Yoga schools are as diverse as the meanings of the bracket term

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

. Within the major branches of yoga such as haṭha, lāya,

rāja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

jñāna In Indian philosophy and religions, ' ( sa, ज्ञान}, ) is "knowledge". The idea of ''jñāna'' centers on a cognitive event which is recognized when experienced. It is knowledge inseparable from the total experience of reality, especial ...

, and

bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

there are many different schools and lineages, both extant and defunct. Since the late 19th century, a great number of distinct new styles of "Yoga" have been introduced by individual teachers. Some schools and traditions are occasionally referred to as yoga or yogic for their similar practices, despite having no foundation in the Indian tradition; these include Shin Shin Tōitsu-dō, and

Daoyin Daoyin is a series of cognitive body and mind unity exercises practiced as a form of Taoist neigong, meditation and mindfulness to cultivate '' jing'' (essence) and direct and refine '' qi'', the internal energy of the body according to Traditio ...

Modern Hinduism and Neo-Hindu revival

The term "Yoga" has been used for various philosophies and concepts in the context of

Hindu revivalism Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" or the correct term ''Hindū rāṣṭ ...

and Neo-Hindu religious and philosophical movements. * 1918:

The Yoga Institute The Yoga Institute (abbreviated as TYI) is a government recognized non-profit organisation, known as the oldest organized yoga center in the world. It was founded in 1918 by Shri Yogendra (1897-1989), who was one of the important figures in the ...

Shri Yogendra , image = Shri Yogendra.jpg , caption = Yogendra in his early years, sitting in Siddhasana , religion = Hinduism , founder = The Yoga Institute (1918) , known_for = Pioneering modern yoga , alma_m ...

* 1920:

Agni Yoga Agni Yoga (russian: А́гни Йо́га) or the Living Ethics (russian: links=no, Жива́я Э́тика), or the Teaching of Life (russian: links=no, Уче́ние Жи́зни), is a Neo-Theosophical religious doctrine transmitted by ...

Nicholas Roerich Nicholas Roerich (; October 9, 1874 – December 13, 1947), also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (russian: link=no, Никола́й Константи́нович Ре́рих), was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophi ...

and his wife

Helena Roerich Helena Ivanovna Roerich (born Shaposhnikova; russian: Елéна Ивáновна Рéрих; 12 February 1879 – 5 October 1955) was a Russian theosophist, writer, and public figure. In the early 20th century, she created, in cooperation with t ...

(

theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

) * 1920:

Self-Realization Fellowship Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is a worldwide spiritual organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920 and legally incorporated as a non-profit religious organization in 1935, to serve as Yogananda's instrument for the preservation ...

Paramahansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowsh ...

* 1921:

Integral Yoga Integral yoga, sometimes also called supramental yoga, is the yoga-based philosophy and practice of Sri Aurobindo and ''The Mother'' (Mirra Alfassa). Central to ''Integral yoga'' is the idea that Spirit manifests itself in a process of involu ...

Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...

, ''

The Synthesis of Yoga Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...

'' * 1948:

Divine Life Society The Divine Life Society (DLS) is a Hindu spiritual organisation and an ashram, founded by Swami Sivananda Saraswati in 1936, at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh, India. Today it has branches around the world, the headquarters being situated in Rishikes ...

Swami Sivananda Sivananda Saraswati (or Swami Sivananda; 8 September 1887 – 14 July 1963) was a yoga guru, a Hindu spiritual teacher, and a proponent of Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He stu ...

* 1950s:

Satyananda Yoga Satyananda Saraswati (25 December 1923 – 5 December 2009), was a Sanyasi, yoga teacher and guru in both his native India and the West. He was a student of Sivananda Saraswati, the founder of the Divine Life Society, and founded the Bihar Scho ...

- Swami Satyananda Saraswati * 1955:

Ananda Marga Ānanda Mārga ("The Path of Bliss", also spelled Anand Marg and Ananda Marg) or officially Ānanda Mārga Pracāraka Saṃgha (organization for the propagation of the path of bliss), is a world-wide socio-spiritual organisation founded in J ...

Shrii Shrii Anandamurti Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (21 May 1921 – 21 October 1990), also known by his spiritual name Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti (Ánanda Múrti="Bliss Embodiment"), and known as Bábá ("Father") to his disciples, was a spiritual Guru, philosopher, so ...

* 1960s:

Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a ...

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 1918

* 1970:

Bikram Yoga Bikram Yoga is a system of hot yoga, a type of yoga as exercise, devised by Bikram Choudhury and based on the teachings of B. C. Ghosh, that became popular in the early 1970s. Classes consist of a fixed sequence of 26 postures, practised in a ...

- Bikram Choudhury * 1971:

Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy The Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy is an international non-profit organization, which promotes yoga and holistic health through yoga retreats, residential programs, health products and services, media publications including ''Yo ...

Swami Rama Swami Rama (; 1925 – 13 November 1996) was an Indian yoga guru. He moved to America in 1969, initially teaching yoga at the YMCA, and founding the Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Illinois in 1971; its headquarters moved to ...

* 1970s:

Siddha Yoga Siddha Yoga is a spiritual path founded by Swami Muktananda (1908–1982). The organization states in its literature that the Siddha Yoga tradition is "based mainly on eastern philosophies". It also states that it "draws many of its teachings f ...

- Swami Muktananda * 1970s:

Sahaja Yoga Sahaja Yoga (सहज योग) is a religion founded in 1970 by Nirmala Srivastava (1923–2011). Nirmala Srivastava is known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (trans: ''Revered Immaculate Mother'') or, simply, as "Mother" by her followers, who a ...

, a new religious movement founded by

Nirmala Srivastava Nirmala Srivastava (née Nirmala Salve; 21 March 192323 February 2011), also known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, was the founder and guru of Sahaja Yoga, a new religious movement sometimes classified as a cult. She claimed to have been born fully ...

* 1981: Art of Living -

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

* 1991: Shiva Yoga – Shankarananda * 1997:

Ananda yoga Ananda Yoga, or ''Ananda Yoga for Higher Awareness'' is a system of Hatha Yoga established by Kriyananda, a Western disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, and is based on Yogananda's Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) and Yogoda Satsanga Society of In ...

- Swami Kriyananda

Styles of yoga as exercise

India and other Asian countries are home to thousands of yoga schools founded over the last century to teach

yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...

, which unlike all earlier forms consists in large part of

asana An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...

s. Below are some and their style of yoga. * 1948: Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga - Sri K. Pattabhi Jois * 1963:

Bihar School of Yoga The Bihar School of Yoga is a modern school of yoga founded by Satyananda Saraswati in Munger, Bihar, India, in 1963. An Institute of Yogic Studies was created in 1994. History The Bihar School of Yoga was established in 1963 at Munger, in the ...

- Swami Satyananda Saraswati * 1960s: Sivananda Yoga - Swami Vishnu-devananda * 1960s: Iyengar Yoga -

B.K.S. Iyengar Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014) was an Indian teacher of yoga and author. He is founder of the style of yoga as exercise, known as " Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost yoga guru ...

* 1970s:

Yin Yoga Yin Yoga is slow-paced style of yoga as exercise, incorporating principles of traditional Chinese medicine, with asanas (postures) that are held for longer periods of time than in other styles. Advanced practitioners may stay in one asana for fi ...

Paulie Zink Paulie Zink is an American martial arts champion, Taoist yoga teacher and well known practitioner of Monkey Kung Fu. He founded Yin yoga which is also known as Yin and Yang Yoga.Zink, Paulie and Maria March 2012"Yin yoga" Yoga Magazine. Retri ...

* 1971:

- Bikram Choudhury * 1980s:

Viniyoga Tirumalai Krishnamacharya Venkata Desikachar (21 June 1938 – 8 August 2016), better known as T. K. V. Desikachar, was a yoga teacher, son of the pioneer of modern yoga as exercise, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. The style that he taught was initi ...

- tradition of

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (18 November 1888 – 28 February 1989) was an Indian yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. He is seen as one of the most important gurus of modern yoga, and is often called "the father of modern yoga" for ...

* 1980s:

Rocket Yoga Larry Schultz (November 14, 1950 – February 27, 2011) was an American Yoga as exercise, yoga teacher who was a long-time student of the founder of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, K. Pattabhi Jois. Schultz is primarily recognized as the creator of Rocket ...

Larry Schultz Larry Schultz (November 14, 1950 – February 27, 2011) was an American yoga teacher who was a long-time student of the founder of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, K. Pattabhi Jois. Schultz is primarily recognized as the creator of Rocket Yoga, a style der ...

* 1982:

Forrest Yoga Forrest Yoga is a style of yoga as exercise. It was created by and named for Ana T. Forrest in 1982. It is known for "its long holding of positions, emphasis on abdominal core work, and standing series that can go on for 20 poses on each side". R ...

- Ana T. Forrest * 1986:

Jivamukti Yoga The Jivamukti Yoga method is a proprietary style of yoga created by David Life and Sharon Gannon in 1984. Jivamukti is a physical, ethical, and spiritual practice, combining a vigorous yoga as exercise, vinyasa-based physical style with adherence ...

- David Life and

Sharon Gannon Sharon Gannon (born July 4, 1951 in Washington, D.C.) is a yoga teacher, animal rights advocate, musician, author, dancer and choreographer. Along with David Life, she is the co-founder of the Jivamukti Yoga method. Early life Gannon studied Da ...

* 1992: Isha Yoga -

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Sadhguru (born Jagadish Vasudev, 3 September 1957) is the founder and head of the Isha Foundation, based in Coimbatore, India. The foundation, established in 1992, operates an ashram and yoga centre that carries out educational and spiritua ...

* 1995:

Power Yoga Power Yoga is one of several forms of energetic form of yoga evolved in India. These include forms derived from Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and body weight exercises. It was practiced in India in mysore city. Patabhi Jois brought power yoga to the west ...

- Beryl Bender Birch * 1990s:

Bryan Kest Bryan Kest (born 1964) is an American yoga teacher. Recognized as the creator of one form of Power Yoga, he is the founder of Santa Monica Power Yoga, based in Santa Monica, California. Kest has led yoga classes, retreats and workshops worldwide. ...

* 1997: Anusara Yoga - formerly John Friend

Eclectic styles

Several eclectic styles, some with Western audiences, are partially based on Hatha yoga: * 1969: Kundalini Yoga -

Yogi Bhajan Harbhajan Singh Khalsa (born Harbhajan Singh Puri) (August 26, 1929 – October 6, 2004), also known as Yogi Bhajan and Siri Singh Sahib to his followers, was an Indian-born American entrepreneur, yoga guru, and spiritual teacher. He introduce ...

* 1975: Zen Yoga * 1985: Body & Brain ("Korean Yoga") -

Ilchi Lee Lee Seung-Heun (; born December 23, 1950), Ilchi Lee is a New York Times bestselling author, an innovative leader in brain potential development, and a dedicated advocate for a peaceful, sustainable world. He has developed Brain Education, a min ...

* 1995:

Laughter Yoga Laughter yoga (''Hasyayoga'') is a modern exercise involving prolonged voluntary laughter. This type of yoga is based on the belief that voluntary laughter provides similar physiological and psychological benefits as spontaneous laughter. It is ...

- Madan Kataria

Yoga in other religious traditions

With the widespread reception of the concept of "Yoga" in the west, the term has also been transferred to similar systems of meditation and exercise which are not of Indian origin, mostly without global reach: * Tsa lung Trul khor, a concept in Tibetan Buddhism described as "Yantra Yoga" by

Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Namkhai Norbu (; 8 December 1938 – 27 September 2018) was a Tibetan Buddhist master of Dzogchen and a professor of Tibetan and Mongolian language and literature at Naples Eastern University. He was a leading authority on Tibetan culture, par ...

(2000) *

Kum Nye Kum Nye and sKu-mNyé are a wide variety of Tibetan religious and medical body practices. Many Tibetan Buddhist and Bon traditions contain Kum Nye practices. These can be entirely different both in purpose and in methods. For instance, some for ...

, Tibetan practice, sometimes dubbed "Kum Nye Yoga" * Shin Shin Tōitsu-dō, a system of "mind and body unification" created by

Nakamura Tempu was a Japanese martial arts, Japanese martial artist and founder of Japanese yoga. He was the first to bring yoga to Japan and founded his own art called , and taught it at Tempu-Kai that he established. Biography Early life and family backg ...

in the 1940s which is also known as "Japanese Yoga". *

is a similar Daoist practice in China, part of a broader meditation system which includes

Qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

and

Taijiquan Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. Ta ...

* Kemetic yoga, an ancient Egyptian yoga system

References

{{yoga

Yoga schools Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-conscio ...