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 fr ...

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 Shin may refer to: Biology * The front part of the human leg below the knee * Shinbone, the tibia, the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates Names * Shin (given name) (Katakana: シン, Hiragana: しん), a Japanese gi ...

, 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 and Neo-Hindu religious and philosophical movements. * 1918: The Yoga Institute - Shri Yogendra * 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 -

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 Rishikesh. ...

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 ...

* 1950s: Satyananda Yoga -

Swami Satyananda Saraswati 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 S ...

* 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 * 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 ...

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 ro ...

Bikram Choudhury Bikram Choudhury (born 1944) is an Indian-born American yoga guru, and the founder of Bikram Yoga, a form of hot yoga consisting of a fixed series of 26 postures practised in a hot environment of . The business became a success in the United St ...

* 1971: Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy - Swami Rama * 1970s: Siddha Yoga -

Swami Muktananda Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa (16 May 1908 – 2 October 1982), born Krishna Rai, was a yoga guru, the founder of Siddha Yoga. He was a disciple of Bhagavan Nityananda. He wrote books on the subjects of Kundalini Shakti, Vedanta, and Kash ...

* 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 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 ful ...

* 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 In ...

* 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 Kriyananda (born James Donald Walters; May 19, 1926 – April 21, 2013) was an American Hindu religious leader, yoga guru, musician, and an author. He was a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, and founder of the spiritual movement nam ...

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 ...

* 1960s: Sivananda Yoga -

Swami Vishnu-devananda Vishnudevananda Saraswati (31 December 1927 – 9 November 1993) was an Indian yoga guru known for his teaching of asanas, a disciple of Sivananda Saraswati, and founder of the International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres and Ashrams. He esta ...

* 1960s: Iyengar Yoga - B.K.S. Iyengar * 1970s: Yin Yoga - Paulie Zink * 1971:

* 1980s: Viniyoga - tradition of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya * 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 * 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 - David Life and Sharon Gannon * 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 spiritual ...

* 1995: Power Yoga - Beryl Bender Birch * 1990s: Power Yoga - Bryan Kest * 1997: Anusara Yoga - formerly John Friend

Eclectic styles

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

Kundalini Yoga Kundalini yoga () derives from '' kundalini'', defined in tantra as energy that lies within the body, frequently at the navel or the base of the spine. In normative tantric systems kundalini is considered to be dormant until it is activated ( ...

- Yogi Bhajan * 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 u ...

- 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 form ...

, Tibetan practice, sometimes dubbed "Kum Nye Yoga" *

, a system of "mind and body unification" created by

Nakamura Tempu was a 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 background Born in Tokyo, ...

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. ...

* 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-consciou ...