Yoga — A Video Map Guide

A statue of Patanjali, author of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, meditating in the lotus position 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" the senses. Later the name was also seen as a metaphor for "linking" or "yoking to" 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, 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".[g] 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) 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 the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment, is called a yogi; a female yogi may also be known as a yogini.[web 4]

In classical texts The term "yoga" has been defined in different ways in Indian philosophical and religious traditions. Source Text Approx. Date Definition of Yoga Maitrayaniya Upanishad c. 4th century BCE "Because in this manner he joins the Prana (breath), the Om, and this Universe in its manifold forms, or because they join themselves (to him), therefore this (process of meditation) is called Yoga (joining). The oneness of breath, mind, and senses, and then the surrendering of all conceptions, that is called Yoga" Vaisesika sutra c. 4th century BCE "Pleasure and suffering arise as a result of the drawing together of the sense organs, the mind and objects. When that does not happen because the mind is in the self, there is no pleasure or suffering for one who is embodied. That is yoga" (5.2.15–16) Katha Upanishad last centuries BCE "When the five senses, along with the mind, remain still and the intellect is not active, that is known as the highest state. They consider yoga to be firm restraint of the senses. Then one becomes un-distracted for yoga is the arising and the passing away" (6.10–11) Bhagavad Gita c. 2nd century BCE "Be equal minded in both success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga" (2.48) "Yoga is skill in action" (2.50) "Know that which is called yoga to be separation from contact with suffering" (6.23) Yoga Sutras of Patanjali c. first centuries CE[e] 1.2. yogas chitta vritti nirodhah – "Yoga is the calming down the fluctuations/patterns of mind"1.3. Then the Seer is established in his own essential and fundamental nature.1.4. In other states there is assimilation (of the Seer) with the modifications (of the mind). Yogabhasya same as Yoga Sutras yoga samadhih - "samadhi is yoga," referring to ekagrata, one-pointedness, and niruddha, that is, contentless samadhi (asamprajnata-samadhi)[

There is no consensus on yoga's chronology or origins other than its development in ancient India. There are two broad theories explaining 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 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 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. Origins Synthesis model 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 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."[k] More recently, Richard Gombrich and Geoffrey Samuel also argue that the śramaṇa mov

Yoga is practised with a variety of methods by all Indian religions. In Hinduism, practices include jnana yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga, kundalini yoga, and hatha yoga. Jain yoga Jain meditation Yoga has been a central practice in Jainism. Jain spirituality is based on a strict code of nonviolence, or ahimsa (which includes vegetarianism), almsgiving (dāna), faith in the three jewels, austerities (tapas) such as fasting, and yoga. Jain yoga aims at the liberation and purification of the self from the forces of karma, which binds the self to the cycle of reincarnation. Like yoga and Sankhya, Jainism believes in a number of individual selves bound by their individual karma. Only through the reduction of karmic influences and the exhaustion of collected karma can one become purified and released. Early Jain yoga seems to have been divided into several types, including meditation, abandonment of the body (kāyotsarga), contemplation, and reflection (bhāvanā). Buddhist yoga Gautama Buddha in seated meditation, Gal Vihara, Sri Lanka Buddhist meditation and Dhyana in Buddhism Buddhist yoga encompasses a variety of methods which aim to develop the 37 aids to awakening. Its ultimate goal is bodhi (awakening) or nirvana (cessation), traditionally seen as the permanent end of suffering (dukkha) and rebirth.[ah] Buddhist texts use a number of terms for spiritual praxis in addition to yoga, such as bhāvanā ("development")[ai] and jhāna/dhyāna.[aj] In early Buddhism, yoga practices included: the four dhyānas (four meditations or mental absorptions), the four satipatthanas (foundations or establishments of mindfulness), anapanasati (mindfulness of breath), the four immaterial dwellings (supranormal states of mind), the brahmavihārās (divine abodes). Anussati (contemplations, recollections) These meditations w

Christianity Category:Christian yoga Some Christians integrate physical aspects of yoga, stripped from the spiritual roots of Hinduism, and other aspects of Eastern spirituality with prayer, meditation and Jesus-centric affirmations.[web 24][web 25] The practice also includes renaming poses in English (rather than using the original Sanskrit terms), and abandoning involved Hindu mantras as well as the philosophy of Yoga; Yoga is associated and reframed into Christianity.[web 25] This has drawn charges of cultural appropriation from various Hindu groups;[web 25][web 26] scholars remain skeptical. Previously, the Roman Catholic Church, and some other Christian organizations have expressed concerns and disapproval with respect to some eastern and New Age practices that include yoga and meditation.[web 27][web 28] In 1989 and 2003, the Vatican issued two documents: Aspects of Christian meditation and "A Christian reflection on the New Age," that were mostly critical of eastern and New Age practices. The 2003 document was published as a 90-page handbook detailing the Vatican's position. The Vatican warned that concentration on the physical aspects of meditation "can degenerate into a cult of the body" and that equating bodily states with mysticism "could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations." Such has been compared to the early days of Christianity, when the church opposed the gnostics' belief that salvation came not through faith but through mystical inner knowledge.[web 24] The letter also says, "one can see if and how [prayer] might be enriched by meditation methods developed in other religions and cultures"[web 29] but maintains the idea that "there must be some fit between the nature of [other approaches to] prayer and Christian bel