History of Yoga

The common translation for Pāśasana (Noose Pose) is not only controversial, it's also inaccurate. Here's what we learned when we tried to untangle the Sanskrit word’s true meaning.

This festive event has a history and culture as colorful as you might imagine. 

YJ Senior Editor Tamara Jeffries set out to answer some perennial questions about whether yoga is secular or spiritual. What she discovered: It’s both. And more.

It’s not just about pleasure or sex. Tantra promises a closer connection to the divine through deeper intimacy with others.

This spiritual movement has transformed my established practice of yogasana—and connected me deeper to the Divine.

A devoted yogi contemplates the meaning of the co-opted celebration.

How Georgia State University professor Dr. Stephanie Evans uncovered pictures of the iconic Civil Rights activist practicing asana.

A scholar of critical race theory and a yoga teacher explore the problematic ways Westerners describe their travels to India.

A yoga movement and dance teacher examines her experiences with kirtan—from Sikh temple on Sundays with her family to concerts and festivals with hundreds of people in the crowd.

A myriad of historical information exists, so let’s start with building a foundation.

Learn more about the birthplace of Ashtanga Yoga and Iyengar Yoga.

A first-generation Indian-American yoga and mindfulness researcher and teacher reflects on what feels misrepresented and appropriative to her in modern yoga.

Tasha Eichenseher, Yoga Journal's Brand Director, responds to the comments about the two covers.

Getting inked with one of these designs may have personal meaning, but are they divorced from the broader cultural significance that makes these symbols so powerful and enduring?

Yoga historian Philip Deslippe looks at the insight a few unusual yoga-themed pieces of pop culture can offer into the popular perception of the practice in America over the last century.

In the age of Instagram, yoga historian Philip Deslippe takes a look at how yoga has in fact embraced new forms of media and technology since its debut in the West. The question now: What will be next?

Most people think hippies and Hare Krishnas were among the first American yogis, but in fact dozens of people with remarkable backgrounds were teaching the practice in the U.S. decades earlier. You won’t believe you’ve never heard these fascinating stories before.

You deserve to reap the profound rewards of the humble (yet powerful) Namaskar.

This two-minute primer traces Namaskars—and the pieces missing from modern practice—back thousands of years.

Yoga teacher Carola Lovering left YJ LIVE! New York with some existential questions about the practice of asana. Here she breaks down how a modern-day yogi can make sense of what we’re really doing on the mat.

You'll be hooked on Gaia’s new 13-episode docuseries, Yogic Paths.

Forget everything you thought you knew about yoga history. Writer Matthew Remski reviews the new book Roots of Yoga and (spoiler alert) shares 10 of its biggest surprises.

As we mourn the death of another one of modern yoga’s founding fathers, we’d like to take the opportunity to share and remember him by at least a few of his many wise words.

Learn how George Harrison brought bhakti yoga to the West with the now ubiquitous Hare Krishna mantra.

These 10 influential teachers have dedicated their lives to spreading the practices of yoga and have impacted millions of new yogis around the globe.

Yoga is so much more than asana. The sutras show us how to be our true selves and appreciate every moment—even when life gets crazy.

The yoga we practice today wouldn’t exist without 
these 14 pioneers, whose work first made yoga 
accessible to 20th-century Americans.

Take a look through 40 years of American yoga and how the practice has transformed our culture.

Come celebrate yoga and the history of YJ with us this summer. We're kicking off a 40-day countdown to our big anniversary with the best of our archives and so much more.

The name Bobbe Norrise might not ring a bell, but to the yogis of Oakland, CA, she’s been a cornerstone of the community for four decades. And today, we celebrate her.

Practicing the principle of non-harming can trigger dissonance in omnivores. Here, thoughts on reconciling your diet with your practice.

Learn his story and see the unconventional biopic, which is, as yoga documentaries go, gripping, inspiring, dare we say, epic, even.

A tribute to the life of one of modern yoga's most prolific luminaries and teachers. (December 14,1918 - August 20, 2014)

What we know about Patanjali, the sage who wrote the Yoga Sutras.

Check out YJ Editors's author page.

Check out YJ Editors's author page.

Check out YJ Editors's author page.

A new book out this week, explores North American yoga and its connection to increasingly relevant issues plaguing the yoga community.

The Take Back Yoga campaign argues that the practice's Hindu roots have been intentionally ignored in the West.

A new book reveals that yoga philosophy, like that found in the Bhagavad Gita, was used as justification for violence by members of the S.S.

This past Sunday, The New York Times dedicated real estate in its Opinion Pages to reflect upon what Vivekananda meant to yoga in the West, as the 150th anniversary of his birth approaches. Author Ann Louise Bardach reflects on how...

The Indian deity Parvati is surprisingly relevant to anyone looking to balance strength with gentleness.

"You go into any yoga class in the West, and it's filled with women. And it's so ironic, women were never part of the yoga tradition at all," says author Linda Sparrowe in YogaWoman, a new documentary film by sisters...

One scholar's quest to trace his practice back to its source ultimately gives him a glimpse of yoga's greater truth.

Mental yoga reveals the mind's nature and its filters and is an important part of physical yoga practice.

Learn why this ancient Indian text has had such a powerful and lasting influence on Western writers, thinkers, and yogis.

Vishnu lives in luxury, but the Hindu god abandons his opulent ways to save the world from evil.

Learn how yoga found a home in America from these yoga pioneers.

Ancient Tibetan yoga practices are slowly being introduced in the West, but teachers remain cautious about revealing their secrets.

From the monkey to the warrior, learn the myths behind the asana names to infuse your practice with history.

Where it all began—learn about the history of yoga, the roots of this ancient practice.

Before the invention of the sticky mat, doing yoga was a slippery proposition.

The first stanza of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra gives wisdom about yoga as a whole.

Modern yogis who struggle with the question of whether to eat meat can look to ancient wisdom for the answer.

Awareness of the ida and pingala nadis can help balance your practice—and clear the way for spiritual growth.

Drishti is a gazing technique that develops concentration—and teaches you to see the world as it really is.

From loincloths to leotards, yoga has come a long way in 5,000 years. But is yoga as we know it really that old?

You may not even know it but Krishnamacharya's legacy has influenced or perhaps even invented your yoga.

The late author of the classic Autobiography of a Yogi has inspired nearly 500 Self-Realization meditation centers around the world.