History of Asana and Exercise in India
In the following article, we will examine the origins of the asana side of Yoga in India, including relative to Vedic teachings. Asana is the aspect of Yoga least detailed in older Vedic and Yogic texts and is the More...
Vedānga: The limbs of Vedic knowledge
The meaning of Saṃskrta (Devanāgarī: संस्कृत) word Veda (Devanāgarī: वेद) means knowledge of primordial origins, which Rishi-s (Devanāgarī: ऋषि) gathered over the time through More...
Yoga: Philosophy, practice, or politics?
[contextly_sidebar id=”PeRhGeG0eFP2a5fDRfs4BKDxjxwWY6id”]Ever since the declaration of an International Yoga Day, there has been a curiously bifurcated international reaction to Yoga, Hinduism and India. More...
New Tactics: Attack Yoga to malign Hindus
On the occasion of the International Yoga Day there was an article published in the Scroll, by one Vikram Zutshi, arguing against the Hindu roots of Yoga, and questioning why Patanjali’s yoga is given so much More...
Interview with Yogi Amrit Desai- I: Hatha Yoga is integrated into Ashtanga Yoga
Editor’s Note: Yogi Amrit Desai is the pioneer who brought Hatha Yoga to America. When he first came to America (5th February 1960), there was hardly any yoga anywhere. There were other teachers, who had brought More...
What Constitutes Yoga, What Doesn’t
With another “International Yoga Day” having approached, it is good time to ponder over some fundamental questions like what constitutes Yoga and what does not. This article seeks to answer both these questions What More...
Sūrya Namaskāra: Ancient Practice or Modern Invention? Controversy, Textual Evidence
Editor’s Note: The author is currently working on a two-part book series, entitled “The Ancient Roots of Sūrya Namaskāra and Vinyāsa-based Yoga”, where he would expand the themes covered in the current More...
Hip! Hip! Hooray for Yoga!
Over the past 46 years since taking my first series of Hatha Yoga classes, during my senior year of high school in 1969, in the basement of the Episcopal church in Abilene, Texas, I have attended various classes More...