Yoga
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Yoga[a] (UK: /ˈjəʊɡə/, US: /ˈjoʊɡə/;[1] Sanskrit: योग 'yoga' [joːɡɐ] ⓘ; lit. 'yoke' or 'union') is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various soteriological goals (moksha),[2][3][4][5][b] as practiced in the Hindu, Jain, Sikh, and Buddhist traditions.[6][7]
Yoga may have pre-Vedic origins,[c] 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.[8][9] Yoga-like practices are mentioned in the Rigveda[10] and a number of early Upanishads,[11][12][13][d] but systematic yoga concepts emerge during the fifth and sixth centuries BCE in ancient India's ascetic and Śramaṇa movements, including Jainism and Buddhism.[14] 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.[15][16][e] Hatha yoga texts began to emerge between the ninth and 11th centuries, originating in tantra.[f]
Yoga is practiced worldwide,[17] but "yoga" in the Western world often entails a modern form of Hatha yoga and a posture-based physical fitness, stress-relief and relaxation technique,[18] consisting largely of asanas;[19] this differs from traditional yoga, which focuses on meditation and release from worldly attachments.[20][18][21][a] It was introduced by gurus from India after the success of Swami Vivekananda's adaptation of yoga without asanas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[22] Vivekananda introduced the Yoga Sutras to the West, and they became prominent after the 20th-century success of hatha yoga.[23]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ OED 0000.
- ^ Sarbacker, Stuart Ray (1 January 2021). Tracing the Path of Yoga. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-8123-4.
- ^ Bowker 2000, p. entry "Yoga".
- ^ Keown 2004, p. entry "Yoga".
- ^ Johnson 2009, p. entry "Yoga".
- ^ Carmody & Carmody 1996, p. 68.
- ^ Sarbacker 2005, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Crangle 1994, pp. 1–6.
- ^ Crangle 1994, pp. 103–138.
- ^ Werner 1977.
- ^ Deussen 1997, p. 556.
- ^ Ayyangar 1938, p. 2.
- ^ Ruff 2011, pp. 97–112.
- ^ Samuel 2008, p. 8.
- ^ Bryant 2009, p. xxxiv.
- ^ Desmarais 2008, p. 16–17.
- ^ BBC 2017.
- ^ a b Burley 2000, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
De Michelis 2007was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ King 1999, p. 67.
- ^ Jantos 2012, pp. 362–363.
- ^ White 2011, p. xvi–xvii, 2.
- ^ White 2014, pp. xvi–xvii.