99 Fun Facts About Yoga

When did systematic yoga concepts emerge from ancient ascetic and Śramaṇa movements?

Systematic yoga concepts emerged in the fifth and sixth centuries BCE, within India's ascetic and Śramaṇa movements, Jainism and Buddhism included; older yoga-like practices appear in the Rigveda.

Roughly how many sutras make up the Yoga Sutras?

Even the count is disputed: 195 by one lineage of commentators, 196 by another.

In yoga, what does the Sanskrit term 'asana' primarily refer to?

Asana means physical postures. The word originally named a seated meditation pose; later hatha texts extended it to standing, reclining and twisting positions.

Kundalini is described as a coiled serpent resting where?

Kundalini rests at the base of the spine, coiled in the muladhara, the root centre; practice is said to rouse it and send it upward through six centres to the seventh.

Whom did K. Pattabhi Jois claim to have learnt his system from?

T. Krishnamacharya took Jois on as a pupil in 1927, when Jois was 12; Jois said the energetic system he later taught in Mysore, pairing breath with a set progression of postures, came from Krishnamacharya.

Which martial arts and Taoist yoga teacher founded the slow style later named by Sarah Powers?

Paulie Zink founded Yin yoga in the late 1970s; Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers spread it, Powers giving it the name. Zink's wider Taoist practice also took in animal movements and yin-yang balance.

What is the literal translation of the Sanskrit greeting 'Namaste,' commonly used in yoga classes?

Namaste means 'I bow to you': namas (bow, obeisance) plus te (to you). The sense is that the same self is present in greeter and greeted.

What does the Sanskrit word 'mudra' literally mean?

Mudra literally means 'seal' (also 'mark' or 'gesture'); the same word covers ritual hand gestures in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, and in Indian classical dance.

Modern postural yoga in the West is largely a blend of medieval technique and what?

Modern postural yoga blends medieval hatha technique with Western physical culture, the gymnastics and bodybuilding drills absorbed in early 20th-century India. The older form aimed at meditation and release, not fitness.

In which ancient civilization did the practice of yoga originate?

Yoga is a spiritual discipline with a history stretching back thousands of years, first attested in ancient India.

What is the Sanskrit name for the "Mountain Pose," a foundational standing posture in yoga?

Tadasana, or Mountain Pose, is a basic standing posture in yoga that helps establish grounding and proper alignment. It is often the starting point for other poses.

Which of the five yamas, the ethical restraints of classical yoga, means non-violence?

Ahimsa, non-violence, is the first of the five yamas, alongside satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha; commentators treat it as the root restraint the other four exist to perfect.

Which yoga style is practiced in a room heated to around 105°F (40°C)?

Bikram yoga, devised by Bikram Choudhury, is practised in a room heated to about 105°F (40°C) with 40% humidity; he fixed the posture sequence and franchised the result worldwide.

What is the Sanskrit term for yogic breathing exercises and techniques?

Pranayama is the fourth limb of Patanjali's path: the conscious control of breath, said to enhance vitality and calm the mind.

Which breathing technique, nicknamed 'ocean breath', narrows the throat to make a soft hiss?

Ujjayi breath slightly narrows the glottis so each inhale and exhale makes a soft ocean-like hiss; it is the breath used throughout Ashtanga Vinyasa practice.

Which sacred syllable, chanted in yoga and meditation, stands for universal consciousness?

Om is the sacred syllable chanted at the start and end of yoga sessions; it stands for universal consciousness, Brahman, and its written form is Hinduism's most important symbol.

In the name of one branch of yoga, what does the Sanskrit word 'haṭha' literally mean?

Haṭha literally means 'force'; the popular sun (ha) and moon (ṭha) reading is a later gloss, and the medieval texts point at forceful physical technique.

Roughly how many linked asanas make up the Salute to the Sun?

Twelve linked positions make up the standard Sun Salutation; the Raja of Aundh popularised the sequence in the 1920s, and it was first recorded as yoga only in the early 20th century.

How many 'limbs' make up the classical yoga path set out in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, running from restraint to absorption?

Eight limbs, ashtanga in Sanskrit: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi, from restraint and observance to absorption.

Who pioneered the rubber 'sticky mat' in 1982?

Angela Farmer, teaching in Germany in 1982, used non-slip carpet underlay as a yoga mat; her father then sold it as the first 'sticky mat', later a symbol of the practice's commercialisation.

In yogic philosophy, what are the energy centres said to lie along the spine called, the best-known scheme counting seven?

The seven chakras are not ancient orthodoxy: medieval Buddhist texts count only four or five, and the familiar seven reached the West through a 1919 English book, The Serpent Power.

In the Yoga Sutras, which term for steady practice is paired with vairagya, non-attachment?

Abhyasa, sustained practice, and vairagya, non-attachment, are paired in Yoga Sutra 1.12 as the two means of stilling the fluctuations of the mind.

Ustrasana, a kneeling backbend, takes its name from which animal?

Ustrasana is Camel Pose: ustra is Sanskrit for camel. From kneeling, the practitioner arches back to reach the heels, opening the front of the body.

On what date is the International Day of Yoga observed each year?

International Day of Yoga falls on 21 June, the northern hemisphere's longest day; the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution on 11 December 2014 and the first observance came in 2015.

Which limb of classical yoga is the withdrawal of the senses?

Pratyahara, withdrawal of the senses, is the fifth limb; it sits between pranayama and dharana, turning attention inward before meditation proper.

Which style did K. Pattabhi Jois popularise in the twentieth century?

Ashtanga Yoga, which Jois taught from the Mysore institute he founded in 1948, works through one of six fixed series, each ending with the same closing sequence.

The sacred syllable chanted in yoga classes is archaically analysed as which three phonemes?

Om is archaically analysed as the three phonemes a-u-m, read by commentators as waking, dreaming and deep sleep; it opens and closes chapters in many Hindu texts.

Which yoga pose, often performed at the end of a session, is known as 'Corpse Pose'?

Savasana, Corpse Pose, is the standard closing pose: lying flat on the back with the limbs relaxed. The same pose also goes by the name Mritasana, 'dead pose'.

What does the Sanskrit word 'prana' primarily refer to in yoga philosophy?

Prana is the life force or vital energy; tied to the breath, it is said to permeate reality at every level, inanimate objects included.

Where does the kanda, the bulb from which the nadis are said to spring, sit?

The kanda sits just below the navel, an egg-shaped bulb from which the nadis spring; some texts give the heart as the other origin point, with channels meeting at points of intensity along the way.

Which asana, done lying face down, lifts the chest into a gentle backbend?

Cobra Pose is Bhujangasana in Sanskrit, from bhujanga, 'serpent': lying prone, the practitioner presses the hands down and lifts the chest into a backbend.

How many asanas do the Yoga Sutras mention by name?

None at all: the Yoga Sutras treat asana in just three brief aphorisms and name no poses; Vyasa's later commentary lists a dozen seated ones, among them Padmasana, Virasana and Svastikasana.

Sarvangasana, the 'all-limbs pose', is commonly known in English as which inversion?

Sarvangasana is Shoulderstand: lying on the back, the practitioner lifts legs and torso vertically, hands supporting the back, the weight resting on the shoulders and upper arms.

Which style emphasises flowing movements synchronised with the breath?

Vinyasa yoga is characterized by a dynamic sequence of movements linked together with the breath, creating a fluid and continuous practice.

What does the Sanskrit word 'chakra' literally mean?

Chakra literally means 'wheel' (or 'disc'); the name pictures a spinning centre in the subtle body, used as an aid to meditation.

Tree pose belongs to which category of asana?

Tree Pose (Vrikshasana) is a balancing pose, held standing on one leg; a 7th-century carving at Mahabalipuram shows a one-legged figure that one teacher reads as an early version.

Padmasana, the classic cross-legged meditation seat, is known in English as which pose?

Padmasana is Lotus Pose: seated, each foot rests on the opposite thigh, soles up. Padma is Sanskrit for lotus, and the pose is the classic seat for meditation and pranayama.

Utkatasana, a standing pose with bent knees and raised arms, is known in English as what?

Utkatasana is Chair Pose: standing with the feet together, the knees bend as if sitting on an invisible chair while the arms reach overhead. Utkata means 'fierce' or 'powerful'.

How do the Yoga Sutras define a good asana?

Yoga Sutra 2.46 reads sthira sukham asanam: a posture should be steady and comfortable. The text sets no shape at all, only that quality.

Before modern mats, meditative practice was often done on a rug of what?

Deer or tiger skin: the Bhagavad Gita (6.11) describes the yogi's seat as kusha grass covered with a deerskin and a cloth, set on a clean, firm spot neither too high nor too low.

Which yoga pose stretches the hamstrings and calves with the body in an inverted 'V'?

Downward-Facing Dog, Adho Mukha Svanasana, forms an inverted V with hands and feet on the floor and hips lifted; it counts as a mild inversion and recurs throughout flowing sequences.

The fixed hot-yoga beginning series consists of how many postures?

26 postures: the hot-yoga beginning series runs 24 asanas plus two breathing exercises, always in the same order, over a 90-minute class.

Who introduced the Yoga Sutras to the West?

Swami Vivekananda brought the Yoga Sutras to Western attention with his 1896 book Raja Yoga; the text only became widely prominent later, riding the 20th-century boom in postural practice.

What is the yoga term for the energy locks or muscular contractions that direct the flow of prana?

The word literally means bond or fetter; the one at the pelvic floor, mula bandha, is treated as primary.

Which pose is counted as both an asana and a mudra in the medieval tradition?

Legs up the wall, Viparita Karani, is listed as a mudra in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika for its supposed effect on vital fluid, and practised as a restorative asana in modern yoga.

Which mudra, palms pressed together at the chest, accompanies the greeting namaste?

Anjali mudra is the gesture of palms pressed together, fingers up and thumbs near the sternum; anjali means 'offering', and it accompanies namaste at the start and end of class.

Halasana, done lying on the back with legs swung overhead, is named after which farm tool?

Halasana is Plough Pose: from lying on the back, the legs swing over the head until the toes touch the floor, the body resembling an Indian plough. Hala is Sanskrit for plough.

The three principal nadis are ida, pingala and which third, running along the spinal cord?

Sushumna is the central channel running along the spinal cord, flanked by ida and pingala; the aim is to unblock all three, and the roused kundalini is meant to climb the sushumna.

Which style uses props such as blankets and bolsters to support the body in long, passive holds?

Restorative yoga focuses on deep relaxation and healing, using props to fully support the body in passive poses, allowing for complete surrender.

What is the Sanskrit word for 'union' or 'to yoke', from which the word 'yoga' is derived?

Traditional commentators on the Yoga Sutras prefer a second root, yuj samadhau, 'to concentrate'.

How many niyamas does the medieval Hathayogapradipika list?

Ten: the Hatha Yoga Pradipika lists ten niyamas, twice the classical five, padding the list out with items such as faith (astikya) and charity (dana).

Which standing pose, legs wide and one hand reaching to the shin, stretches the body's sides?

Trikonasana, or Triangle Pose, is a foundational standing posture that stretches the hips, groins, hamstrings, and calves while strengthening the legs and core.

Which niyama means contentment?

Santosha, contentment, is one of the five classical niyamas alongside saucha, tapas, svadhyaya and ishvara-pranidhana; commentators gloss it as a disinterest in acquiring more than one needs.

What is the English name for the kneeling asana 'Balasana'?

Child's Pose, Balasana, is a kneeling forward fold with the forehead on the floor; it serves as a resting counterpose, usually taken before and after inversions.

Which breathing technique closes one nostril at a time with the fingers, alternating sides?

Nadi Shodhana is alternate-nostril breathing: the thumb and ring finger close one nostril at a time, inhaling through one side and exhaling through the other, then switching.

In yogic breathing, which Sanskrit term names the retention of the breath?

Kumbhaka is breath retention, held either after inhaling (antara kumbhaka) or after exhaling (bahya kumbhaka); puraka is the inhalation and rechaka the exhalation.

In kundalini practice, the roused energy is guided upward to which point?

The crown of the head, the sahasrara: the roused kundalini is guided up the central channel through six lower centres to this seventh one.

Which style is defined by precision, sequence and the use of props?

Iyengar Yoga, founded by B.K.S. Iyengar, is characterized by its meticulous attention to anatomical alignment and the use of various props to facilitate proper posture.

The Bhagavad Gita, Krishna's teaching on yoga, is embedded in which larger text?

The Bhagavad Gita forms part of the Mahabharata, set in its sixth book, the Bhishma Parva, as a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna before the battle of Kurukshetra.

Which Sanskrit name is an alternative for Mountain pose?

Samasthiti, 'equal standing', is the name Ashtanga uses for Mountain pose; for all its status as the foundation of standing work, the pose does not appear in the medieval texts at all.

What is the Sanskrit term for 'meditation' or 'contemplation', a key aspect of yoga practice?

Dhyana is meditation, the seventh limb: the stage where attention settles on one object and stays there, following dharana (concentration) and preceding samadhi (absorption).

Which traditional healing system shares yoga's roots and prescribes yoga as a therapy?

Ayurveda, India's traditional medicine, shares yoga's roots and prescribes it as therapy; its treatments range from herbal medicines and special diets to massage, meditation and yoga itself.

Medieval texts prescribed inverted postures to stop what from dripping down out of the head?

Bindu, the vital fluid: medieval hatha texts held it drips from the head to be burnt by the fire at the belly, so inverted postures reversed it, or the breath drove it back up the central channel.

What is the Sanskrit term for the sequence of postures known as 'Sun Salutations'?

Surya Namaskar, the Sun Salutation (surya, sun; namaskar, salutation), links its positions in a flowing cycle; similar exercises were in use before it was recorded as yoga in the early 20th century.

Dhanurasana, a prone backbend in which the hands grip the ankles, is known as which pose?

Dhanurasana is Bow Pose: lying prone, the practitioner bends the knees, grips the ankles and lifts chest and thighs so the body curves like a drawn bow. Dhanu is Sanskrit for bow.

In Ashtanga vinyasa, the primary series goes by which name?

Yoga chikitsa, 'yoga therapy', is the Ashtanga primary series; the intermediate series is nadi shodhana, the nerve purifier, and the advanced series sthira bhaga, strength and grace.

Which Sanskrit term means 'action, deed, effort' and names a completed yogic technique?

Kriya means 'action, deed, effort', from the root kri, 'to do', which also gives karma; in Kundalini and Kriya Yoga a kriya is a complete technique or set of exercises.

What is the term for a spiritual teacher or guide in the yogic tradition?

Guru is the term: a popular etymology splits it into gu, darkness, and ru, the light that dispels it, though not every scholar accepts that reading.

In which city was the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute founded in 1975?

Pune: B.K.S. Iyengar opened the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute there in 1975, naming it in memory of his wife, who had died two years earlier.

Which late Vedic Sanskrit texts document the emergence of Hinduism's central concepts?

The Upanishads, the late Vedic Sanskrit texts, mark the turn from ritual sacrifice to inward questions about the self, atman, and its identity with brahman.

In Ashtanga Vinyasa, which term names the gazing point fixed during each posture?

Drishti is the gazing point: Ashtanga Vinyasa assigns one of nine, such as the nose tip or the thumb, to each posture to steady attention and balance.

The word 'shanti', often chanted three times to close a class, means what?

Shanti means 'peace'; the closing chant 'om shanti shanti shanti' repeats it three times, traditionally to quiet three kinds of disturbance.

In which Upanishad does 'yoga' first appear in its modern sense, as steady control of the senses?

The Katha Upanishad, probably composed between the fifth and third centuries BCE, is the first text to use 'yoga' in its modern sense, blending early Upanishadic monism with samkhya and yoga concepts.

Which Rajah of Aundh pioneered the Sun Salutation sequence during the 1920s?

Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi, Rajah of Aundh, promoted the Sun Salutation as daily exercise in the 1920s and wrote a book on it; before 1900 hatha yoga had few standing poses.

On what date did UNESCO list yoga as an intangible cultural heritage?

1 December 2016: UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee, meeting in Addis Ababa, inscribed yoga on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, separate from the UN's 2014 International Day decision.

How many asanas were illustrated in the Joga Pradipika of 1830?

84: the Joga Pradipika of 1830 describes and illustrates 84 asanas, the traditional number; by 1984 Dharma Mittra had photographed himself in over 900.

Scholars divide the Gita's 18 chapters into three groups of six, devoted to which yogas in order?

Karma, bhakti and jnana: chapters 1–6 of the Gita teach the yoga of action, 7–12 the yoga of devotion and 13–18 the yoga of knowledge, reconciling yoga with worldly duty by caste and stage of life.

Which 8th-century thinker, Advaita Vedanta's most influential, wrote commentaries on jnana yoga?

Adi Shankara, the 8th-century Advaita Vedanta teacher, wrote commentaries on the Gita and the principal Upanishads; yoga and Vedanta are the two largest surviving Hindu schools, but classical yoga disputes Advaita's monism.

Which Advaita text, teaching seven stages of practice, uses short stories to illustrate its ideas?

It was one of the most popular texts on Hindu yoga before the 12th century and a key reference for medieval Advaita yoga scholars.

Which violinist became B. K. S. Iyengar's pupil and wrote the foreword to his 1966 classic Light on Yoga?

Yehudi Menuhin's patronage turned a little-known Indian teacher into an international guru; he befriended Iyengar in 1952 and invited him to teach in Europe.

Who wrote The Heart of Yoga (1995), a guide to his father Krishnamacharya's teaching?

T. K. V. Desikachar, Krishnamacharya's son, wrote The Heart of Yoga (1995) and founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai in 1976, teaching practice adapted to the individual.

Which teacher opened a yoga studio on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard in the late 1940s?

Indra Devi, born Eugenie Peterson in Riga in 1899, opened her Sunset Boulevard studio in the late 1940s, taught stars such as Gloria Swanson and earned the nickname 'first lady of yoga'.

Which feat did the 'father of modern yoga' apparently perform while touring for the King of Mysore?

Stopping his heartbeat: Krishnamacharya apparently suspended his pulse in demonstrations while touring India under Mysore's royal patronage; his palace school also trained B. K. S. Iyengar and Indra Devi.

Shiva created the warrior Virabhadra, namesake of a lunging pose, to destroy whose sacrifice?

Daksha had snubbed his daughter Sati and her husband Shiva by not inviting them to the ritual, and the enraged god sent his creation to wreck it.

Which inverted pose has been called the 'king of all asanas'?

Headstand, Sirsasana, has been called the king of all asanas; its many variations can be linked into Mandalasana, where the legs sweep a full circle around the body while balanced on the head.

Laughter yoga was introduced in Mumbai in 1995 by a man of which profession?

Madan Kataria, a Mumbai family physician, started the first laughter club in a local park in 1995 with his wife Madhuri and a handful of friends.

What do the three H's in Yogi Bhajan's 3HO foundation stand for?

Healthy, Happy, Holy: Yogi Bhajan founded the 3HO foundation in Los Angeles in 1969, and it grew to more than 300 centres in 35 countries, spreading his form of Kundalini practice.

Which town hosts Kaivalyadhama, the yoga research centre Kuvalayananda founded in 1924?

Lonavala, a hill town in Maharashtra, hosts Kaivalyadhama; Kuvalayananda built it in 1924 as a laboratory for scientific study, measuring the oxygen consumption of yogis practising pranayama.

Which tech founder was among the most famous advocates of Autobiography of a Yogi?

Steve Jobs reread Autobiography of a Yogi every year, and guests at his 2011 memorial were reportedly handed a small brown box containing a copy as they left.

In September 1983, Vishnudevananda flew a 'peace flight' over which barrier?

The Berlin Wall: in September 1983 Vishnudevananda flew an ultralight over it from West to East Berlin; his flights over the world's trouble spots earned him the name 'The Flying Swami'.

Which swami founded the Divine Life Society at Rishikesh in 1936?

Swami Sivananda, a former doctor, founded the Divine Life Society at Rishikesh in 1936; his disciples Vishnudevananda, Satyananda and Chidananda carried his yoga teaching worldwide.

Bhramari pranayama takes its name from the sound of which creature?

Bhramari is also the name of a Hindu goddess of bees; the breath is exhaled through the nose as a smooth hum.

How many limbs of practice does the Gheranda Samhita teach?

Seven: the Gheranda Samhita's 351 verses set out a sevenfold path (shatkarma, asana, mudra, pratyahara, pranayama, dhyana, samadhi), against the four limbs of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and six of the Goraksha Samhita.

Dancer pose, Natarajasana, derives from a posture in which classical Indian dance form?

Bharatanatyam: Dancer Pose copies a posture from that classical dance, seen in the temple statues at Chidambaram, home of Nataraja, the dancing form of Shiva the pose is named for.

Sharon Gannon and David Life co-founded which yoga method in New York in 1984?

Jivamukti, founded in New York in 1984 by Sharon Gannon, a dancer and musician, and David Life, an artist and cafe owner, makes ethical vegetarianism, chanting and scripture part of the practice.

Garudasana, a standing pose with wrapped arms and legs, is usually named after which bird?

Eagle Pose: Garuda, the mythical bird-king, is usually rendered 'eagle', though the Sanskrit name literally means 'devourer', Garuda once being identified with the all-consuming fire of the sun's rays.

Bakasana, the arm balance often mislabelled 'Crow' in the West, is properly named for which bird?

Crane is the real bird: Bakasana keeps the arms straight, while the true Crow pose, Kakasana, is the bent-arm version.

Which company first sold nylon-and-Lycra yoga pants in 1998 from its Vancouver store?

Lululemon, founded by Chip Wilson in Vancouver in 1998, sold the first stretchy nylon-and-Lycra yoga pants; Wilson was reportedly inspired by a 1997 class where the instructor wore second-skin dance attire.

Chaturanga Dandasana, or Four-Limbed Staff pose, is also known by which English name?

Low Plank: in Chaturanga Dandasana the body is held straight and parallel to the ground on toes and palms with the elbows bent at right angles; the straight-arm version is High Plank.