Yoga

For many people today, yoga is an Indian-derived form of physical exercise--based on the familiar postures--which may or may not include a spiritual component. In this form, yoga has spread all over the world, in ever-increasing variety.

More fundamentally, "yoga" refers to a family of voluntary spiritual practices, together with their attendant texts and teacher-student lineages, aimed at nirvana (the "snuffing out" of egoism and delusion). Its underlying assumption is that by stilling or concentrating the mind, the yoga practitioner can

"Yoga" in this sense is practiced within the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism; and encompasses theistic as well as nontheistic forms.

In Indian philosophy, "Yoga" is the name of one of the six "orthodox" (i.e., Veda-affirming) schools, while "Yogacara" ("Yoga Practitioners") is an important school of thought within Mahayana Buddhism.

The name

(Sanskrit योग)