What Is Yoga? Cultural and Historical Context, Components and Choosing a Class

What yoga is

Yoga is a group of practices that began in India, aimed in its traditional texts at controlling body and mind to reach liberation. [1] The English word comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning to join or yoke. [1] The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) describes it as an ancient and complex practice, rooted in Indian philosophy, that began as a spiritual practice. [2]

In the United States, yoga usually means physical postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama) and meditation (dhyana). [2] That is only part of the classical picture, as the next section explains. This page is information only. It is not medical advice and it does not replace care from a clinician.

Roots in Indian traditions

Scholars trace yoga-like practice in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain settings, and they do not agree on one starting point. An academic reference says figures in a seated posture on Indus Valley seals suggest a very long history, while clear descriptions of practices related to classical yoga first appear in the Upanishads. [3] An encyclopedia article says yoga is first attested in the early first millennium BCE. [1] The history of yoga sets these views side by side.

One text became especially influential: the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, dated by most scholars to roughly the first or second century of the Common Era. [3] It describes eight parts, or limbs, of which posture is only the third. [3] Read more in the guides to the Yoga Sutras, the eight limbs and yoga's roots in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions.

How modern yoga differs

The same academic reference says that presenting yoga as mainly bodily poses is essentially a modern Western phenomenon with no precedent in the premodern tradition. [3] An encyclopedia article describes yoga as exercise as a twentieth-century blend of Western physical culture with hatha yoga. [1] The share of US adults who practiced yoga rose from 5.0 percent in 2002 to 15.8 percent in 2022. [2] How people with different backgrounds view this change is covered in cultural respect and appropriation debates.

Postures, breath and meditation

• Postures. NCCIH notes that styles range from gentle practices to physically demanding ones. [2] Browse yoga styles and standing yoga poses.
• Breathing. See pranayama. NCCIH advises newcomers to avoid forceful breathing. [2]
• Meditation. See meditation and yoga compared.

What research shows

Studies use many different styles, which makes results hard to compare. [2] Yoga trials cannot blind participants to what they are doing, so expectation can affect self-reported results.

1. Chronic low back pain versus no exercise

   promising but limited

   A Cochrane review of 21 trials (2,223 people) found small improvements in function and pain that were not clinically important. [4]

2. Same question, safety

   mixed

   Low-certainty evidence that yoga increased adverse events, mainly more back pain, compared with no exercise. [4]

3. Balance in people aged 60 and over

   promising but limited

   Six trials (307 people) found a small improvement in balance. Whether this prevents falls was not shown. [5]

4. Depression

   promising but limited

   NCCIH says yoga can be a helpful addition to treatment. [2]

5. Anxiety disorders

   insufficient evidence

   NCCIH reports little evidence of benefit. [2]

The Cochrane authors note that all of the back pain trials were unblinded and at high risk of bias. [4] For detail see yoga evidence by outcome and does yoga work.

Choosing a class

• Read the description. Gentle classes focus on support and relaxation, while spiritually oriented ones may emphasize philosophy or singing. [7]
• Start simply. NCCIH suggests newcomers avoid headstands, shoulder stands, the lotus position and forceful breathing. [2]
• Use a qualified instructor. Learning without supervision has been linked with increased risk. [2]
• Check training. Yoga Alliance, a US membership organization, offers credentials for schools, including a foundational 200-hour program. [8] Proper evidence not found here on government licensing of yoga teachers: the sources read did not address it, so check the rules where you live.

This site does not list or rank teachers. See how to find a yoga class or teacher and yoga for beginners.

A map of this library

• Foundations: history, Yoga Sutras, eight limbs, cultural respect.
• Poses and anatomy: poses for beginners, poses to avoid or modify.
• Mental health and sleep: stress, anxiety, depression, sleep.
• Body and pain: low back pain, arthritis.
• Who it is for: adapted yoga, pregnancy, older adults.
• Related movement: tai chi, qigong, yoga vs tai chi, yoga vs Pilates.
• Reference: glossary, props, teacher training.

Do not use yoga as a reason to delay care for a medical problem. If you have chest pain, sudden severe symptoms or a medical emergency in the United States, call 911.