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{{Short description|Postures in hatha yoga and modern yoga practice}}
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[[File:Asanas Composite.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Asanas in varied contexts. Left to right, top to bottom: [[Chakrasana|Eka Pada Chakrasana]]; [[Ardha Matsyendrasana]]; [[Lotus position|Padmasana]]; [[Navasana]]; [[Pincha Mayurasana]]; [[Dhanurasana]]; [[Natarajasana]]; [[Vrkshasana]] ]]
{{Hinduism}}

An '''āsana''' ([[Sanskrit]]: [[wikt:आसन|आसन]]) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a [[meditation seat|sitting meditation pose]],<ref name=Patanjali111>Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math {{ISBN|978-81-7120-221-8}} p. 111</ref> and later extended in [[hatha yoga]] and modern [[yoga as exercise]], to any type of position, adding reclining, [[standing asanas|standing]], inverted, twisting, and balancing poses. The ''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali]]'' define "asana" as "[a position that] is steady and comfortable".<ref name="yogasutras"/> Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of the [[Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga)|eight limbs of his system]].<ref name="yogasutras">[[Patanjali]] ''[[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yoga sutras]]'', Book II:29, 46</ref> Asanas are al<!--needed by the sense, the term 'asanas' is widely used in the language-->so called '''yoga poses''' or '''yoga postures''' in English.<!--all of this is cited in the body of the article below-->

The 10th or 11th century ''[[Goraksha Samhita|Goraksha Sataka]]'' and the 15th century ''[[Hatha Yoga Pradipika]]'' identify 84 asanas; the 17th century ''[[Haṭha Ratnāvalī|Hatha Ratnavali]]'' provides a different list of 84 asanas, describing some of them. In the 20th century, [[Indian nationalism]] favoured [[physical culture]] in response to [[British_Raj|colonialism]]. In that environment, pioneers such as [[Yogendra]], [[Kuvalayananda]], and [[Krishnamacharya]] taught a new system of asanas (incorporating systems of exercise as well as traditional hatha yoga). Among Krishnamacharya's pupils were influential Indian yoga teachers including [[Pattabhi Jois]], founder of [[Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga]], and [[B.K.S. Iyengar]], founder of [[Iyengar yoga]]. Together they described hundreds more asanas, revived the popularity of yoga, and brought it to the Western world. Many more asanas have been devised since Iyengar's 1966 ''[[Light on Yoga]]'' which described some 200 asanas. Hundreds more were illustrated by [[Dharma Mittra]].<!--all of this is cited in the body of the article below-->

Asanas were claimed to provide both spiritual and physical benefits in medieval hatha yoga texts. More recently, studies have provided evidence that they improve flexibility, strength, and balance; to reduce stress and conditions related to it; and specifically to alleviate some diseases such as asthma<ref name=ross/><ref name=hayes/> and diabetes.<ref name=alexander/>

Asanas have appeared in culture for many centuries. Religious [[Indian art]] depicts figures of the [[Buddha]],<!--alphabetical order--> [[Jain]] [[tirthankara]]s, and [[Shiva]] in [[lotus position]] and other meditation seats, and in the "royal ease" position, [[lalitasana]]. With the popularity of yoga as exercise, asanas feature commonly in [[novels]] and [[films]], and sometimes also in [[advertising]].<!--all of this is cited in the body of the article below-->

== History ==

=== Ancient times ===
[[File:Yogi. Mold of Seal, Indus valley civilization.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Mould of [[Pashupati seal]] from the [[Indus Valley Civilization]], {{circa|2500 BC}}, its central figure in a pose resembling [[Mulabandhasana]].{{efn|[[Pasupati|Paśupati]], "Lord of beasts", is a name of the later Hindu god [[Shiva]].}}]]

The central figure in the [[Pashupati seal]] from the [[Indus Valley Civilization]] of {{circa|2500 BC}} was identified by Sir John Marshall in 1931 as a prototype of the god [[Shiva]], recognised by being three-faced; in a yoga position as the Mahayogin, the god of yoga; having four animals as [[Pashupati]], the Lord of Beasts; with deer beneath the throne, as in medieval depictions of Shiva; having a three-part headdress recalling Shiva's trident; and possibly being [[ithyphallic]], again like Shiva.{{sfn|McEvilley|1981}} If correct, this would be the oldest record of an asana. However, with no proof anywhere of an Indus Valley origin for Shiva, with multiple competing interpretations of the Pashupati seal and no obvious way of deciding between these, there is no reliable evidence that it is actually a yoga pose that is depicted in the seal.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=25}}{{sfn|Doniger|2011|pp=485-508}}{{sfn|Samuel|2017|p=8}}{{sfn|Shearer|2020|p=18}}{{sfn|Srinivasan|1984|pp=77-89}}

{{Contains special characters|Indic}}

Asanas originated in India. In his ''[[Yoga Sutras]]'', [[Patanjali]] (c. 2nd to 4th century CE) describes asana practice as the third of the eight limbs ([[Sanskrit]]: अष्टाङ्ग, ''aṣṭāṅga'', from अष्ट् ''aṣṭ'', eight, and अङ्ग ''aṅga'', limb) of classical, or [[raja yoga]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Feuerstein |first1=Georg |author1-link=Georg Feuerstein |first2=Ken |last2=Wilber |author2-link=Ken Wilber |title=The Yoga Tradition |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |year=2002 |chapter=The Wheel of Yoga |isbn=978-81-208-1923-8 |pages=108ff}}</ref> 
The word asana, in use in English since the 19th century, is from {{langx|sa|आसन}} ''āsana'' "sitting down" (from आस् ''ās'' "to sit down"), a sitting posture, a meditation seat.<ref name="mw2">{{cite dictionary |author-link=Monier Monier-Williams |author=Monier-Williams, Monier |year=1899 |title=Asana |dictionary=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford Clarendon Press |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/index.html |page=159}}</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary |title=Asana |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/asana |dictionary=Merriam-Webster |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=23 November 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Patanjali's Yogabhasya, Sanskrit, Devanagari script, sample page f13r.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|A page from [[Patanjali]]'s ''[[Yoga Sutras]]'' and ''Bhasya'' commentary (c. 2nd to 4th century CE), which placed asana as one of the eight limbs of classical yoga]]

The eight limbs are, in order, the [[yamas]] (codes of social conduct), [[niyama]]s (self-observances), asanas (postures), [[pranayama]] (breath work), [[pratyahara]] (sense withdrawal or non-attachment), [[dharana]] (concentration), [[Dhyana in Hinduism|dhyana]] (meditation), and [[Samādhi|samadhi]] (realization of the true Self or [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]], and unity with [[Brahman]], ultimate reality).<!--<ref name="Carrico 2007" />--><ref name="Humphrey 1987">{{cite book |last1=Humphrey |first1=Naomi |title=Meditation: The Inner Way |date=1987 |publisher=HarperCollins (Aquarian Press) |isbn=0-85030-508-X |pages=[https://archive.org/details/meditationinnerw0000hump/page/112 112–113] |url=https://archive.org/details/meditationinnerw0000hump/page/112 }}</ref>
Asanas, along with the breathing exercises of [[pranayama]], are the physical movements of [[hatha yoga]] and of [[modern yoga]].<ref name="Markil 2010">{{cite journal |last1=Markil |first1=Nina |last2=Geithner |first2=Christina A. |last3=Penhollow |first3=Tina M. |title=Hatha Yoga |journal=ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal |volume=14 |issue=5 |year=2010 |doi=10.1249/fit.0b013e3181ed5af2 |pages=19–24| s2cid=78930751 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Joshi |first=K. S. |title=On the Meaning of Yoga |journal=Philosophy East and West |date=January 1965 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=53–64 |jstor=1397408 |quote=Hatha-yoga purports, through physical postures and breathing exercises, to bring about a psycho-physiologically integrative adjustment of human behavior.|doi=10.2307/1397408 }}</ref> Patanjali describes asanas as a "steady and comfortable posture",<ref>{{cite book |last1=Patanjali |author-link1=Patanjali |title=Yoga Sutras |pages=2.47 |url=http://www.swamij.com/yoga-sutras-24648.htm}}</ref> referring to the seated postures used for [[pranayama]] and for [[meditation]], where meditation is the path to samadhi, [[transpersonal]] self-realization.<!--<ref name="Carrico 2007" />--><ref name="Patañjali 1983">{{cite book |author1=Patañjali |author2=Āraṇya, Hariharānanda (trans.) |title=Yoga philosophy of Patañjali: containing his Yoga aphorisms with Vyasa's commentary in Sanskrit and a translation with annotations including many suggestions for the practice of Yoga |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-87395-728-1 |oclc=9622445 |pages=252–253}}</ref><ref name="Desmarais 2008">{{cite book |author=Desmarais, Michele Marie |year=2008 |title=Changing Minds : Mind, Consciousness and Identity in Patanjali's Yoga-Sutra |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-8120833364 |pages=175–176}}</ref>

The ''Yoga Sutras'' do not mention a single asana by name, merely specifying the characteristics of a good asana:<ref>{{cite book |url=http://sacred-texts.com/hin/ysp/ysp04.htm |author=Patanjali |title=Yoga Sutras |page=Book 2:46}}</ref>

{{quote|स्थिरसुखमासनम् ॥४६॥<br/>''sthira sukham āsanam''<br/>Asana means a steady and comfortable posture. ''Yoga Sutras'' 2:46}}

The ''Sutras'' are embedded in the ''Bhasya'' commentary, which scholars suggest may also be by Patanjali;<ref>{{cite book | last=Maas | first=Philipp A. | year=2006 | title=Samādhipāda. Das erste Kapitel des Pātañjalayogaśāstra zum ersten Mal kritisch ediert |language=de |trans-title=Samādhipāda: The First Chapter of the Pātañjalayogaśāstra for the First Time Critically Edited |publisher=Shaker |location=Aachen}}</ref> it names 12 [[Meditation seat|seated meditation asanas]] including [[Lotus position|Padmasana]], [[Virasana]], [[Bhadrasana]], and [[Svastikasana]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Hariharānanda |last=Āraṇya |year=1983 |title=Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0873957281 |page=228 and footnotes}}</ref>

=== Medieval texts===

{{multiple image
 | align             = left
 | total_width       = 300
 | image1            = 1 Sannyasi in yoga meditation on the Ganges, Rishikesh cropped.jpg
 | image2            = Sidhasana.JPG
 | footer            = The two seated asanas mentioned in the ''[[Goraksha Samhita|Goraksha Sataka]]'', [[Lotus posture|Padmasana]] and [[Siddhasana]], are used for [[meditation]] and for [[pranayama]].
}}

{{further|Hatha yoga}}

The 10th–11th century ''[[Vimānārcanākalpa|Vimanarcanakalpa]]'' is the first manuscript to describe a non-seated asana, in the form of [[Mayurasana]] (peacock) – a balancing pose. Such poses appear, according to the scholar [[James Mallinson (author)|James Mallinson]], to have been created outside [[Shaivism]], the home of the [[Nath]] yoga tradition, and to have been associated with [[asceticism]]; they were later adopted by the Nath yogins.<ref name="Mallinson 2011">{{cite web |last1=Mallinson |first1=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) |title=A Response to Mark Singleton's Yoga Body by James Mallinson |url=https://www.academia.edu/1146607 |access-date=4 January 2019 |date=9 December 2011}} revised from American Academy of Religions conference, San Francisco, 19 November 2011.</ref>{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=100-101}}

The ''[[Goraksha Samhita|Goraksha Sataka]]'' (10–11th century), or ''Goraksha Paddhathi'', an early [[Hatha yoga|hatha yogic]] text, describes the origin of the 84 classic asanas said to have been revealed by the [[Hindu deity]] [[Lord Shiva]].<ref name=Goraksha>{{cite book |title=Goraksha-Paddhati |url=http://omnamo.narod.ru/gorakshapaddhati.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903221119/http://omnamo.narod.ru/gorakshapaddhati.html |access-date=24 November 2018|archive-date=2011-09-03 }}</ref> Observing that there are as many postures as there are beings and asserting that there are 84 [[lakh]]{{efn|A [[lakh]] is 100,000}} or 8,400,000<ref>[http://www.metanexus.net/archive/conference2005/pdf/td_singh.pdf Singh, T. D.; ''Hinduism and Science'']</ref> species in all, the text states that Lord Shiva fashioned an asana for each lakh, thus giving 84 in all, although it mentions and describes only two in detail: [[Siddhasana]] and [[Lotus position|Padmasana]].<ref name=Goraksha /> The number 84 is symbolic rather than literal, indicating completeness and sacredness.{{efn|name=symbolism|84's symbolism may derive from its astrological and numerological properties: it is the product of 7, the number of planets in [[astrology]], and 12, the number of [[signs of the zodiac]], while in [[numerology]], 7 is the sum of 3 and 4, and 12 is the product, i.e. 84 is (3+4)×(3×4).<ref name="Rosen 2017" />}}<ref name="Rosen 2017">{{cite book |last=Rosen |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Rosen (yoga teacher) |title=Yoga FAQ: Almost Everything You Need to Know about Yoga-from Asanas to Yamas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0oBPDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA171 |year=2017 |publisher=Shambhala |isbn=978-0-8348-4057-7 |pages=171– |quote=this number has symbolic significance. S. Dasgupta, in ''Obscure Religious Cults'' (1946), cites numerous instances of variations on eighty-four in Indian literature that stress its 'purely mystical nature'; ... [[Gudrun Bühnemann]], in her comprehensive ''Eighty-Four Asanas in Yoga'', notes that the number 'signifies completeness, and in some cases, sacredness. ... John Campbell Oman, in ''The Mystics, Ascetics, and Saints of India (1905) ... seven ... classical planets in Indian astrology ... and twelve, the number of signs of the zodiac. ... Matthew Kapstein gives .. a numerological point of view ... 3+4=7 ... 3x4=12 ...''}}</ref>

[[File:15th-16th century Achyutaraya temple yoga asana 7, Hampi Hindu monuments Karnataka (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Relief statue in [[Achyutaraya temple]], [[Hampi]], [[Karnataka]] showing an unidentified{{efn|The posture has the left arm supporting the body and the left leg behind the neck, as in [[Chakorasana]],<!--''Light on Yoga'', plate 379--> and Omkarasana, but with the right arm bent, not supporting the body.}} hand-balancing asana,<ref>{{cite book |author=Suresh, K. M. |title=Sculptural Art of Hampi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r7xmluMu-FsC |year=1998 |publisher=Directorate of Archaeology and Museums |pages=190–195}}</ref> 16th century]]

The ''[[Hatha Yoga Pradipika]]'' (15th century) specifies that of these 84, the first four are important, namely the seated poses Siddhasana, Padmasana, [[Bhadrasana]] and [[Simhasana]].<ref name="sacred-texts.com">[http://sacred-texts.com/hin/hyp/hyp03.htm Chapter 1, 'On Asanas', Hatha Yoga Pradipika]</ref>

The pillars of the 16th century [[Achyutaraya temple]] at [[Hampi]] are decorated with numerous relief statues of yogins in asanas including Siddhasana balanced on a stick, [[Chakrasana]], [[Yogapattasana]] which requires the [[Yoga using props|use of a strap]], and a [[Adho Mukha Vrksasana|hand-standing inverted pose]] with a stick, as well as several unidentified poses.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hampi |url=http://hyp.soas.ac.uk/hampi/ |publisher=The Hatha Yoga Project {{!}} School of Oriental and Asiatic Studies |access-date=26 January 2019 |date=2016 |quote=This is a selection of images of yogis from 16th-century temple pillars at Hampi, Karnataka, the erstwhile [[Vijayanagar]]. The photographs were taken by Dr Mallinson and Dr Bevilacqua in March 2016.}}</ref>

By the 17th century, asanas became an important component of Hatha yoga practice, and more non-seated poses appear.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=91, 114-119}} The ''[[Hatha Ratnavali]]'' by Srinivasa (17th century)<ref name="EastBombay1988">{{cite book | author=The Yoga Institute (Santacruz East Bombay India) | title=Cyclopaedia Yoga | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AXbAAAAMAAJ | year=1988| publisher=[[The Yoga Institute]] | page=32}}</ref><ref name="Hatha Ratnavali 2002">{{cite book |author=Srinivasa | first1=Narinder | editor1-last=Gharote | editor1-first=M. L. | editor2-last=Devnath |editor2-first=Parimal |editor3-last=Jha | editor3-first=Vijay Kant | title=Hatha Ratnavali Srinivasayogi {{!}} A Treatise On Hathayoga | year=2002 |publisher=The Lonavla Yoga Institute |isbn=81-901176-96 | pages=98–122 asanas listed; Figures of asanas in unnumbered pages between pages 153 and 154; asanas named but not described in text listed on pages 157–159 | edition=1 | url=https://archive.org/details/HathaRatnavaliSrinivasayogiATreatiseOnHathayogaEd.GharoteM.L.DevnathParimalDevNa/page/n191}}</ref> is one of the few texts to attempt an actual listing of 84 asanas,{{efn|The ''Hatha Ratnavali''{{'}}s list of 84 asanas is
* "[[Siddhasana]], [[Bhadrasana]], [[Vajrasana (yoga)|Vajrasana]], [[Simhasana]], Silpasana,<!--means craft or decorative pose, its appearance is unknown-->
* ''four types of [[Lotus position|Padmasana]], such as'' Bandha, Kara, Samputita and Suddha;
* ''six types of [[Mayurasana]] such as'' Danda, Parsva, Sahaja, Bandha, Pinda, Ekapada;
* [[Bhairavasana]], Kamadahana, Panipatra, Karmuka, [[Svastikasana]], [[Gomukhasana]], [[Virasana]], [[Mandukasana]], Markata, [[Matsyendrasana]], [[Matsyendrasana|Parsvamatsyendrasana]], [[Matsyendrasana|Baddhamatsyendrasana]], Niralambanasana, [[Chandrasana|Candrasana]], Kanthava, Ekapadaka, Phanindra, [[Pascimottanasana]], Sayitapascimatana, Citrakarani, [[Yoganidrasana]], Vidhunana, Padapidana, Hamsa, Nabhitala, Akasa, Utpadatala, Nabhllasitapadaka, [[Vrischikasana]], [[Cakrasana]], Utphalaka, [[Kurmasana|Uttanakurma]], [[Kurmasana]], [[Kurmasana|Baddhakurma]], Narjava, Kabandha, [[Gorakshasana]], Angusthasana, Mustika, Brahmaprasadita;
* ''five [[Kukkutasana|Kukkutas]] such as'' Pahcaculikukkuta, Ekapadakakukkuta, Akarita, Bandhacull and Parsvakukkuta;
* Ardhanarisvara, [[Bakasana]], Dharavaha, Candrakanta, Sudhasara, [[Vyaghrasana]], [[Natarajasana|Rajasana]], Indrani, Sarabhasana, Ratnasana, Citrapitha, Baddhapaksi, Isvarasana, Vicitranalina, Kanta, Suddhapaksi, Sumandraka, Caurangi, [[Krāuñcāsana|Krauncasana]], Drdhasana, Khagasana, Brahmasana, Nagapitha and lastly [[Savasana]]."}}
although 4 out of its list cannot be translated from the Sanskrit, and at least 11{{efn|The 11 are Karmukasana, Hamsasana, [[Cakrasana]], [[Kurmasana]], Citrapitha, [[Gorakshasana|Goraksasana]], Angusthasana, [[Vyaghrasana]], Sara(la)bhasana, [[Krauñcāsana|Krauncasana]], Drdhasana.}} are merely mentioned without any description, their appearance known from other texts.<ref name="Hatha Ratnavali 2002" /><!--In all, 52 asanas of the ''Hatha Ratnavali'' are confirmed and described by the text itself, or other asana corpora.-->

The ''[[Gheranda Samhita]]'' (late 17th century) again asserts that Shiva taught 84 lakh<!--as above--> of asanas, out of which 84 are preeminent, and "32 are useful in the world of mortals."{{efn|The 32 "useful" asanas of the ''[[Gheranda Samhita]]'' are: [[Siddhasana]], [[Lotus position|Padmasana]], [[Bhadrasana]], [[Muktasana]], [[Vajrasana (yoga)|Vajrasana]], [[Svastikasana]], [[Simhasana]], [[Gomukhasana]], [[Virasana]], [[Dhanurasana]], [[Mritasana]], [[Guptasana]], [[Matsyasana]], [[Matsyendrasana]], [[Gorakshanasana]], [[Paschimottanasana]], [[Utkatasana]], Sankatasana, [[Mayurasana]], [[Kukkutasana]], [[Kurmasana]], Uttanakurmakasana, [[Uttana Mandukasana]], [[Vrikshasana]], [[Mandukasana]], [[Garudasana]], Vrishasana, [[Shalabhasana]], [[Makarasana]], [[Ushtrasana]], [[Bhujangasana]], and [[Sukhasana|Yogasana]].<ref name="Mallinson 2004">{{cite book | last=Mallinson | first=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) | title=The Gheranda Samhita: the original Sanskrit and an English translation| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73DzK3kTIgEC | year=2004 | publisher=YogaVidya | isbn=978-0-9716466-3-6 | pages=16–17}}</ref>}}<ref name="Mallinson 2004"/> The yoga teacher and scholar [[Mark Singleton (yoga teacher)|Mark Singleton]] notes from study of the primary texts that "asana was rarely, if ever, the primary feature of the significant yoga traditions in India."<ref name="Singleton 2011"/> The scholar [[Norman Sjoman]] comments that a continuous tradition running all the way back to the medieval yoga texts cannot be traced, either in the practice of asanas or in a history of scholarship.{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|p=40}}

=== Modern pioneers ===

{{see|Yoga as exercise|List of Indian asana yoga gurus}}

[[File:Bukh Parighasana Parsvottanasana Navasana.jpg|thumb|left|Postures in [[Niels Bukh]]'s 1924 ''Primary Gymnastics''{{sfn|Bukh|1924}} resembling [[Parighasana]], [[Parsvottanasana]], and [[Navasana]], supporting the suggestion that [[Krishnamacharya]] derived some of his asanas from the gymnastics culture of his time{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=200}}]]

From the 1850s onwards, a culture of physical exercise developed in India to counter the colonial stereotype of supposed "degeneracy" of Indians compared to the British,{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=95–97}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rosselli |first1=J. |title=The Self-Image of Effeteness: Physical Education and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Bengal |journal=Past & Present |date=February 1980 |issue=86 |pages=121–148 |jstor=650742|doi=10.1093/past/86.1.121 |pmid=11615074 }}</ref> a belief reinforced by then-current ideas of [[Lamarckism]] and [[eugenics]].{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=97–98}}<ref name="Kevles 1995">{{cite book | last=Kevles | first=Daniel | title=In the name of eugenics : genetics and the uses of human heredity | url=https://archive.org/details/innameofeugenics00kevl | url-access=registration | publisher=Harvard University Press | year=1995 | isbn=978-0-674-44557-4 | oclc=32430452 | page=[https://archive.org/details/innameofeugenics00kevl/page/58 58]}}</ref> This culture was taken up from the 1880s to the early 20th century by [[Indian nationalists]] such as [[Tiruka]], who taught exercises and unarmed combat techniques under the guise of yoga.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=98–106}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Tiruka (Sri Raghavendra Swami) |author-link=Tiruka |title=Suryanamaskara |date=1977 |publisher=Sarvodaya Mudranalaya, Anathasevashrama Trust |location=Malladhihalli |page=v |oclc=20519100}}</ref> Meanwhile, proponents of Indian [[physical culture]] like [[K. V. Iyer]] consciously combined "hata yoga" {{sic}} with [[bodybuilding]] in his [[Bangalore]] gymnasium.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=122–129}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Iyer |first=K. V. |author-link=K. V. Iyer |title=Muscle Cult: A Pro-Em to My System |date=1930 |publisher=Hercules Gymnasium and Correspondence School of Physical Culture |location=Bangalore |pages=41–42 |oclc=37973753}}</ref>

Singleton notes that poses close to [[Parighasana]], [[Parsvottanasana]], [[Navasana]] and others were described in [[Niels Bukh]]'s 1924 Danish text ''[[Grundgymnastik eller primitiv gymnastik]]''{{sfn|Bukh|1924}} (known in English as ''Primary Gymnastics'').<ref name="Singleton 2011"/> These in turn were derived from a 19th-century Scandinavian tradition of gymnastics dating back to [[Pehr Henrik Ling|Pehr Ling]], and "found their way to India" by the early 20th century.<ref name="Singleton 2011">{{cite web |last1=Singleton |first1=Mark |title=The Ancient & Modern Roots of Yoga |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/yoga-s-greater-truth |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]]<!--Singleton here is the reliable scholarly source, YJ just giving him a platform--> |date=4 February 2011}}</ref>{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=84–88}}

Yoga asanas were brought to America in 1919 by [[Yogendra]], sometimes called "the Father of the Modern Yoga Renaissance", his system influenced by the [[physical culture]] of [[Max Müller]].<ref name="Mishra 2016">{{cite news |last1=Mishra |first1=Debashree |title=Once Upon A Time: From 1918, this Yoga institute has been teaching generations, creating history |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/once-upon-a-time-from-1918-this-yoga-institute-has-been-teaching-generations-creating-history/|publisher=[[Indian Express]] |date=3 July 2016 |location=Mumbai}}</ref>

In 1924, [[Swami Kuvalayananda]] founded the [[Kaivalyadhama Health and Yoga Research Center]] in [[Maharashtra]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wathen |first1=Grace |title=Kaivalyadhama & Yoga Postures |url=http://www.livestrong.com/article/482891-kaivalyadhama-yoga-postures |publisher=LiveStrong |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112192447/http://www.livestrong.com/article/482891-kaivalyadhama-yoga-postures |archive-date=12 November 2011 |date=1 July 2011}}</ref> He combined asanas with Indian systems of exercise and modern European gymnastics, having according to the scholar [[Joseph Alter]] a "profound" effect on the evolution of yoga.{{sfn|Alter|2004|p=31}}

In 1925, [[Paramahansa Yogananda]], having moved from India to America<!--in 1920-->, set up the [[Self-Realization Fellowship]] in Los Angeles, and taught yoga, including asanas, breathing, chanting and meditation, to tens of thousands of Americans, as described in his 1946 ''[[Autobiography of a Yogi]]''.<!--<ref name="Ricci 2007">{{cite web |last1=Ricci |first1=Jeanne |title=Paramahansa Yogananda |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/paramahansa-yogananda |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]] |access-date=30 November 2018 |date=28 August 2007}}</ref>--><ref name="Yogananda 1971">{{cite book | author=Yogananda, Paramahansa |author-link=Paramahansa Yogananda | title=Autobiography of a Yogi | publisher=Self-Realization Fellowship | orig-year=1946 | year=1971 | isbn=978-0-87612-079-8 | oclc=220261|title-link=Autobiography of a Yogi }}</ref>{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=131–132}}

[[Tirumalai Krishnamacharya]] (1888–1989) studied under Kuvalayananda in the 1930s, creating "a marriage of hatha yoga, wrestling exercises, and modern Western gymnastic movement, and unlike anything seen before in the yoga tradition."<ref name="Singleton 2011" /> Sjoman argues that Krishnamacharya drew on the ''Vyayama Dipika''{{sfn|Bharadwaj|1896}} gymnastic exercise manual to create the Mysore Palace system of yoga.{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|pp=54–55}} Singleton argues that Krishnamacharya was familiar with the gymnastics culture of his time, which was influenced by Scandinavian gymnastics; his experimentation with asanas and innovative use of gymnastic jumping between poses may well explain, Singleton suggests, the resemblances between modern standing asanas and Scandinavian gymnastics.<ref name="Singleton 2011" /> Krishnamacharya, known as the father of modern yoga,<!--<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Mohan, A. G. | author1-link=A. G. Mohan |author2=Mohan, Ganesh |url=http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/2590 |title=Memories of a Master |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]] |date=29 November 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Anderson, Diane |url=http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/2605 |title=The YJ Interview: Partners in Peace |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]] |date=9 August 2010}}</ref>--> had among his pupils people who became influential yoga teachers themselves: the Russian Eugenie V. Peterson, known as [[Indra Devi]]; [[Pattabhi Jois]], who founded [[Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga]] in 1948; [[B.K.S. Iyengar]], his brother-in-law, who founded [[Iyengar Yoga]]; [[T.K.V. Desikachar]], his son, who continued his [[Viniyoga]] tradition; [[Srivatsa Ramaswami]]; and [[A. G. Mohan]], co-founder of Svastha Yoga & Ayurveda.<ref>{{cite book |author=Iyengar, B. K. S. |author-link=B. K. S. Iyengar |date=2006 |title=Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom |pages=xvi–xx |publisher=Rodale |isbn=978-1-59486-524-4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mohan |first=A. G. |author-link=A. G. Mohan |year=2010 |title=Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings |publisher=Shambhala |isbn=978-1-59030-800-4 | page=11|title-link=Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings }}</ref> Together they revived the popularity of yoga and brought it to the Western world.<ref name="Ruiz 2007">{{cite web |last1=Pages Ruiz |first1=Fernando |title=Krishnamacharya's Legacy: Modern Yoga's Inventor |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/krishnamacharya-s-legacy |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]] |access-date=26 November 2018 |date=28 August 2007}}</ref>{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=175-210}}

In 1960, [[Vishnudevananda Saraswati]], in the [[Sivananda yoga]] school, published a compilation of sixty-six basic postures and 136 variations of those postures in ''[[The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga]]''.{{sfn|Vishnu-devananda|1988}}

In 1966, Iyengar published ''[[Light on Yoga]]: Yoga Dipika'', illustrated with some 600 photographs of Iyengar demonstrating around 200 asanas; it systematised the physical practice of asanas. It became a bestseller, selling three million copies, and was translated into some 17 languages.<ref name="Stukin 2005">{{cite news | last=Stukin | first=Stacie | title=Yogis gather around the guru | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=10 October 2005 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-oct-10-he-iyengar10-story.html |access-date=9 January 2013}}</ref>

In 1984, [[Dharma Mittra]] compiled a list of about 1,300 asanas and their variations, derived from ancient and modern sources, illustrating them with photographs of himself in each posture; the Dharma Yoga website suggests that he created some 300 of these.{{sfn|Mittra|2003}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yoga.com/ydc/enlighten/enlighten_document.asp?ID=354&section=9&cat=144 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906033023/http://www.yoga.com/ydc/enlighten/enlighten_document.asp?ID=354&section=9&cat=144 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 September 2010 |title=Yoga.com |publisher=Yoga.com |date=27 February 2005 |access-date=29 October 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Sri Dharma Mittra |url=https://dharmayogacenter.com/about/about-dharma-mittra/ |website=Dharma Yoga |access-date=19 January 2019 |quote=Over 300 of these now-popular posture variations were created by Sri Dharma, though he will always say they only came through Divine intuition. |archive-date=19 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119111203/https://dharmayogacenter.com/about/about-dharma-mittra/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{anchor|Descriptive names}}

=== Origins of the asanas ===
[[File:Kapala Asana (headstand) from Jogapradipika 1830 (detail).jpg|thumb|upright|Headstand (''Kapala Asana'') from 1830 manuscript of ''[[Joga Pradīpika|Joga Pradipika]]'']]

The asanas have been created at different times, a few being ancient, some being medieval, and a growing number recent.<ref>{{cite web |title=What's behind the five popular yoga poses loved by the world? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/40brQdJ61GQZkwL3CPl3RVP/whats-behind-the-five-popular-yoga-poses-loved-by-the-world |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=5 December 2018}}</ref>{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|page=xxix}}{{sfn|Singleton|2010|page=161}} Some that appear traditional, such as [[Virabhadrasana I]] (Warrior Pose I), are relatively recent: that pose was probably devised by Krishnamacharya around 1940, and it was popularised by his pupil, Iyengar.<ref name="Dowdle 2008">{{cite web |last1=Dowdle |first1=Hillary |title=5 Experts, 1 Pose: Find New Nuances to Warrior I |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/ways-of-the-warrior |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]] |access-date=2 December 2018 |date=11 November 2008}}</ref> A pose that is certainly younger than that is [[Parivritta Parsvakonasana]] (Revolved Side Angle Pose): it was not in the first edition of Pattabhi Jois's ''Yoga Mala'' in 1962.<ref name="Kaivalya 2012" /> [[Viparita Virabhadrasana]] (Reversed Warrior Pose) is still more recent, and may have been created after 2000.<ref name="Kaivalya 2012">{{cite news |last1=Kaivalya |first1=Alanna |title=How We Got Here: Where Yoga Poses Come From |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/yoga-history_b_1453403 |access-date=2 December 2018 |work=[[Huffington Post]] |date=28 April 2012 |quote=Most recently, additions like "falling star," "reverse warrior," and "flip the dog," weren't around even 10 short years ago.}}</ref> Several poses that are now commonly practised, such as [[Downward Dog Pose|Dog Pose]] and standing asanas including Trikonasana (triangle pose), first appeared in the 20th century,<ref name="Vaughn 2013">{{cite web |last1=Vaughn |first1=Amy |title=Early History of Asana: What Were the Original Postures & Where Did They Come From? |url=https://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/12/early-history-of-asana-what-were-the-original-postures-where-did-they-come-from-amy-vaughn/ |publisher=Elephant Journal |access-date=2 December 2018 |date=16 December 2013}}</ref> as did the sequence of asanas, [[Surya Namaskar]] (Salute to the Sun). A different sun salutation, the [[Aditya Hridayam]], is certainly ancient, as it is described in the "Yuddha Kaanda" Canto 107 of the ''[[Ramayana]]''.<ref name="Aditya">{{cite web |title=Dityahrdayam {{!}} from the Ramayana |url=http://sanskrit.safire.com/pdf/ADITYA_TRANS.PDF |publisher=Safire |access-date=3 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714081039/http://sanskrit.safire.com/pdf/ADITYA_TRANS.PDF |archive-date=14 July 2018 |quote=6. Worship the sun-god, the ruler of the worlds, who is crowned with rays, who appears at the horizon, who is greeted by gods and demons, and brings light.}}</ref> Surya Namaskar in its modern form was created by the [[Raja]] of [[Aundh State|Aundh]], [[Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi]];{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=124}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Alter |first=Joseph S. |author-link=Joseph S. Alter | title=Gandhi's Body: Sex, Diet, and the Politics of Nationalism |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8122-3556-2 |page=99}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pratinidhi |first1=Pant |author1-link=Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi |last2=Morgan |first2=L. |title=The Ten-Point Way to Health. Surya namaskars... Edited with an introduction by Louise Morgan, etc. |date=1938 |publisher=J. M. Dent |location=London |oclc=1017424915}}</ref> K. Pattabhi Jois defined the variant forms Surya Namaskar A and B for [[Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga|Ashtanga Yoga]], possibly derived from Krishnamacharya.<ref>{{cite web |title=The sequence of rhythmic postures: the sun salutation |date=20 November 2014 |url=https://yoga-ashtanga.net/en/the-sequence-of-rhythmic-postures-the-sun-salutation/ |publisher=Ashtanga Yoga Institute |access-date=3 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810104413/https://yoga-ashtanga.net/en/the-sequence-of-rhythmic-postures-the-sun-salutation/ |archive-date=10 August 2016}}</ref> Surya Namaskar can be seen as "a modern, [[physical culture]]-oriented rendition" of the simple ancient practice of prostrating oneself to the sun.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=205–206}}

In 1966, Iyengar's classic ''Light on Yoga'' was able to describe some 200 asanas,<ref name="McCrary 2015">{{cite web |last1=McCrary |first1=Meagan |title=#YJ40: 10 Poses Younger Than Yoga Journal |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/10-poses-younger-yoga-journal |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]] |date=15 July 2015}}</ref> consisting of about 50 main poses with their variations.{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|p=49}} Sjoman observes that whereas many traditional asanas are named for objects (like [[Vrikshasana]], tree pose), legendary figures (like [[Matsyendrasana]], the sage [[Matsyendra]]'s pose), or animals (like [[Kurmasana]], tortoise pose), "an overwhelming eighty-three"{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|p=49}} of Iyengar's asanas have names that simply describe the body's position (like [[Utthita Parsvakonasana]], "Extended Side Angle Pose"); these are, he suggests, the ones "that have been developed later".{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|p=49}} A name following this pattern is Shatkonasana, "Six Triangles Pose", described in 2015.<ref name="Lacerda 2015">{{cite book |last=Lacerda |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Lacerda |title=2,100 Asanas: The Complete Yoga Poses |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QHpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT1174 |year=2015 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=978-0-316-27062-5 |pages=1174–1175}}</ref> Mittra illustrated 908 poses and variations in his 1984 ''Master Yoga Chart'', and many more have been created since then.<ref name="McCrary 2015" /><ref name="Lacerda 2015" /> The number of asanas has thus grown increasingly rapidly with time, as summarised in the table.

Sjoman notes that the names of asanas have been used "promiscuous[ly]", in a tradition of "amalgamation and borrowing" over the centuries, making their history difficult to trace.{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|p=59}} The presence of matching names is not proof of continuity, since the same name may mean a different pose, and a pose may have been known by multiple names at different times.{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|p=59}} The estimates here are therefore based on actual descriptions of the asanas.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Estimates of the number of asanas
|-
! No. of asanas !! Sanskrit !! Transliteration !! English !! Author !! Date !! Evidence supplied
|-
| 2 || गोरक्ष शतक || ''[[Goraksha Śataka|Goraksha Shataka]]'' || ''Goraksha's Century<!--100 verses-->'' || [[Gorakhnath|Gorakshanatha]] || 10th-11th century || Describes [[Siddhasana]], [[Lotus position|Padmasana]];<ref name="Singh 2005">{{cite web |author=Singh, T. D. |title=Science and Religion: Global Perspectives, 4–8 June 2005, Philadelphia {{!}} Hinduism and Science |publisher=Metanexus Institute |date=2005 |url=http://www.metanexus.net/archive/conference2005/pdf/td_singh.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=[[Swami Kuvalayananda]] |editor2-last=Shukla |editor2-first=S. A. |title=Goraksha Satakam |date=December 2006 |publisher=Kaivalyadhama S. M. Y. M. Samiti |location=Lonavla, India |isbn=81-89485-44-X |pages=37–38 |url=https://archive.org/details/GorakshaSatakamSwamiKuvalayanandaShuklaS.A.KaivalyaDham/page/n25}}</ref> 84 claimed{{efn|name=symbolism}}
|-
| 4 ||  शिव संहिता || ''[[Shiva Samhita]]'' || ''Shiva's Compendium'' || - || 15th century || 4 seated asanas described, 84 claimed; 11 mudras{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=29}}
|-
| 15 || हठ योग प्रदीपिका  || ''[[Hatha Yoga Pradipika]]'' || ''A Small Light on Hatha Yoga'' || Svami [[Svātmārāma|Svatmarama]] || 15th century  || 15 asanas described,{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=29}} 4 ([[Siddhasana]], [[Lotus position|Padmasana]], [[Bhadrasana]] and [[Simhasana]]) named as important<ref name="sacred-texts.com" />
|-
| 32 || घेरंड संहिता || ''[[Gheranda Samhita]]'' || ''Gheranda's Collection'' || Gheranda || 17th century || Descriptions of 32 seated, backbend, twist, balancing and inverted asanas, 25 mudras<ref name="Mallinson 2004" />{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=29}}
|-
| 52 || हठ रत्नावली || ''[[Haṭha Ratnāvalī|Hatha Ratnavali]]'' || ''A Treatise On Hatha Yoga'' || Srinivasa || 17th century  || 52 asanas described, out of 84 named{{efn|84 names of asanas are listed; not all can now be identified.}}<ref name="EastBombay1988" /><ref name="Hatha Ratnavali 2002" />
|-
| 84 || जोग प्रदीपिका || ''[[Joga Pradīpikā|Joga Pradipika]]'' || ''A Small Light on Yoga'' || Ramanandi Jayatarama || 1830 || 84 asanas and 24 mudras in rare illustrated edition of 18th century text{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=170}}
|-
| 37 || योग सोपान || ''[[Yoga Sopāna|Yoga Sopana]]'' || ''Stairway to Yoga'' || Yogi Ghamande || 1905 || Describes and illustrates 37 asanas, 6 mudras, 5 bandhas{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=170}}
|-
| c. 200 || योग दीपिका  || ''Yoga Dipika'' || ''[[Light on Yoga]]'' || [[B. K. S. Iyengar]] || 1966  || Descriptions and photographs of each asana<ref name="Iyengar 1991">{{cite book | last=Iyengar | first=B. K. S. | author-link=B. K. S. Iyengar | title=Light on Yoga | publisher=Thorsons | location=London | year=1991 |orig-year=1966 | isbn=978-0-00-714516-4 | oclc=51315708}}</ref>
|-
| 908 || — || — || ''Master Yoga Chart'' || [[Dharma Mittra]] || 1984  || Photographs of each asana<ref name=Mittra2003>{{cite book |author-link=Dharma Mittra |author=Mittra, Dharma |year=1984 |title=Master Chart of Yoga Poses}}</ref>
|}

The graph shows the rapid growth in number of asanas in the 20th century.

[[File:Growth in Number of Asanas.svg|thumb|upright=2|center|GS=''[[Goraksha Sataka]]''; ShS=''[[Shiva Samhita]]''; HYP=''[[Hatha Yoga Pradipika]]''; HR=''[[Hatha Ratnavali]]''; GhS=''[[Gheranda Samhita]]''; JP=''[[Joga Pradipika]]''; YS=''[[Yoga Sopana]]''; LoY=''[[Light on Yoga]]''; DM=[[Dharma Mittra]]]]{{-}}

== Purposes ==

=== Spiritual ===

[[File:(An) Avatar of Vishnu in the form of the man-lion Narasimha, Holika Holi, 12th Century Indian Art, Museum of San Francisco.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The lion pose, [[Simhasana]], is named for an [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]] in the form of the man-lion [[Narasimha]]. India, 12th Century]]

The asanas of hatha yoga originally had a spiritual purpose within [[Hinduism]], the attainment of [[samadhi]], a state of meditative consciousness.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mallinson |first=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) |title=Haṭha Yoga in the Brill Encyclopedia of Hinduism |volume=3 |editor=Knut A. Jacobsen |display-editors=etal |year=2011 |publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-90-04-27128-9 |pages=770–781}}</ref> The scholar of religion [[Andrea Jain]] notes that medieval Hatha Yoga was shared among yoga traditions, from Shaivite Naths to Vaishnavas, Jains and [[Sufi]]s; in her view, its aims too varied, including spiritual goals involving the "tantric manipulation of the subtle body", and at a more physical level, destroying poisons.{{sfn|Jain|2015|pp=13–18}} Singleton describes Hatha Yoga's purpose as "the transmutation of the human body into a vessel immune from mortal decay", citing the ''Gheranda Samhita''{{'s}} metaphor of an [[earthenware]] pot that requires the fire of yoga to make it serviceable.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=28–29}} Mallinson and Singleton note that the purposes of asana practice were, until around the fourteenth century, firstly to form a stable platform for pranayama, mantra repetition ([[japa]]), and meditation, practices that in turn had spiritual goals; and secondly to stop the accumulation of [[karma]] and instead acquire ascetic power, [[Tapas (Indian religions)|tapas]], something that conferred "[[Siddhi|supernatural abilities]]". Hatha Yoga added the ability to cure diseases to this list.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=92–95}} Not all Hindu scriptures agreed that asanas were beneficial. The 10th century ''[[Garuda Purana]]'' stated that "the techniques of posture do not promote yoga. Though called essentials, they all retard one's progress," while early yogis often practised extreme austerities (tapas) to overcome what they saw as the obstacle of the body in the way of liberation.<ref name="EJ">{{cite journal |last1=Boccio |first1=Frank Jude |author-link=Frank Jude Boccio |title=21st Century Yoga: Questioning the 'Body Beautiful': Yoga, Commercialism & Discernment |url=https://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/12/21st-century-yoga-questioning-the-body-beautiful-yoga-commercialism-discernment-frank-jude-boccio/ |journal=Elephant Journal |date=3 December 2012}}</ref>

The yoga scholar and practitioner [[Theos Bernard]], in his 1944 ''Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personal Experience'', stated that he was "prescribed ... a group of asanas{{efn|Bernard's book contains 37 photographs of himself performing asanas and mudras.{{sfn|Bernard|2007|pp=107–137}}}} calculated to bring a rich supply of blood to the brain and to various parts of the spinal cord .. [and] a series of reconditioning asanas to stretch, bend, and twist the spinal cord" followed when he was strong enough by the meditation asanas.{{sfn|Bernard|2007|pp=23–24}} Bernard named the purpose of Hatha Yoga as "to gain control of the breath" to enable pranayama to work, something that in his view required thorough use of the [[Shatkarma|six purifications]].{{sfn|Bernard|2007|p=33}}

Asanas work in different ways from conventional physical exercises, according to [[Satyananda Saraswati]] "placing the physical body in positions that cultivate awareness, relaxation and concentration".{{sfn|Saraswati|1996|p=12: "Yogasanas have often been thought of as a form of exercise. They are not exercises, but techniques which place the physical body in positions that cultivate awareness, relaxation, concentration and meditation."}} [[Leslie Kaminoff]] writes in ''Yoga Anatomy'' that from one point of view, "all of asana practice can be viewed as a methodical way of freeing up the spine, limbs, and breathing so that the yogi can spend extended periods of time in a seated position."{{sfn|Kaminoff|Matthews|2012|p=125}}

Iyengar observed that the practice of asanas "brings steadiness, health, and lightness of limb. A steady and pleasant posture produces mental equilibrium and prevents fickleness of mind." He adds that they bring agility, balance, endurance, and "great vitality", developing the body to a "fine physique which is strong and elastic without being muscle-bound". But, Iyengar states, their real importance is the way they train the mind, "conquer[ing]" the body and making it "a fit vehicle for the spirit".{{sfn|Iyengar|1979|pp=40–41}}

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Names of asanas illustrating spiritual evolution,<br/>according to [[B. K. S. Iyengar]]{{sfn|Iyengar|1979|p=42}}
|-
! Asana !! Level
|-
| [[Anantasana|Vishnu's Couch]],<br />[[Surya Namaskar|Salute to the Sun]] || Gods
|-
| [[Virabhadrasana I|Virabhadra]],<br />[[Matsyendrasana|Matsyendra]] || Heroes,<br />sages
|-
| [[Adho Mukha Svanasana|Dog]] || Mammals
|-
| [[Rajakapotasana|Pigeon]] || Birds
|-
| [[Bhujangasana|Cobra]] || Reptiles
|-
| [[Matsyasana|Fish]],<br />[[Bhekasana|Frog]] || Aquatic<br />animals
|-
| [[Salabhasana|Locust]] || Invertebrates
|-
| [[Vriksasana|Tree]] || Plants
|-
| [[Tadasana|Mountain]] || Inanimate
|}

Iyengar saw it as significant that asanas are named after plants, insects, fish and amphibians, reptiles, birds, and quadrupeds; as well as "legendary heroes", sages, and [[avatar]]s of Hindu gods, in his view "illustrating spiritual evolution".{{sfn|Iyengar|1979|p=42}} For instance, the lion pose, [[Simhasana]], recalls the myth of [[Narasimha]], half man, half lion, and an avatar of [[Vishnu]], as told in the ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kaivalya |first=Alanna |title=Myths of the Asanas: The Stories at the Heart of the Yoga Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQAaDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT90 |year=2016 |publisher=Mandala Publishing |isbn=978-1-68383-023-8 |page=90}}</ref> The message is, Iyengar explains, that while performing asanas, the yogi takes the form of different creatures, [[Scala naturae|from the lowest to the highest]], not despising any "for he knows that throughout the whole gamut of creation ... there breathes the same Universal Spirit." Through mastery of the asanas, Iyengar states, dualities like gain and loss, or fame and shame disappear.{{sfn|Iyengar|1979|p=42}}

Sjoman argues that the concept of stretching in yoga can be looked at through one of Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras'', 2.47, which says that [asanas are achieved] by loosening (''śaithilya'') the effort (''[[prayatna]]'') and meditating on the endless (''[[Ananta (infinite)|ananta]]''). Sjoman points out that this physical loosening is to do with the mind's letting go of restrictions, allowing the natural state of "unhindered perfect balance" to emerge; he notes that one can only relax through effort, "as only a muscle that is worked is able to relax (that is, there is a distinction between dormancy and relaxation)."{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|pp=44–45}} Thus asanas had a spiritual purpose, serving to explore the conscious and unconscious mind.{{sfn|Sjoman|1999|p=47}}

[[Heinz Grill]] considers the [[soul]] in our human existence to be a central link between the manifest body and the unmanifest spirit. Therefore it should not be the sense-attached, bodily-involved consciousness that motivates yoga practice, but spiritual thoughts. According to Grill, this path from above to below is essential, because “the soul lives in the receptivity of giving and not in the receptivity of earthly taking.”<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grill |first=Heinz |author-link=Heinz Grill |title=The Soul Dimension of Yoga – A practical foundation for a path of spiritual practice |publisher=Lammers-Koll-Verlag |year=2005 |isbn=978-3-935925-57-0 |edition=1 |pages=13–18}}</ref>

=== Exercise ===
{{see|Science of yoga}}

Since the mid-20th century, asanas have been used, especially in the [[Western world]], as [[Yoga as exercise|physical exercise]].<ref name="Nanda 2011">{{cite journal |last=Nanda |first=Meera |title=Not as Old as You Think |journal=OPEN Magazine |date=12 February 2011 |url=http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/living/not-as-old-as-you-think}}</ref> In this context, their "overtly Hindu" purpose is masked but its "ecstatic ... transcendent ... possibly subversive" elements remain.<ref name="Syman 2010">{{cite book |first=Stefanie |last=Syman |title=The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America |publisher=Macmillan |year=2010 |page=[https://archive.org/details/subtlebodystoryo0000syma/page/5 5] |isbn=978-0-374-23676-2 |quote=But many of those aspects of yoga – the ecstatic, the transcendent, the overtly Hindu, the possibly subversive, and eventually the seemingly bizarre—that you wouldn't see on the White House grounds that day and that you won't find in most yoga classes persist, right here in America. |url=https://archive.org/details/subtlebodystoryo0000syma/page/5 }}</ref> That context has led to a division of opinion among [[Christians]], some asserting that it is acceptable as long as they are aware of yoga's origins, others stating that hatha yoga's purpose is inherently Hindu, making Christian yoga an evident contradiction<ref name="Davis 2016">{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Alexandra |title=Should Christians do yoga? {{!}} We asked two Christians who have tried yoga to give us their thoughts |url=https://www.eauk.org/news-and-views/should-christians-do-yoga |publisher=[[Evangelical Alliance]] |access-date=29 November 2018 |date=1 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="Jain 2017">{{cite web |last=Jain |first=Andrea |author-link=Andrea Jain |title=Can yoga be Christian? |url=http://theconversation.com/can-yoga-be-christian-78730 |website=The Conversation |access-date=9 March 2019 |date=21 June 2017}}</ref> or indeed "diametrically opposed to Christianity".<ref name="Jones 2018">{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Emily |title=Is Yoga Evil? See Why One Megachurch Pastor Says It's 'Diametrically Opposed to Christianity' |date=14 November 2018 |url=https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2018/november/is-yoga-evil-see-why-one-megachurch-pastor-says-its-diametrically-opposed-to-christianity |publisher=CBN News |access-date=9 March 2019}}</ref> A similar debate has taken place in a Muslim context; under Crown Prince [[Mohammed bin Salman]], yoga, formerly banned as a Hindu practice, has been legalised in Saudi Arabia,<ref name="Chopra 2018">{{cite news |last=Chopra |first=Anuj |title=Saudi Arabia embraces yoga in pivot toward 'moderation' |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/saudi-arabia-embraces-yoga-in-pivot-toward-moderation/ |access-date=9 March 2019 |work=The Times of Israel |date=30 September 2018}}</ref> while mainly-Hindu [[Bali]] has held a yoga competition in defiance of a ruling by Indonesia's Muslim Ulema Council.<ref name="Gelling 2009">{{cite news |last1=Gelling |first1=Peter |title=Bali Defies Fatwa on Yoga |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/world/asia/10bali.html |access-date=9 March 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]]|date=9 March 2009 }}</ref>

In a secular context, the journalists Nell Frizzell and [[Reni Eddo-Lodge]] have debated (in ''[[The Guardian]]'') whether Western yoga classes represent "cultural appropriation". In Frizzell's view, yoga has become a new entity, a long way from the ''Yoga Sutras'' of Patanjali, and while some practitioners are culturally insensitive, others treat it with more respect. Eddo-Lodge agrees that Western yoga is far from Patanjali, but argues that the changes cannot be undone, whether people use it "as a holier-than-thou tool, as a tactic to balance out excessive drug use, or practised similarly to its origins with the spirituality that comes with it".<ref name="Frizzell Eddo-Lodge 2015">{{cite news |last1=Frizzell |first1=Nell |last2=Eddo-Lodge |first2=Reni |title=Are yoga classes just bad cultural appropriation? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/23/yoga-classes-cultural-appropriation |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=23 November 2015}}</ref>

From a Hindu perspective, the practice of asanas in the Western world as physical exercise is sometimes seen as yoga that has lost its way. In 2012, the [[Hindu American Foundation]] ran a "Take Back Yoga" campaign to emphasise yoga's roots in Hinduism.<ref name="NPR 2012">{{cite news |last=Adler |first=Margot |author-link=Margot Adler |title=To Some Hindus, Modern Yoga Has Lost Its Way |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/04/11/150352063/to-some-hindus-modern-yoga-has-lost-its-way?t=1552053960540 |publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=8 March 2019 |date=11 April 2012}}</ref>

===For women===
[[File:Seal posture Mollie Bagot Stack 1931.jpg|thumb|"Seal" posture from [[Mary Bagot Stack]]'s ''Building the Body Beautiful'', 1931. It closely resembles [[Salabhasana]], locust pose; she had learnt some asanas in India in 1912.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=150–152}}]]
{{main|Yoga for women}}

In the West, yoga is practiced mainly by women. For example, in Britain in the 1970s, women formed between 70 and 90 percent of most yoga classes, as well as most of the yoga teachers. It has been suggested that yoga was seen as a support for women in the face of male-dominated medicine, offering an alternative approach for chronic medical conditions, as well as to beauty and ageing, and it offered a way of meeting other women.<ref name="Newcombe 2007">{{cite journal |last=Newcombe |first=Suzanne |author-link=Suzanne Newcombe |title=Stretching for Health and Well-Being: Yoga and Women in Britain, 1960–1980 |journal=Asian Medicine |volume=3 |issue=1 |year=2007 |pages=37–63 |doi=10.1163/157342107X207209|s2cid=72555878 |url=http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/15734218 }}</ref> Singleton notes that women in yoga are in the tradition of [[Mollie Bagot Stack]]'s 1930 League of Health and Beauty, influenced by Stack's visit to India in 1912 when she learnt some asanas, and in turn of [[Genevieve Stebbins]]'s Harmonic Gymnastics.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=150–152}}

== Effects ==

Asanas have, or are claimed to have, multiple effects on the body, both beneficial and harmful. These include the conscious usage of groups of muscles,<ref name="NiMooney2014"/> effects on health,<ref name="Broad 2012"/> and possible injury especially in the presence of known contraindications.<ref name="YJ Contraindications"/>

=== Muscle usage ===

A 2014 study indicated that different asanas activated particular groups of muscles, varying with the skill of the practitioners, from beginner to instructor. The eleven asanas in the Surya Namaskar sequences A and B (of [[Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga]]) were performed by beginners, advanced practitioners and instructors. The activation of 14 groups of muscles was measured with electrodes on the skin over the muscles. Among the findings, beginners used [[pectoral muscle]]s more than instructors, whereas instructors used [[deltoid muscle]]s more than other practitioners, as well as the [[vastus medialis]] (which stabilises the knee). The yoga instructor Grace Bullock writes that such patterns of activation suggest that asana practice increases awareness of the body and the patterns in which muscles are engaged, making exercise more beneficial and safer.<ref name="NiMooney2014">{{cite journal |last1=Ni |first1=Meng |last2=Mooney |first2=Kiersten |last3=Balachandran |first3=Anoop |last4=Richards |first4=Luca |last5=Harriell |first5=Kysha |last6=Signorile |first6=Joseph F. |title=Muscle utilization patterns vary by skill levels of the practitioners across specific yoga poses (asanas) |journal=Complementary Therapies in Medicine |volume=22 |issue=4 |year=2014 |pages=662–669 |issn=0965-2299 |doi=10.1016/j.ctim.2014.06.006|pmid=25146071 }}</ref><ref name="Bullock 2016">{{cite web |last=Bullock |first=B. Grace |title=Which Muscles Are You Using in Your Yoga Practice? A New Study Provides the Answers |url=https://www.yogauonline.com/yoga-anatomy/which-muscles-are-you-using-your-yoga-practice-new-study-provides-answers |publisher=Yoga U |access-date=22 July 2019 |date=2016}}</ref>

=== Claimed benefits ===
{{further|Yoga as therapy|Hatha Yoga Pradipika}}

Medieval [[hatha yoga]] texts make a variety of claims for the benefits brought by the asanas, both spiritual and physical. The ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' (HYP) states that asanas in general, described as the first auxiliary of hatha yoga, give "steadiness, good health, and lightness of limb." (HYP 1.17){{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|p=108}}  Specific asanas, it claims, bring additional benefits; for example, [[Matsyendrasana]] awakens [[Kundalini]] and makes the [[semen]] steady; (HYP 1.27) [[Paschimottanasana]] "stokes up the digestive fire, slims the belly and gives good health"; (HYP 1.29) [[Shavasana]] "takes away fatigue and relaxes the mind"; (HYP 1.32) [[Siddhasana]] "bursts open the door to liberation"; (HYP 1.35) while [[Lotus position|Padmasana]] "destroys all diseases" (HYP 1.47) and if done together with retention of the breath in pranayama confers liberation. (HYP 1.44–49){{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=108–111}} These claims lie within a tradition across all forms of yoga that practitioners can gain [[Siddhi|supernatural powers]], but with ambivalence about their usefulness, since they may obstruct progress towards liberation.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=359–361}} [[Hemachandra]]'s ''Yogashastra'' (1.8–9) lists the magical powers, which include healing, the destruction of poisons, the ability to become as small as an atom or to go wherever one wishes, invisibility, and shape-shifting.{{sfn|Mallinson|Singleton|2017|pp=385–387}}

[[File:The Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi participating in a programme (Yoga for pregnant women), on the occasion of the 4th International Day of Yoga 2018, in New Delhi on June 21, 2018 (2).JPG|thumb|The Indian Minister for Women and Child Development, [[Maneka Gandhi]], joining a programme of yoga for [[Pregnancy|pregnant women]] in 2018]]

The asanas have been popularised in the Western world by claims about their health benefits, attained not by medieval hatha yoga magic but by the physical and psychological effects of exercise and stretching on the body.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/the-health-benefits-of-yoga | title=Yoga Health Benefits: Flexibility, Strength, Posture, and More | publisher=WebMD| access-date=22 June 2015}}</ref> The history of such claims was reviewed by William J. Broad in his 2012 book ''The Science of Yoga''. Broad argues that while the health claims for yoga began as Hindu nationalist posturing, it turns out that there is ironically<ref name="Broad 2012" /> "a wealth of real benefits".<ref name="Broad 2012">{{cite book |last=Broad |first=William J. |author-link=William J. Broad |title=The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards |url=https://archive.org/details/scienceofyogaris0000broa |url-access=registration |year=2012 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4516-4142-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/scienceofyogaris0000broa/page/39 39] and whole book}}</ref>

Physically, the practice of asanas has been claimed to improve flexibility, strength, and balance; to alleviate stress and anxiety, and to reduce the symptoms of [[lower back pain]].<ref name=ross>{{cite journal |author1=Ross, A. |author2=Thomas, S. |s2cid=14130906 |title=The health benefits of yoga and exercise: a review of comparison studies |journal=Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=3–12 |date=January 2010 |pmid=20105062 |doi=10.1089/acm.2009.0044}}</ref><ref name=hayes>{{cite journal |author1=Hayes, M. |author2=Chase, S. |title=Prescribing Yoga |journal=Primary Care |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=31–47 |date=March 2010 |pmid=20188996 |doi=10.1016/j.pop.2009.09.009}}</ref> Claims have been made about beneficial effects on specific conditions such as [[asthma]],<ref name=ross /><ref name=hayes /> [[chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]],<ref name=ross /><ref name=hayes /> and [[diabetes]].<ref name=alexander>{{cite journal |author1=Alexander G. K. |author2=Taylor, A. G. |author3=Innes, K. E. |author4=Kulbok, P. |author5=Selfe, T. K. |title=Contextualizing the effects of yoga therapy on diabetes management: a review of the social determinants of physical activity |journal=Fam Community Health |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=228–239 |year=2008 |pmid=18552604 |pmc=2720829 |doi=10.1097/01.FCH.0000324480.40459.20}}</ref> There is evidence that practice of asanas improves birth outcomes<ref name=hayes /> and physical health and quality of life measures in the elderly,<ref name=hayes /> and reduces sleep disturbances<ref name=ross /> and [[hypertension]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Silverberg, D. S. |title=Non-pharmacological treatment of hypertension |journal=Journal of Hypertension Supplement |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=S21–26 |date=September 1990 |pmid=2258779}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Labarthe, D. |author2=Ayala, C. |title=Nondrug interventions in hypertension prevention and control |journal=Cardiol Clin |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=249–263 |date=May 2002 |pmid=12119799 |doi=10.1016/s0733-8651(01)00003-0}}</ref> Iyengar yoga is effective at least in the short term for both neck pain and low back pain.<ref name="Crow Jeannot Trewhela 2015 p=3">{{cite journal | last1=Crow | first1=Edith Meszaros | last2=Jeannot | first2=Emilien | last3=Trewhela | first3=Alison | title=Effectiveness of Iyengar yoga in treating spinal (back and neck) pain: A systematic review | journal=International Journal of Yoga | publisher=Medknow | volume=8 | issue=1 | pages=3–14 | year=2015 | issn=0973-6131 | doi=10.4103/0973-6131.146046 | pmid=25558128 | pmc=4278133 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Contra-indications ===

The [[National Institutes of Health]] notes that yoga is generally safe "when performed properly", though people with some health conditions, older people, and pregnant woman may need to seek advice. For example, people with [[glaucoma]] are advised not to practise inverted postures.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yoga: In Depth |url=https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-effectiveness-and-safety |publisher=[[National Institutes of Health]] |access-date=10 March 2019 |ref=NCCIH pub. no. D472 |date=October 2018}}</ref> The ''[[Yoga Journal]]'' provides separate lists of asanas that it states are "inadvisable" and should be avoided or modified for each of the following medical conditions: [[asthma]]; [[back injury]]; [[carpal tunnel syndrome]]; [[diarrhoea]]; [[headache]]; [[heart problems]]; [[high blood pressure]]; [[insomnia]]; [[knee injury]]; [[low blood pressure]]; [[menstruation]]; [[neck pain|neck injury]]; [[pregnancy]]; and [[shoulder injury]].<ref name="YJ Contraindications">{{cite web |title=Contraindications |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/contraindications-modifications |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]] |access-date=25 November 2018 |archive-date=25 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125204431/https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/contraindications-modifications |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The practice of asanas has sometimes been advised against during [[pregnancy]], but that advice has been contested by a 2015 study which found no ill-effects from any of 26 asanas investigated. The study examined the effects of the set of asanas on 25 healthy women who were between 35 and 37 weeks pregnant. The authors noted that apart from their experimental findings, they had been unable to find any scientific evidence that supported the previously published concerns, and that on the contrary there was evidence including from systematic review that yoga was suitable for pregnant women, with a variety of possible benefits.<ref name="PolisGussman2015">{{cite journal |last1=Polis |first1=Rachael L. |last2=Gussman |first2=Debra |last3=Kuo |first3=Yen-Hong |title=Yoga in Pregnancy |journal=Obstetrics & Gynecology |volume=126 |issue=6 |year=2015 |pages=1237–1241 |issn=0029-7844 |doi=10.1097/AOG.0000000000001137 |pmid=26551176 |s2cid=205467344 |quote=All 26 yoga postures were well-tolerated with no acute adverse maternal physiologic or fetal heart rate changes.}}</ref><ref name="CurtisWeinrib2012">{{cite journal |last1=Curtis |first1=Kathryn |last2=Weinrib |first2=Aliza |last3=Katz |first3=Joel |title=Systematic Review of Yoga for Pregnant Women: Current Status and Future Directions |journal=Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine |volume=2012 |year=2012 |pages=1–13 |issn=1741-427X |doi=10.1155/2012/715942|pmid=22927881 |pmc=3424788 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Common practices ==
[[File:Mr-yoga-lord of dance - both arms.jpg|thumb|upright|The ''[[Yoga Sutras]]'' 2:46 state that asanas, here [[Natarajasana]], should be "steady and comfortable".]]

In the ''[[Yoga Sutras]]'', the only rule [[Patanjali]] suggests for practicing asana is that it be "steady and comfortable".<ref name="yogasutras" /> The body is held poised with the practitioner experiencing no discomfort. When control of the body is mastered, practitioners are believed to free themselves from dualities such as heat and cold, hunger and satiety, or joy and grief.<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 5, 2021|title=Asana {{!}} 8 Limbs of Yoga|url=https://www.unitedwecare.com/self-care/yoga/types-of-yoga/raja-yoga/8-limbs-of-yoga/asana|website=United We Care|access-date=July 8, 2021|archive-date=April 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401084729/https://www.unitedwecare.com/self-care/yoga/types-of-yoga/raja-yoga/8-limbs-of-yoga/asana|url-status=dead}}</ref> This is the first step toward relieving suffering by letting go of attachment.<ref>{{cite book |last=Feuerstein |first=Georg |author-link=Georg Feuerstein |year=2003 |title=The Deeper Dimensions of Yoga: Theory and Practice |publisher=Shambhala Publications |isbn=978-1-57062-935-8}}</ref>

=== Traditional and modern guidance ===

Different schools of yoga, such as Iyengar and [[The Yoga Institute]], agree that asanas are best practised with a rested body on an empty stomach, after having a bath.{{sfn|Iyengar|1979|pp=57–60, 63}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Yoga Asanas Do's and Don'ts for Beginners |url=http://theyogainstitute.org/yoga-asanas-dos-and-donts-for-beginners/ |publisher=[[The Yoga Institute]] |access-date=9 March 2019 |date=9 January 2019}}</ref> From the point of view of [[sports medicine]], asanas function as active stretches, helping to protect [[muscle]]s from injury; these need to be performed equally on both sides, the stronger side first if used for [[physical rehabilitation]].<ref name="Srinivasan 2016">{{cite journal | last=Srinivasan | first=T. M. | title=Dynamic and static asana practices | journal=International Journal of Yoga | publisher=Medknow | volume=9 | issue=1 | pages=1–3 | year=2016 |doi=10.4103/0973-6131.171724 | pmid=26865764 | pmc=4728952 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Surya Namaskar ===
[[File:Downward-Facing-Dog.JPG|thumb|[[Adho Mukha Svanasana]], downward-facing dog pose, is performed at least once and often twice in [[Surya Namaskar]], the Salute to the Sun.<ref>{{cite web |title=Surya Namaskara A & B |url=https://www.ashtangayoga.info/practice/downloads/cheat-sheets-pdf/ |publisher=Ashtanga Yoga |access-date=19 December 2018}}</ref>]]
{{Main|Surya Namaskar}}

Surya Namaskar, the Salute to the Sun, commonly practiced in most forms of modern yoga, links up to twelve asanas in a dynamically expressed yoga series. A full round consists of two sets of the series, the second set moving the opposing leg first. The asanas include [[Adho Mukha Svanasana]] (downward dog), the others differing from tradition to tradition with for instance a choice of [[Urdhva Mukha Svanasana]] (upward dog) or [[Bhujangasana]] (cobra) for one pose in the sequence.<ref name="YJ Sun Salute">{{cite web |last=Easa |first=Leila |title=How to Salute the Sun |url=http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/1040 |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]] |access-date=20 March 2013 |archive-date=5 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100405032957/http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/1040 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Schools, too, differ in their approaches to the sequence; for example, in Iyengar Yoga, variations such as inserting [[Marichyasana|Maricyasana I]] and [[Paschimottanasana|Pascimottanasana]] are suggested.{{sfn|Mehta|Mehta|Mehta|1990|pages=146–147}}

== Styles ==

In the Western world, asanas are taught in differing styles by the various schools of yoga. Some poses like Trikonasana are common to many of them, but not always performed in the same way. Some independently documented approaches are described below.<ref name="Jones 2007">{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Todd |title=Illustrate Different Yoga Methods with Trikonasana |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/the-right-triangle |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]]<!--here, YJ reports (in specialist detail) on different schools of modern yoga, a matter on which it is a reliable secondary source--> |access-date=30 November 2018 |date=28 August 2007}}</ref><ref name="Beirne 2014">{{cite news |last1=Beirne |first1=Geraldine |title=Yoga: a beginner's guide to the different styles |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/10/yoga-beginners-guide-different-styles |work=[[The Guardian]]<!--a very reliable source, but without the specialist knowledge of YJ--> |date=10 January 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Working in Trikonasana.svg|thumb|[[Utthitha Trikonasana]], an important pose in [[Iyengar Yoga]], using a prop, a [[yoga brick]]. The pose requires the practitioner to work different parts of the body in different directions.]]

[[Iyengar Yoga]] "emphasises precision and alignment",<ref name="IYI" /> and prioritises correct movement over quantity, i.e. moving a little in the right direction is preferred to moving more but in a wrong direction. Postures are held for a relatively long period compared to other schools of yoga; this allows the muscles to relax and lengthen, and encourages awareness in the pose. Props including belts, blocks and blankets are freely used to assist students in correct working in the asanas.<ref name="IYI">{{cite web |title=Why Iyengar Yoga? |url=http://iymv.org/why-iyengar-yoga/ |publisher=Iyengar Yoga Institute |location=London |access-date=30 November 2018}}</ref><ref name="Beirne 2014" /> Beginners are introduced early on to standing poses, executed with careful attention to detail. For example, in Trikonasana, the feet are often jumped apart to a wide stance, the forward foot is turned out, and the centre of the forward heel is exactly aligned with the centre of the arch of the other foot.<ref name="Jones 2007" />

[[Sivananda Yoga]] practices the asanas, hatha yoga, as part of [[raja yoga]], with the goal of enabling practitioners ""to sit in meditation for a long time".<ref name="Jones 2007" /> There is little emphasis on the detail of individual poses; teachers rely on the basic instructions given in the books by Sivananda and Swami Vishnu-devananda.<ref name="Jones 2007" /> In Trikonasana, the top arm may be stretched forward parallel to the floor rather than straight up.<ref name="Jones 2007" />
Sivananda Yoga identifies a group of 12 asanas as basic.<ref name="SB">{{cite web |title=12 Basic Asanas |url=http://staging.sivananda.org/teachings/asana/12-basic-asanas.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126221413/http://staging.sivananda.org/teachings/asana/12-basic-asanas.html |archive-date=26 November 2018 |url-status=dead |publisher=Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres |access-date=26 November 2018 }}</ref> These are not necessarily the easiest poses, nor those that every class would include.{{sfn|Lidell|1983|pp=66–67}} Trikonasana is the last of the 12, whereas in other schools it is one of the first and used to loosen the hips in preparation for other poses.<ref name="Jones 2007" />

[[File:Eka-Pada Bakasana .jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|[[Bakasana|Eka Pada Bakasana (One-legged Crane)]], an asana in [[Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga]]'s Advanced series]]

In [[Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga]], poses are executed differently from Iyengar Yoga. "Vinyasa" means flowing, and the poses are executed relatively rapidly, flowing continuously from one asana to the next using defined transitional movements.<ref name="Jones 2007" /><ref name="Beirne 2014" /> The asanas are grouped into six series, one Primary, one Intermediate, and four Advanced. Practice begins and ends with the chanting of [[mantra]]s, followed by multiple cycles of the Sun Salutation, which "forms the foundation of Ashtanga Yoga practice", and then one of the series.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cheat Sheets for the Ashtanga yoga series |url=https://www.ashtangayoga.info/practice/downloads/cheat-sheets-pdf/ |publisher=Ashtanga Yoga |access-date=30 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Swenson |first=David |title=Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual |year=1999 |publisher= Ashtanga Yoga Productions |isbn=978-1-891252-08-2}}</ref> <!--In Trikonasana, the feet are held closer together, the back foot is at right angles rather than turned in slightly, and the lower hand grasps the big toe of the forward foot, rather than reaching to the ground.-->Ashtanga Vinyasa practice emphasises aspects of yoga other than asanas, including [[Drishti (yoga)|drishti (focus points)]], [[Bandha (Yoga)|bandhas (energy locks)]], and pranayama.<ref name="Jones 2007" />

[[Kripalu Center|Kripalu Yoga]] uses teachers from other asana traditions, focussing on mindfulness rather than using effort in the poses. Teachers may say "allow your arms to float up" rather than "bring up your arms".<ref name="Jones 2007" /> The goal is to use the asanas "as a path of transformation."<ref name="Jones 2007" /> The approach is in three stages: firstly instruction in body alignment and awareness of the breath during the pose; secondly, holding the pose long enough to observe "unconscious patterns of tension in the body-mind";<ref name="Jones 2007" /> and thirdly, through "deep concentration and total surrender", allowing oneself "to be moved by [[prana]]".<ref name="Jones 2007" /> In Trikonasana, the teacher may direct pupils' attention to pressing down with the outer edge of the back foot, lifting the arch of the foot, and then experimenting with "micro-movements", exploring where energy moves and how it feels.<ref name="Jones 2007" />

In [[Bikram Yoga]], as developed by [[Bikram Choudhury]], there is a fixed sequence of 26 poses,<ref name="Beirne 2014" /> in which Trikonasana is ninth, its task to focus on opening the hips. The Bikram version of Trikonasana is a different pose ([[Parsvakonasana]]) from that in Iyengar Yoga.<ref name="Jones 2007" /> The position of the feet is seen as critically important, along with proper breathing and the distribution of weight: about 30% on the back foot, 70% on the front foot.<ref name="Jones 2007" />

Apart from the brands, many independent teachers, for example in Britain, offer an unbranded "hatha yoga".{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=150–152}}

{{anchor|Types|Inverted|Sitting|Forward bend|Backbend|Twisting|Reclining|Hip-opening|Core strength}}

== Types ==
{{see|List of asanas}}

Asanas can be classified in different ways, which may overlap: for example, by the position of the head and feet ([[Standing asanas|standing]], [[Meditative postures|sitting]], reclining, inverted), by whether balancing is required, or by the effect on the spine (forward bend, [[backbend]], twist), giving a set of asana types agreed by most authors.{{sfn|Mehta|Mehta|Mehta|1990|pp=188–191}}{{sfn|Saraswati|1996}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moyer |first1=Donald |title=Start Your Home Practice Here: The Basics of Sequencing |publisher=[[Yoga Journal]] |access-date=1 April 2021 |date=28 August 2007 |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/beginners/how-to/the-principles-of-sequencing/ |quote=forward bending, backbending, and twisting. ...standing pose ... sitting ... inverted poses}}</ref> Mittra uses his own categories such as "Floor & Supine Poses".{{sfn|Mittra|2003}} Darren Rhodes and others<!--inc. Yogapedia and Yoga Journal--> add "Core strength",{{sfn|Rhodes|2016}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Poses |url=http://www.pocketyoga.com/Pose?sch=&cat=1&sub=1&dif=1 |publisher=PocketYoga |date=2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Categories of Yoga Poses |url=https://www.yogapoint.com/yogasana/yogaposes-categories.htm |publisher=Yoga Point |date=2018}}</ref> while Yogapedia and ''Yoga Journal'' also add "Hip-opening" to that set.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yoga Poses |url=https://www.yogapedia.com/yoga-poses |publisher=Yogapedia |date=2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Poses by Type |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/types |publisher=Yoga Journal |date=2018}}</ref>
The table shows an example of each of these types of asana, with the title and approximate date of the earliest document describing (not only naming) that asana.

{{colbegin}}
* GS = ''[[Goraksha Sataka]]'', 10th century
* HY = [[Hemacandra]]'s ''Yogasastra'', 11th century
* VS = ''[[Vasishtha Samhita]]'', 13th century
<!--* ShS = ''[[Śiva Saṁhitā|Shiva Samhita]]'', 14th century-->
* HYP = ''[[Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā|Hatha Yoga Pradipika]]'', 15th century
* JP = ''[[Joga Pradīpikā|Joga Pradipika]]'', 18th century
<!--* GhS = ''[[Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā|Gheranda Samhita]]'', 17th century-->
<!--* HR = ''[[Haṭha Ratnāvali|Hatha Ratnavali]]'', 17th century -->
* ST = ''[[Sritattvanidhi]]'', 19th century
* TK = [[Tirumalai Krishnamacharya]], 20th century
{{colend}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Types of asana, with dates and examples
|-
! Type !! [[List of asanas#Asanas|Described]] !! Date !! Example !! English !! Image
|-
| [[Standing asanas|Standing]] || [[Tirumalai Krishnamacharya|TK]] || 20th C. || [[Parsvakonasana]] || Side angle || [[File:Utthita-Parshvakonasana Yoga-Asana Nina-Mel.jpg|100px|center]]
|-
| [[:Category:Sitting asanas|Sitting]]<br />[[Meditative postures|Meditation]] || [[Goraksha Sataka|GS]] 1:10–12 || 10th–11th C. || [[Siddhasana]] || Accomplished || [[File:Siddhasana (as in Goraksha Samhita).png|65px|center]]
|-
| [[:Category:Reclining asanas|Reclining]] || [[Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā|HYP]] 1:34 || 15th C. ||[[Shavasana]] || Corpse || [[File:Shavasana.jpg|90px|center]]
|-
| [[:Category:Inverted asanas|Inverted]] || [[Hemacandra|HY]] || 11th C. || [[Sirsasana]] || Yoga<br />headstand || [[File:Raja shirshasana.jpg|25px|center]]
|-
| [[:Category:Balancing asanas|Balancing]] ||  [[Vasishtha Samhita|VS]] || 13th C. || [[Kukkutasana]] || Cockerel || [[File:Yoga shaktipat kukkutasana by alexey baykov.jpg|60px|center]]
|-
| [[:Category:Forward bend asanas|Forward bend]] || [[Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā|HYP]]  1:30 || 15th C. || [[Paschimottanasana]] || Seated Forward Bend || [[File:Paschimottanasana.jpg|75px|center]]
|-
| [[:Category:Backbend asanas|Backbend]]     || [[Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā|HYP]] 1:27 || 15th C. || [[Dhanurasana]] || Bow || [[File:Dhanurasana Yoga-Asana Nina-Mel.jpg|80px|center]]
|-
| [[:Category:Twisting asanas|Twisting]]      ||  [[Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā|HYP]] 1.28–29 || 15th C. || [[Ardha Matsyendrasana|Ardha<br />Matsyendrasana]] || Half Lord of<br />the Fishes || [[File:Ardha Matyendrasana - Half Lord of the Fishes Pose - Bound Arm Variation.jpg|55px|center]]
|-
| [[:Category:Hip-opening asanas|Hip-opening]]   || [[Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā|HYP]] 1:20 || 15th C. || [[Gomukhasana]] || Cow Face || [[File:Gomukhasana Yoga-Asana Nina-Mel.jpg|80px|center]]
|-
| [[:Category:Core strength asanas|Core strength]] || [[Sritattvanidhi|ST]] || 19th C. || [[Navasana]] || Boat || [[File:Paripurna-Navasana Yoga-Asana Nina-Mel.jpg|90px|center]]
|}

== In culture ==

===In religious art===
[[File:Jambhala, The Buddhist God of Riches LACMA M.86.61.3.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jambhala]], the Buddhist god of riches, seated in [[Lalitasana]]. Nepal, 1643]]
{{further|Lotus position}}

Religious [[Indian art]] makes use of a variety of seated asanas for figures of [[Buddha]], [[Shiva]], and other gods and religious figures. Most are meditation seats, especially the lotus position, Padmasana, but [[Lalitasana]] and its "royal ease" variant are not.<ref>{{cite web |title=Green Tara, Seated in Pose of Royal Ease (Lalitasana), with Lotus Stalks on Right Shoulder and Hands in Gestures of Reasoning (Vitarkamudra) and Gift Conferring (Varadamudra) |url=https://www.artic.edu/artworks/15722/green-tara-seated-in-pose-of-royal-ease-lalitasana-with-lotus-stalks-on-right-shoulder-and-hands-in-gestures-of-reasoning-vitarkamudra-and-gift-conferring-varadamudra |publisher=Art Institute Chicago |access-date=18 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Śiva |url=https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetid=61869001&objectid=223688&partid=1 |publisher=[[British Museum]] |access-date=18 November 2019 |quote=One leg is raised upon the throne in lalitasana (position of royal ease).}}</ref> [[Jain]] [[tirthankara]]s are often shown seated in the meditation asanas Siddhasana and Padmasana.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jain Svetambara Tirthankara in Meditation |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38574 |publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |access-date=18 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Zimmer |first=Heinrich |author-link=Heinrich Zimmer |title=Philosophies Of India |date=1953 |orig-year=1952 |editor-first=Joseph |editor-last=Campbell |editor-link=Joseph Campbell |publisher=[[Routledge]] & Kegan Paul |url=https://archive.org/details/Philosophy.of.India.by.Heinrich.Zimmer |isbn=978-81-208-0739-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/Philosophy.of.India.by.Heinrich.Zimmer/page/n223 209]–210}}</ref>

===In literature===

The actress [[Mariel Hemingway]]'s 2002 [[autobiography]] ''Finding My Balance: A Memoir with Yoga'' describes how she used yoga to recover balance in her life after a dysfunctional upbringing: among other things, her grandfather, the novelist [[Ernest Hemingway]], killed himself shortly before she was born, and her sister [[Margaux Hemingway|Margaux]] killed herself with a drug overdose. Each chapter is titled after an asana, the first being "Mountain Pose, or [[Tadasana]]", the posture of standing in balance. Other chapters are titled after poses including Trikonasana, Virabhadrasana, [[Janusirsasana]], [[Ustrasana]], Sarvangasana, and finally [[Garudasana]], in each case with some life lesson related to the pose. For example, Garudasana, "a balancing posture with the arms and legs intricately intertwined ... requires some flexibility, a lot of trust, and most of all, balance"; the chapter recounts how she, her husband and her daughters all came close to drowning in canoes off [[Kauai]], Hawaii.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hemingway |first1=Mariel |author-link=Mariel Hemingway |title=Finding My Balance: A Memoir with Yoga |year=2004 |orig-year=2002 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-6432-7 |pages=Chapter 1, Chapter 15, and whole book}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Mahadevan-Dasgupta |first1=Uma |title=Striking a fine balance with peace |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/striking-a-fine-balance-with-peace-103081101084_1.html |access-date=22 February 2019 |work=Business Standard |date=11 August 2003}}</ref>

Among yoga [[novel]]s is the author and yoga teacher [[Edward Vilga]]'s 2014 ''Downward Dog'', named for Adho Mukha Svanasana, which paints a humorously unflattering picture of a man of the world who decides to become a private yoga teacher in New York society.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vilga |first1=Edward |title=Downward Dog: A Novel |date=2013 |publisher=Diversion Publishing |isbn=978-1-62681-323-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=McGee |first=Kristin |title='Downward Dog'–A Funny, Sexy, Must Read Book for the Summer! |url=https://kristinmcgee.com/downward-dog-a-funny-sexy-must-read-book-for-the-summer |publisher=Kristin McGee |access-date=6 March 2019 |date=11 June 2013}}</ref> [[Ian Fleming]]'s 1964 novel ''[[You Only Live Twice (novel)|You Only Live Twice]]'' has the action hero [[James Bond]] visiting Japan, where he "assiduously practised sitting in the lotus position."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fleming |first1=Ian |title=You Only Live Twice |date=1964 |pages=Chapter 1 |url=https://wikilivres.org/wiki/You_Only_Live_Twice}}</ref> The critic Lisa M. Dresner notes that Bond is mirroring Fleming's own struggles with the pose.<ref name="Dresner2016">{{cite journal |last=Dresner |first=Lisa M. |title="Barbary Apes Wrecking a Boudoir": Reaffirmations of and Challenges to Western Masculinity in Ian Fleming's Japan Narratives |journal=The Journal of Popular Culture |volume=49 |issue=3 |year=2016 |pages=627–645  |doi=10.1111/jpcu.12422}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|26em}}

== Sources ==

{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Alter |first=Joseph S. |author-link=Joseph Alter |title=Yoga in Modern India: The Body between Science and Philosophy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6anlz6i71oC&pg=PP1 |year=2004 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-11874-1 }}
* {{cite book | last=Bernard | first=Theos | author-link=Theos Bernard | title=Hatha yoga : the report of a personal experience | publisher=Harmony | location=Edinburgh | year=2007 | orig-year=1944 | isbn=978-0-9552412-2-2 | oclc=230987898 }}
* {{cite book |last=Bharadwaj |first=S. |year=1896 |title=Vyayama Dipika, Elements of Gymnastic Exercises, Indian System | publisher=Caxton Press <!--|location=Bangalore--> }} (no OCLC)
* {{cite book |last=Bukh |first=Niels |author-link=Niels Bukh |title=Grundgymnastik eller primitiv Gymnastik |date=1924 |publisher=Hagerup |location=Copenhagen |oclc=467899046 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Doniger |first=Wendy |author-link=Wendy Doniger |title=God's Body, or, The Lingam Made Flesh: Conflicts over the Representation of the Sexual Body of the Hindu God Shiva |journal=Social Research |date=2011 |volume=78 |issue=2, Part 1 (Summer 2011) |pages=485–508 |doi=10.1353/sor.2011.0067 |jstor=23347187|s2cid=170065724 }}
* {{cite book | last=Iyengar | first=B. K. S. |author-link=B. K. S. Iyengar | year=1979 | orig-year=1966 | title=Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika | publisher=Thorsons |isbn=978-1-85538-166-7 }}
* {{cite book | last=Jain | first=Andrea | author-link=Andrea Jain | title=Selling Yoga : from Counterculture to Pop culture | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-19-939024-3 | oclc=878953765 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Kaminoff |first1=Leslie |author1-link=Leslie Kaminoff |last2=Matthews |first2=Amy |title=Yoga Anatomy |year=2012 |edition=2nd |orig-year=2007 |publisher=The Breath Trust |isbn=978-1-4504-0024-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lidell |first=Lucy | title=The Book of Yoga: the complete step-by-step guide | publisher=Ebury, for the [[Sivananda Yoga Centre]] | year=1983 | isbn=978-0-85223-297-2 | oclc=12457963 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/bookofyoga0000lide }}
* {{cite book | last1=Mallinson | first1=James |author1-link=James Mallinson (author) |last2=Singleton |first2=Mark |author2-link=Mark Singleton (yoga scholar) | title=Roots of Yoga | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-241-25304-5 | oclc=928480104 | title-link=Roots of Yoga }}
* {{cite journal |last=McEvilley |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas McEvilley |title=An Archaeology of Yoga |journal=RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics |year=1981 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=44–77 |doi=10.1086/RESv1n1ms20166655 |jstor=20166655 |s2cid=192221643}}
* {{cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=Silva |last2=Mehta |first2=Mira |author2-link=Mira Mehta |last3=Mehta |first3=Shyam |date=1990 |title=Yoga: The Iyengar Way |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |isbn=978-0-86318-420-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Mittra |first=Dharma |author-link=Dharma Mittra |year=2003 |title=Asanas: 608 Yoga Poses |publisher=New World Library |isbn=978-1-57731-402-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Rhodes |first=Darren |title=Yoga Resource Practice Manual |publisher=Tirtha Studios |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-9836883-9-6 }}
* {{cite book |last=Samuel |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Samuel |year=2017 |orig-year=2008 |title=The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521695343}}
* {{cite book |last=Saraswati |first=Swami Satyananda |author-link=Swami Satyananda Saraswati |title=Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha |url=http://www.znakovi-vremena.net/en/Swami-Satyananda-Saraswati---Asana-Pranayama-Mudra-Bandha.pdf |publisher=Yoga Publications Trust |year=1996 |isbn=978-81-86336-14-4 |access-date=2018-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150807084750/http://www.znakovi-vremena.net/en/Swami-Satyananda-Saraswati---Asana-Pranayama-Mudra-Bandha.pdf |archive-date=2015-08-07 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |last=Shearer |first=Alistair |author-link=Alistair Shearer |title=The Story of Yoga: From Ancient India to the Modern West |date=2020 |publisher=Hurst Publishers |location=London |isbn=978-1-78738-192-6}}
* {{cite book | last=Singleton | first=Mark | author-link=Mark Singleton (yoga scholar) | title=Yoga Body : the origins of modern posture practice | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-19-539534-1 | oclc=318191988 | title-link=Yoga Body }}
* {{cite book |last=Sjoman |first=Norman E. |author-link=Norman Sjoman |title=The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace |title-link=The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=1999 |edition=2nd |orig-year=1996 |isbn=81-7017-389-2 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Srinivasan |first=Doris |title=Unhinging Śiva from the Indus civilization |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |year=1984 |volume=116 |issue=1 |pages=77–89 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00166134 |jstor=25211627 |s2cid=162904592 }}
* {{cite book |last=Vishnu-devananda |first=Swami |author-link=Vishnudevananda Saraswati |title=The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga |year=1988 |orig-year=1960 |publisher=Three Rivers Press |isbn=0-517-88431-3 |title-link=The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga }}<!--Sivananda Yoga-->
{{refend}}
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==External links==
<!-- Please do not add your school or training here, no advertising. Thanks. -->
{{Commons category}}
* [https://beyogi.com/learn-yoga/poses/ Beyogi Library of Yoga Poses] – an illustrated set of asanas with descriptions
* [http://www.jackcuneo.com/loyp-gallery/ Jack Cuneo ''Light on Yoga'' Project]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216053640/https://www.jackcuneo.com/loyp-gallery |date=2021-12-16 }} – a photographic record of one man's attempt to perform all Iyengar's asanas

{{Asana}}
{{Yoga as exercise}}
{{Modern Yoginis}}
{{Yoga}}

[[Category:Asanas| ]]
[[Category:Eight limbs of yoga]]
[[Category:Hatha yoga]]
[[Category:Yoga as exercise]]
[[Category:Zazen]]