Yoga are the physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that aim to transform body and mind. The term denotes a variety of schools, practices and goals[1] in Hinduism, Buddhism (including Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhism[2][3][4]) and Jainism,[5][6][7][6] the best-known being Hatha yoga and Raja yoga. The term yoga is derived from the literal meaning of "yoking together" a span of horses or oxes,[1] but came to be applied to the "yoking" of mind and body.[1]
The origins of Yoga may date back to pre-vedic Indian traditions. The earliest accounts of yoga-practices are in the Buddhist Nikayas.[8] Parallel developments were recorded around 400 CE in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,[9] which combines pre–philosophical speculations and diverse ascetic practices of the first millennium BCE with Samkhya-philosophy. Hatha yoga emerged from tantra by the turn of the first millennium.[10][11]
Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west,[12] following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th and early 20th century.[12] In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. This form of yoga is often called Hatha yoga.