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Yoga: Past and Present

2017; American Psychiatric Association; Volume: 174; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16080853

1535-7228

Ananda K. Pandurangi, Matcheri S. Keshavan, Venkatesh Ganapathy, Bengaluru. N. Gangadhar,

Sleep and Wakefulness Research

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Images in PsychiatryFull AccessYoga: Past and PresentAnanda K. Pandurangi, M.D., Matcheri S. Keshavan, M.D., Venkatesh Ganapathy, M.D., Bengaluru. N. Gangadhar, M.D.Ananda K. Pandurangi, M.D., Matcheri S. Keshavan, M.D., Venkatesh Ganapathy, M.D., Bengaluru. N. Gangadhar, M.D.Published Online:1 Jan 2017https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.16080853AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail The practice of yoga for health has become popular in the United States and worldwide. A recent survey estimated that 36 million Americans may be variably engaged in yoga (1). In India, where yoga has been practiced for centuries in homes and ashrams, three universities are now dedicated to teaching and research on yoga.The origins of yoga are between 2,500 and 5,000 years ago. The earliest images of yoga are soapstone seals from the Indus Valley archaeological site of Mohenjo-Daro (3rd millennium B.C.E.) (2) depicting a yogi in a cross-legged posture, the Lotus pose; several other images of Yoga appear in later Indian art (see Figures 1 and 2). Yoga in Sanskrit means "to unite," as in the yoke of a chariot that connects the carriage to the horses. The Katha Upanishad (ca. 6th century B.C.E.) mentions a hierarchy of body, mind, and spirit where the body is the chariot, the senses and mind are the horses, and the spirit is the charioteer (3). As eloquently presented in the Bhagavad Gita (4), the yogi turns his mind inward, detaching from the material world to realize the true nature of the self. This may be accomplished through one or more yoga approaches, such as Bhakti (spiritual), Jnana (knowledge), and Karma (duty and action).FIGURE 1. Lotus Pose.The Indus Valley Seal discovered at Mohenjo-Daro, now part of Pakistan, 3rd millennium B.C.E. Photograph by Arto Vuohelainen, used by permission of Arto Vuohelainen and Asko Parpola; from Shah SGM, Parpola A (eds): Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions, vol. 2: Collections in Pakistan; Helsinki, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1991, p. 424.FIGURE 2. Tree Pose.Detail from a rock sculpture of yogic posture ("Arjuna's Penance"), Mahabalipuram, India, 7th century. Photograph by Nickolay Stanev/Shutterstock, used by permission (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-38757733.html).Sage Patanjali (ca. 500 B.C.E.) (5) is credited with authoring a compendium of aphorisms (sutras) on a nontheistic integrative form of yoga, referred to as Raja Yoga, with eight components (Astanga): mental discipline and restraint (Yama, Niyama), controlled postures (Asanas), conscious breathing (Pranayama), detachment (Pratyahara), and meditation (Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi). Patanjali's second aphorism states, "Yoga is the control of the conscious mind and mental operations" (Yogah Chitti Vritti Nirodah).During the 10th century C.E., yogic practices called Tantra developed (6). These claim to tap a serpentine energy, "Kundalini," at the root of the human spine. Hatha yoga, a form of yoga focused on extreme psychophysical practices to actualize this energy, developed between the 10th and 12th centuries C.E. These practices continue to capture the imagination of many. Various combinations of Raja and Hatha yoga have since emerged, variably emphasizing meditation, breathing, and postures.Swami Vivekananda introduced yoga to the United States in 1893 at the World Conference on Religions in Chicago (7). In the last century, dedicated yoga teachers of India popularized yoga practice in the United States, as documented in the chronology by George Feuerstein (8). Wellness programs, schools, and fitness clubs often include yoga in their offerings. World Annual Yoga Day, established as June 21 by the United Nations, was celebrated in Times Square (Figure 3).FIGURE 3. Yoga Day, June 21, 2016.Times Square, New York. Photograph by Amy Hart, used by permission (https://amyhart.smugmug.com/YOGA).A bibliometric analysis of the health effects of yoga found 238 studies targeting a variety of conditions, including cancer, cardiac disorders, maternal health, and mental health (9).Many benefits were listed, including improvements in immunological health, mood, pain, anxiety, and auditory hallucinations. Studies are using techniques such as functional MRI to elucidate the mechanisms of action (10). Yoga could be a low-cost complementary therapy for many medical and psychiatric conditions, but more research is needed.From the Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond; the Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston; and the Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.Address correspondence to Dr. Pandurangi ([email protected]).References1 Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance: 2016 Yoga in America Study. Yoga Journal, May 11, 2016. https://www.yogaalliance.org/Portals/0/2016 Yoga in America Study RESULTS.pdfGoogle Scholar2 Ghose S: Religious developments in ancient India, in Ancient History Encyclopedia. http://www.ancient.eu/article/230/Google Scholar3 Muller M: Sacred Books of the East: The Upanishads Vol 2, The Kathakopanishad 1.3.10–13 and 2.6.6–13. London, Oxford University Press, 1886Google Scholar4 Wilkins C: Bhagvat-geeta, or Dialogues of Kreeshna and Arjoon. London, Nourse, 1785Google Scholar5 Jha G: The Yoga Darśana: The Sutras of Patañjali with the Bhāṣya of Vyāsa, with notes from Vācaspati Miśra's Tattvavaiśāradī, Vijnana Bhiksu's Yogavartika and Bhoja's Rajamartanda. Rajaram Tukaram Tatya. Bombay, Theosophical Publication Fund, 1907Google Scholar6 Samuel G: The origins of yoga and tantra: Indic religions to the thirteenth century. New York, Cambridge University Press, 2008Crossref, Google Scholar7 Swami Vivekananda: Raja yoga and the aphorisms of Patanjali (1896), in Swami Vivekananda Quotes. http://www.swamivivekanandaquotes.org/Google Scholar8 Feuerstein G: A short history of yoga. Princeton, NJ, Infinity Foundation, 1998. http://www.infinityfoundation.com/ECIThistoryframeset.htmlGoogle Scholar9 Cramer H. Lauche R, Dobos G: Characteristics of randomized controlled trials of yoga: a bibliometric analysis. BioMed Central Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Sept 2, 2014Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar10 Froeliger BE, Garland EL, Modlin LA, McClernon FJ: Neurocognitive correlates of the effects of yoga meditation practice on emotion and cognition: a pilot study. Front Integr Neurosci 2012; 6:48Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited byYoga for COVID-19: An ancient practice for a new condition – A literature reviewComplementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, Vol. 50Mindful Text Comprehension: Meditation Training Improves Reading Comprehension of Meditation Novices30 January 2023 | Mindfulness, Vol. 18A cross-sectional analysis of yoga experience on variables associated with psychological well-being18 January 2023 | Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 13Mindful Self-Care for Earlier SchoolingThe Effect of Mindfulness Yoga in Children With School Refusal: A Study Protocol for an Exploratory, Cluster-Randomized, Open, Standard Care-Controlled, Multicenter Clinical Trial13 July 2022 | Frontiers in Public Health, Vol. 10Self-Care is Not SelfishEmployee Wellness Without Stress and StrainEffects of Yoga on the Cardio-Respiratory SystemInternational Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable Development, Vol. 13, No. 1Cultural Conceptualisations of Yoga in American and Indian English: A Corpus-Based Study5 December 2020Using Yoga to Reduce Anxiety in Children: Exploring School-Based Yoga Among Rural Third- and Fourth-Grade StudentsJournal of Pediatric Health Care, Vol. 35, No. 1Mindful Self-Care for Earlier SchoolingThe effect of meditative movement on the quality of life in patients recovering from COVID-1920 November 2020 | Medicine, Vol. 99, No. 47Effects of yoga on well-being and healthy ageing: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (FitForAge)29 May 2019 | BMJ Open, Vol. 9, No. 5 Volume 174Issue 1 January 01, 2017Pages 16-17 Metrics KeywordsOther Psychosocial Techniques/ TreatmentsPhilosophyPDF download History Published online 1 January 2017 Published in print 1 January 2017