Yoga
lit. “to yoke, to unite”
A Hindu spiritual discipline of uniting body, mind, and the divine — and, in the West, mostly the stretching part.
Origin
Classical yoga, codified in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (~4th century CE), has eight limbs: ethical restraints, observances, posture, breath control, sense withdrawal, concentration, meditation, and absorption. Physical postures (asana) are just the third limb. The hot, sweaty, athletic style most Westerners practice — vinyasa, ashtanga, Bikram, etc. — is largely a 20th-century synthesis, blending classical postures with European gymnastics and bodybuilding traditions.
Modern usage
A multi-billion-dollar global industry. 'Doing yoga' almost always means asana practice; the philosophical and meditative limbs survive in serious studios and ashrams. 'Yoga' as a verb ('I yoga'd this morning') is a tell of how thoroughly the word has anglicised.
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