The Yoga Korunta or Yoga Kuruntha is a purported 5,000 year old text on yoga , said to have been written in Sanskrit by an otherwise unknown author, Vamana Rishi, allegedly discovered by Tirumalai Krishnamacharya in the National Archives of India in the early 20th century, and supposedly lost when Krishnamacharya's only copy was eaten by ants.
69-581: Krishnamacharya also told various other stories of how he came across the Yoga Korunta ; Fernando Pagés Ruiz noted in the Yoga Journal that he had heard "at least five conflicting accounts" of the supposed text. Krishnamacharya later related an oral "translation" of the text to his students, such as K. Pattabhi Jois and B. K. S. Iyengar . Jois claimed to have used that as the basis of his Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga system. The original text reportedly
138-802: 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
207-501: 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
276-506: 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)
345-414: 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
414-1021: 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 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
483-627: 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
552-553: 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
621-502: 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
690-459: 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
759-429: A strong response, leading the journal's brand director, Tasha Eichenseher, to respond with an apology that "we caused harm" to "communities that have been disproportionately excluded from yoga", and an explanation that she was "working to make Yoga Journal more representative—regarding age, race, ability, body type, yoga style, gender, and experience." Asana Traditional An āsana ( Sanskrit : आसन )
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#1732793650893828-474: A thin woman, nearly always white; the image of yoga that is conveyed is, she argues, that yoga is intended for affluent white women. Murphy notes that the apparent stereotype is grounded in reality: in a 2012 study by Yoga Journal itself, over 80% of American practitioners of yoga were white. The scholars Agi Wittich and Patrick McCartney wrote in 2020 that the image of contemporary yoga is the idealized, fit, young, slim, white, female yoga body, commercialized on
897-445: 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
966-588: A wider variety of yoga models. The magazine was acquired by Outside in 2020. Yoga Journal was started in May 1975 by the California Yoga Teachers Association (CYTA), with Rama Jyoti Vernon as President, William Staniger as the founding editor, and Judith Lasater on the board and serving as copy editor. Their goal was to combine "the essence of classical yoga with the latest understandings of modern science." The journal grew from
1035-418: 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] is steady and comfortable". Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of
1104-497: Is accompanied by a program of live events, led by well-known yoga teachers and gurus such as Cyndi Lee , Judith Hanson Lasater, Kino MacGregor and Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa . The events have included an annual yoga conference, held in venues around the United States, which combined practical sessions and talks. The social historian Sarah Schrank records that co-founder Judith Lasater "made waves" with her public criticism of
1173-690: 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
1242-455: 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
1311-530: 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
1380-418: 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
1449-559: 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
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#17327936508931518-555: 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
1587-594: 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
1656-586: The Tamilized pronunciation of the Sanskrit words Yoga grantha , meaning "book about yoga". Alternatively, there may be some connection with the name of Kapālakuruṇṭaka, the author of the 18th century Haṭhābhyāsapaddhati . Yoga Journal Yoga Journal is a website and digital journal, formerly a print magazine, on yoga as exercise founded in California in 1975 with the goal of combining
1725-702: The Yoga Journal website "the Web's most expansive and impressive Yoga site." Yoga Journal runs features on the themes of yoga, food and nutrition, fitness, wellness, and fashion and beauty. Its website offers definitions and advice on yoga styles and equipment, with directions for how to practise over a hundred asanas or yoga poses. Readers can select asanas by their name , their type, such as forward bends or hip-opening poses; by anatomical area, such as knees or lower back; or by claimed benefit , such as for anxiety or digestion. The journalist Stefanie Syman calls
1794-566: 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 the 20th century, Indian nationalism favoured physical culture in response to colonialism . In that environment, pioneers such as Yogendra , Kuvalayananda , and Krishnamacharya taught
1863-496: 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
1932-690: 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,
2001-417: 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
2070-834: 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
2139-542: The CYTA's newsletter, which had been called The Word . Initially, the journal was staffed by volunteers, and contributors were unpaid. The first issue's 300 copies were personally distributed by the founders. By the mid-1990s, as yoga's popularity in America grew, circulation for Yoga Journal reached 66,000. In 1998 the former banker John Abbott bought the magazine and hired Kathryn Arnold as editor-in-chief. The magazine
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2208-574: 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
2277-412: 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,
2346-577: 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
2415-403: 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
2484-517: 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
2553-492: 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,
2622-445: 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
2691-603: 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
2760-474: The covers of glossy magazines such as Yoga Journal , and that non-lineage yoga evolved in reaction against that image. In January 2019, Yoga Journal exceptionally published two covers for the magazine, one showing a slim white woman, the other showing a larger black woman, both accompanied by a headline "The Leadership Issue", intended to examine the evolution of yoga and the part played by " lineage , social media, and power dynamics." The pair of covers drew
2829-604: 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
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2898-531: The essence of traditional yoga with scientific understanding. It has produced live events and materials such as DVDs on yoga and related subjects. The magazine grew from the California Yoga Teachers Association's newsletter, which was called The Word . Yoga Journal has repeatedly won Western Publications Association's Maggie Awards for "Best Health and Fitness Magazine". It has however been criticized for representing yoga as being intended for affluent white women ; in 2019 it attempted to remedy this by choosing
2967-480: 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
3036-673: 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
3105-656: The journal's history, in 1976, it published the guru Ram Dass 's confession. Yoga Journal 's 2012 survey, Yoga in America found the yoga market to be worth more than $ 10 billion per year. The data, collected by the Harris Interactive Service Bureau (HISB) , showed that 20.4 million people practiced yoga in America at that time. There are 12 international editions, published in Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand and Turkey. The magazine
3174-499: 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
3243-597: The magazine in 2010; in Lasater's view, "photos of naked or half-naked women ... do not teach the viewer about yoga practice or themselves. They aren't even about the celebration of the beauty of the human body or the beauty of the poses [ asanas ], which I support. These ads are just about selling a product." The journalist Rosalie Murphy, writing in The Atlantic in 2014, stated that Yoga Journal and similar yoga magazines are illustrated in "nearly every spread" with
3312-419: The magazine's language that "of science and physiology, of diet and blood pressure". In her view, the journal uses "highly clinical-sounding language" even when covering "more mystical topics"; it stresses the use of yoga as therapy . Syman notes that the journal's coverage was "eclectic", especially noticeable in its calendar and classified advertisements. The magazine covers topics beyond exercise; early in
3381-428: 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
3450-482: 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
3519-435: 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
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#17327936508933588-422: 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
3657-470: 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
3726-506: 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,
3795-566: 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
3864-493: 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
3933-426: 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
4002-634: 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
4071-577: 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
4140-500: 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
4209-434: 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
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#17327936508934278-416: 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
4347-452: 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
4416-496: The valuable document, and that Krishnamacharya did not bother even to cite it in his 1934 book Yoga Makaranda . It is said to have been made up of stanzas using rhymed, metered sutras, in the manner common to texts transmitted orally in the guru-shishya tradition . The text is said to have described several lists of many different asana groupings, as well as highly original teachings on vinyasa , drishti , bandhas , mudras and general teachings. The name Yoga Korunta may be
4485-407: 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
4554-452: Was not preserved, and its historicity and existence has been questioned; Krishnamacharya also spoke of a Yoga Rahasya which similarly has never been seen by anyone else. According to Mark Singleton 's Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice , this legacy of Krishnamacharya is one of the bases for "power struggles" among competing schools of modern yoga ; he notes that it is surprising that Jois or other pupils did not make copies of
4623-453: Was relaunched with a new design in 2000. Since their arrival, the paid circulation grew from 90,000 to 350,000 by 2010; the readership reached over 1,300,000. Yoga Journal has won major media awards including eight Western Publications Association's Maggie Awards for "Best Health and Fitness Magazine," and the Award's top honor for "Best Overall Consumer Publication." Forbes has called
4692-571: 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
4761-602: 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
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