexual abuse and rape by its founder Vishnudevananda and at least one other high-level leader of the organization. Sivananda Yoga, and the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre organization that propagates its teachings, is run on the principles of selfless service, or karma yoga. The core belief in the need for volunteer workers propagated by
3078-433: The Sivananda Yoga tradition is that serving others is an essential practice to open the heart, as it diminishes selfishness and egoism, and brings practitioners closer to understanding the unity underlying all of creation. This practice of emphasizing the importance of selfless service was inherited from the teachings on karma yoga by Swami Sivananda. Swami Vishnudevananda was the head of all operations of Sivananda Yoga and
3159-758: The Upanishads (composed during the late Vedic period ). Alexander Wynne agrees that formless, elemental meditation might have originated in the Upanishadic tradition. An early reference to meditation is made in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 900 BCE), one of the Principal Upanishads . The Chandogya Upanishad (c. 800–700 BCE) describes the five vital energies ( prana ), and concepts of later yoga traditions (such as blood vessels and an internal sound) are also described in this upanishad. The practice of pranayama (focusing on
3240-606: The West. The researcher Amanda Lucia, writing in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion , analyses how the pupil's desire to be close to the guru and to "sacralize" bodily contact with the guru, along with authoritarian relationships between guru and pupils, facilitate sexual abuse by creating suitable social situations. She argues that instead of seeking causes in the personality or psychology of individual gurus,
3321-458: The Western world often entails a modern form of Hatha yoga and a posture-based physical fitness, stress-relief and relaxation technique , consisting largely of asanas ; this differs from traditional yoga, which focuses on meditation and release from worldly attachments. It was introduced by gurus from India after the success of Swami Vivekananda 's adaptation of yoga without asanas in
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3402-462: The allegations "more likely than not" to be true. The Sivananda Yoga organisation has investigated allegations of abuse and rape made against its former leader Vishnudevananda . In 2002, several students of the yoga teacher Rodney Yee stated that they had been having sexual relations with Yee for some time; Yee was sued for breach of contract, the claim alleging multiple sexual affairs with his students. In 2018 Swami Vivekananda Saraswati ,
3483-465: The analysis, understanding and cultivation of those altered states of awareness that lead one to the experience of spiritual liberation." Another classic understanding sees yoga as union or connection with the highest Self ( paramatman ), Brahman, or God, a "union, a linking of the individual to the divine." This definition is based on the devotionalism ( bhakti ) of the Bhagavad Gita, and
3564-598: The beginning of the Common Era in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophical schools. James Mallinson disagrees with the inclusion of supernatural accomplishments, and suggests that such fringe practices are far removed from the mainstream Yoga's goal as meditation-driven means to liberation in Indian religions. A classic definition of yoga comes from Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1.2 and 1.3, which define yoga as "the stilling of
3645-399: 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". According to Charles Rockwell Lanman , these principles are significant in the history of yoga's spiritual side and may reflect the roots of "undisturbed calmness" and "mindfulness through balance" in
3726-518: The breath) is mentioned in hymn 1.5.23 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of Chandogya Upanishad. The Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana (probably before the 6th c. BCE) teaches breath control and repetition of a mantra . The 6th-c. BCE Taittiriya Upanishad defines yoga as the mastery of body and senses. According to Flood, "[T]he actual term yoga first appears in
3807-419: The broad array of definitions and usage in Indian religions, scholars have warned that yoga is hard, if not impossible, to define exactly. David Gordon White notes that "'Yoga' has a wider range of meanings than nearly any other word in the entire Sanskrit lexicon." In its broadest sense, yoga is a generic term for techniques aimed at controlling body and mind and attaining a soteriological goal as specified by
3888-449: 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." More recently, Richard Gombrich and Geoffrey Samuel also argue that the śramaṇa movement originated in the non-Vedic eastern Ganges basin, specifically Greater Magadha . Thomas McEvilley favors
3969-554: The development of a number of yoga satellite traditions. It and other aspects of Indian philosophy came to the attention of the educated Western public during the mid-19th century. Heinrich Zimmer was an exponent of the synthesis model, arguing for non-Vedic eastern states of India . According to Zimmer, yoga is part of a non-Vedic system which includes the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy , Jainism and Buddhism : "[Jainism] does not derive from Brahman-Aryan sources, but reflects
4050-406: The development of modern yoga as exercise , which strongly emphasizes asanas. Another of Sivananda's pupils, Swami Satyananda Saraswati , founded the influential Bihar School of Yoga in 1964. Allegations of sexual abuse and rape of female followers by Vishnudevananda started to become public in 2019 when his assistant Julie Salter posted her testimony about sexual abuse committed against her by
4131-425: The early śramaṇa movements ( Buddhists , Jainas and Ajivikas ), probably in around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE." This occurred during India's second urbanisation period. According to Mallinson and Singleton, these traditions were the first to use mind-body techniques (known as Dhyāna and tapas ) but later described as yoga, to strive for liberation from the round of rebirth. Werner writes, "The Buddha
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#17327941025844212-464: The early Upanishads of the first half of the first millennium BCE, with expositions also appearing in Jain and Buddhist texts c. 500 – c. 200 BCE . Between 200 BCE and 500 CE, traditions of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophy were taking shape; teachings were collected as sutras , and a philosophical system of Patanjaliyogasastra began to emerge. The Middle Ages saw
4293-426: The early Vedic period and codified between c. 1200 and 900 BCE, contain references to yogic practices primarily related to ascetics outside, or on the fringes of Brahmanism . The earliest yoga-practices may have come from the Jain tradition at ca. 900 BCE. The Rigveda 's Nasadiya Sukta suggests an early Brahmanic contemplative tradition. Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned in
4374-488: The fifth and sixth centuries BCE in ancient India's ascetic and Śramaṇa movements, including Jainism and Buddhism. 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 . Hatha yoga texts began to emerge between the ninth and 11th centuries, originating in tantra . Yoga is practiced worldwide, but "yoga" in
4455-407: The first use of the root of the word "yoga" is in hymn 5.81.1 of the Rigveda , a dedication to the rising Sun-god, where it has been interpreted as "yoke" or "control". Pāṇini (4th c. BCE) wrote that the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots: yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau ("to concentrate"). In the context of the Yoga Sutras , the root yuj samādhau (to concentrate)
4536-438: The formation of the renunciate ideal. The ascetic traditions of the eastern Ganges plain are thought to drew from a common body of practices and philosophies, with proto-samkhya concepts of purusha and prakriti as a common denominator. According to Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, Hindu researchers have favoured a linear theory which attempts "to interpret the origin and early development of Indian contemplative practices as
4617-428: The four paths of yoga – that he summarized as follows: 'Serve. Love. Give. Purify. Meditate. Realize.' Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh followed Swami Vivekananda 's vision of yoga as having four parts, but asanas became more important in his teaching. In 1959, one of his main pupils, Swami Vishnudevananda , was sent to set to the West to continue these teachings. The Sivananda asana program had "a profound effect" on
4698-535: The given names provided to them at birth. Swami Sivananda established the first Sivananda Ashram in 1932. His mission was to serve humanity by sharing his deep understanding of yoga, and in 1936, he founded the Divine Life Society to publish and freely distribute spiritual material. To make the teachings more accessible, he developed the Yoga of Synthesis , a combination of the formal doctrines of yoga –
4779-433: The goddess Shakti . She quotes Tulasi Srinivas on how devotees physically longed for proximity to the guru Sai Baba , experiencing the sight of him in darshan as "like receiving an electric charge", and observes that "In modern global Hinduism, guru sex scandals have become so ubiquitous that they have become the foremost representation of the guru, certainly in the popular media", giving a long list of well-known gurus in
4860-474: The guru to Facebook on 10 December 2019. Since then, other followers have come forward with similar accounts. The Sivananda Yoga training system aims to teach an authentically Vedic system of yoga and believes that retaining the vitality of the body is a byproduct of the discipline and not the goal. The system philosophies are summarised in Vishnudevananda 's 5 principles: Sivananda Yoga identifies
4941-536: 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). The hymns in book two of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (another late-first-millennium BCE text) describe a procedure in which the body
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#17327941025845022-456: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. Vivekananda introduced the Yoga Sutras to the West, and they became prominent after the 20th-century success of hatha yoga. The Sanskrit noun योग yoga is derived from the root yuj ( युज् ) "to attach, join, harness, yoke". According to Jones and Ryan, "The word yoga is derived from the root yuj, “to yoke,” probably because the early practice concentrated on restraining or “yoking in”
5103-589: The later works of Patanjali and Buddhaghosa . Nirodhayoga (yoga of cessation), an early form of yoga, is described in the Mokshadharma section of the 12th chapter ( Shanti Parva ) of the third-century BCE Mahabharata . Nirodhayoga emphasizes progressive withdrawal from empirical consciousness, including thoughts and sensations, until purusha (self) is realized. Terms such as vichara (subtle reflection) and viveka (discrimination) similar to Patanjali's terminology are used, but not described. Although
5184-482: The message of world peace' which has since been refined to 'practice and teach the ancient yogic knowledge for health, peace, unity in diversity and self-realization.' Some other yoga organizations follow Sivananda's teachings, including the Divine Life Society , Bihar School of Yoga , Integral Yoga (Satchidananda) and the Chinmaya Mission , but use different names for their yoga systems. Sivananda Yoga
5265-465: The movements of the mind," and the recognition of Purusha, the witness-consciousness, as different from Prakriti, mind and matter. According to Larson, in the context of the Yoga Sutras , yoga has two meanings. The first meaning is yoga "as a general term to be translated as "disciplined meditation" that focuses on any of the many levels of ordinary awareness." In the second meaning yoga is "that specific system of thought (sāstra) that has for its focus
5346-464: The origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga has Vedic origins (as reflected in Vedic texts), and influenced Buddhism. This model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars. According to the synthesis model, yoga is a synthesis of indigenous, non-Vedic practices with Vedic elements. This model is favoured in Western scholarship. The earliest yoga-practices may have appeared in the Jain tradition at ca. 900 BCE. Speculations about yoga are documented in
5427-523: The performance of the sacrifice " may be precursors of yoga. "The ecstatic practice of enigmatic longhaired muni in Rgveda 10.136 and the ascetic performance of the vratya-s in the Atharvaveda outside of or on the fringe of the Brahmanical ritual order, have probably contributed more to the ascetic practices of yoga." According to Bryant, practices recognizable as classical yoga first appear in
5508-612: The real from the unreal," liberating insight into true reality. Buswell & Lopez state that "in Buddhism, [yoga is] a generic term for soteriological training or contemplative practice, including tantric practice." O'Brien-Kop further notes that "classical yoga" is not an independent category, but "was informed by the European colonialist project." There is no consensus on yoga's chronology or origins other than its development in ancient India. There are two broad theories explaining
5589-472: The recitation of sacred hymns during the ritual, the notion of self-sacrifice, impeccably accurate recitation of sacred words (prefiguring mantra-yoga ), mystical experience, and the engagement with a reality far greater than our psychological identity or the ego." Jacobsen wrote in 2018, "Bodily postures are closely related to the tradition of ( tapas ), ascetic practices in the Vedic tradition"; ascetic practices used by Vedic priests "in their preparations for
5670-564: The root cause is "structural aspects of guru-disciple physicality, haptic logics, which tend to produce these social effects." Lucia notes that one element of this is the guru's charisma as described by Max Weber , reinforced by Émile Durkheim 's concept of the way that the sacred is "generated, concentrated, and apotheosized." She observes further that the spiritual power of gurus is created by belief among their devotees that they embody "cosmic energetic forces", personified in Hinduism as
5751-508: The roots of yoga are in the Indus Valley civilisation . This is rejected by more recent scholarship; for example, Geoffrey Samuel , Andrea R. Jain, and Wendy Doniger describe the identification as speculative; the meaning of the figure will remain unknown until Harappan script is deciphered, and the roots of yoga cannot be linked to the IVC. The Vedas , the only texts preserved from
5832-457: The senses. Later the name was also seen as a metaphor for “linking” or “yoking to” God or the divine." Buswell and Lopez translate "yoga" as "'bond', 'restraint', and by extension "spiritual discipline." Flood refers to restraining the mind as yoking the mind. Yoga is a cognate of the English word "yoke," since both are derived from an Indo-European root. According to Mikel Burley ,
5913-470: The standard program of the 12 basic āsanas. A hatha yoga session averages between 90–120 minutes. Yoga Traditional Yoga ( / ˈ j oʊ ɡ ə / ; Sanskrit : योग , 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 attain various salvation goals, as practiced in
5994-550: The tradition as a long-term pupil or shishya apprenticed to their master or guru. The scholars of modern yoga Mark Singleton and Ellen Goldberg comment that the globalisation of yoga has radically changed the nature and role of the guru. The medieval relationship between guru and shishya was one-to-one, well-understood in traditional Hindu society, based on trust developed over many years of instruction. The modern situation may bring modern yoga gurus such as celebrity yoga teachers into close contact with strangers, anywhere in
6075-544: The types of conduct considered inappropriate for yoga teachers in America, and the procedures for reporting, reviewing, and investigating a grievance. It defines sexual misconduct as "Unwelcomed conduct of a sexual nature, whether physical or verbal in nature." It states that it is impossible to list all situations that might form such misconduct, but gives examples such as sexual advances with or without touching, sexual jokes, comments about sexual orientation, and questions about
6156-404: The world, in "milieus where the religious affiliations, function, status, and role of the guru may not be well understood" and accordingly, the old restraints are no longer in place. They note that the western world is distrustful of the guru system, not least because of the many guru scandals concerning money, sex, and power. Modern western political and social beliefs, such as egalitarianism and
6237-403: The yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment, is called a yogi ; a female yogi may also be known as a yogini . The term " yoga " has been defined in different ways in Indian philosophical and religious traditions. "Yoga is skill in action" (2.50) "Know that which is called yoga to be separation from contact with suffering" (6.23) Due to its complicated historical development, and
6318-589: The yoga teacher and researcher Jacqueline Hargreaves write that "shocking levels of abuse were deeply entrenched" in Satyananda's Mangrove Mountain ashram in Australia in the 1970s. In their view, this was protected by a " culture of silence and denial [which] prevails at the highest level of the Satyananda Yoga community". The Yoga Alliance has published a policy on sexual misconduct; it describes
6399-457: The yogis were aloof and adopted "different postures – standing or sitting or lying naked – and motionless". Onesicritus also mentions attempts by his colleague, Calanus , to meet them. Initially denied an audience, he was later invited because he was sent by a "king curious of wisdom and philosophy". Onesicritus and Calanus learn that the yogis consider life's best doctrines to "rid the spirit of not only pain, but also pleasure", that "man trains
6480-460: Was ordered to pay Minakshi Jafa-Bodden over $ 900,000 for sexual harassment and her dismissal from the ashram. Yoga as exercise was created by the blending of Western styles of gymnastics with postures from Haṭha yoga in India in the 20th century, influenced by the popular physical culture of the time. Before then, hatha yoga had been practised in secret by solitary, ascetic yogins, learning
6561-566: 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." He notes: 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. Early Buddhist texts describe yogic and meditative practices, some of which
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