Talk:Yoga

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[edit] Possible model for yoga article

See Dharma. A nice mosaic, not a stew. Fairly complete, reasonably organized, highly respectful.--Nemonoman 16:08, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

I have read many articles on Yoga in past few days and I must agree, it does play a crucial role in other Dharmic religions. Mentioning that Yoga is central to Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism is justified. But at the same time, Yoga plays a far more crucial role in Hinduism than it does in other Dharma religions. Other religions primarily focus on Meditation as a mean to know God. But Hindu texts regard Yoga as the ultimate way to attain God. Also, if Yoga's Hindu origins are not proven, then it's Vedic origins are. Hinduism is a name which was pegged by the colonial British government. The actual name of the religion is Vedika Dharma. Anyways, I have no problem if the Buddhism template is added to the article. But the Hinduism template should be not be removed and instead the article should emphasise more on Yoga's role in Vedika Dharma. The Dharma article is the perfect example --Deepak|वार्ता 16:31, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
Can you elaborate on the distinction you're making here between meditation and yoga. I believe it was David Frawley who said, "Yoga and meditation, are they two?"—Nat Krause(Talk!) 15:12, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
That quote is from David Frawley's article on Yoga and Buddhism (URL to entire article provided below in my response to another topic) to illustrate the typical Indian reaction when a Westerner mentions that he or she is supplementing yoga practice with Buddhist meditation. His thesis is that, when learning Yoga in the West, it is possible (even probable) that one could learn about postures and breathing, but never be introduced to meditation. So, this distinction between the word "yoga" and the word "meditation" stems from the erroneous Western notion that yoga is something different from meditation. That's something this article should help to debunk. For example, it should clearly state that the yogic postures were developed as aids to meditation. --Smithfarm 19:38, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Chaos

This is a very chaotic article, I will not edit it because I would change it completely. Firstly Hinduism is not a religion in the sense we are used to in the west, thats why its tolerable to let yoga be characterised as hindu. The truth is we are talking here about a pure philosophical system that does not consider rituals in the way religions do. Yoga is one of the 6 philosophical systems of India and should be treated solely as a philosophical term and system. Viruswitch 23:58, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Yoga Bear

too good to throw away...

Yoga Bear was the pioneer of the modern form of Yoga. Originating in Yellowstone National Park, USA. Yoga and his little friend Boga, practiced Yoga at 7am every morning, much to the dismay of the park ranger, the evil Shogi. Shogi took revenge by stealing all of the park visitor's pic-a-nic baskets and framing Yoga and Boga and having them banished from the park forever.

The two amigos then began a crusade and travelled across the world, practicing their mystical excercises and attracting a band of followers that increased exponentially.

Yoga Bear lived to be 99 years and 364 days old, when, while on his way to pick up his telegram from the British Queen, he was squashed by a tomato while he was crossing the road - an event he had feared for 50 years.

Meanwhile, the malevolent Shogi lives on, hoping to end yoga, once and for all.

Will he succeed? Or will Yoga Bear's legacy live on? Who knows? ..............................hi!

I do! I know that Yogi Bare was never never naked. It was ridiculously impractical, reserved for the hot spring dips to warm up before the 7AM routine, his secret of flexibility. Fur coats for snow were de rigeur. I know, too, that really Boga true to his nama, enjoyed. Boga was really his wife. And they were not banished genetically, their little ones live on, meditating in caves during the entire Winter.

And they are planning to overthrow the evil regimes repressing respect for Yoginis like Boga, their divinely maternal cozy mama of yore. Their long-term plan is to usurp the posseurs of Madhava's websites with diabets-causing sugariness and flapping of impossibly big eyelashes to stop being the terrorists of others not born-again-ponytails'n'shave who teach their smarter wives about books-n-things to do with God.

Bear with me, just like Ole Faithful, you will notice when it happens.:)...............'bye from Marci

by editor 80.195.163.53
I'm amused you actually moved this to the talk page, Nemonoman! Good show. El_C 03:03, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sikhism and Yoga

Some sikhs practice yoga. In the USA the 3HO led by late Yogi bhajan has spread so called "kundalini yoga" as a means to aid in ones journey towards mukti. 3HO

[edit] Merging with Naked Yoga

Implenting request of merge with Naked yoga per User:Arundhati bakshi. Dandelion1 01:04, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Problems with naked yoga

Naked yoga takes up disproportional space in this page. If it merits so much detail I think it should be a separate article. Also several sentences seem out of place. If and when Shaiva nagas practice yoga naked do they also term it as 'naked yoga'? When renunciates wander naked it is part of their renouncing of the materialism of this world - it is not a yoga by itself. There is a difference between practicing a particular type of yoga and following a lifestyle as part of a principle. Also Kumbh mela is not a convention for naked yoga! Also the term is offensive as it speaks to an external element vs any ideas purporting to support it - all other yogas speak to ideas (for instance bhakti yoga is not called chanting yoga). Again, that brings me back to my previous argument - can anyone start a 'new' yoga and can we give it space in this page? The section connects it with the concept of 'free love', again a western 'misinterpretation' or wilful manipulation of Hinduism or yoga concepts to give expression to twisted theories. --Pranathi 20:05, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
I think Naked yoga does belong here
(1) Naked yoga is a popular variant of yoga, even if the Hindu approach does not deem it appropriate. People have different versions of yoga that can't simply be revised out of existence. If you think it is a twisted theory, then include it in the section and please cite your source.
(2) Naked yoga does NOT merit its own separate article. That is why it belongs here. Its a choice of dress, and a very intuitive choice for enough people to warrant its inclusion here.
But some of the elements don't quite sound right to me. For instance,
(1) I think we can clearly remove discussion of the film Naked Yoga to its own separate page, which would also require setting up a disambiguition page.
(2) If info about Shaiva nagas has a non factual link to naked yoga it should be removed. Dandelion1 22:54, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
Well, isn't this so-called Naked Yoga a type of yoga. If we can have a separate article on Anahata Yoga, then why not Naked Yoga. Besides, I don't know how people from other religion view it, but most Hindus (including me) find nudism offensive and since Yoga forms an integral part of Hinduism, having an entire section on this practice is unjustified. Besides, that image is too pornographic --Deepak 23:48, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
If you think an image of a person without clothes is pornographic then that is your reality. Its too bad some people insist on sexualizing everything having to do with nudity. I personally find that approach disturbing. Wikipedia is not a tightly-controlled Hindu portal to view the world through. If you want to have a criticism of naked yoga, please put it in the article. Dandelion1 23:56, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
Well, I think mentioning a few lines on Naked Yoga and a wiki link is good enough. There is no need to have an entire section on this on the main Yoga page. Please use interwikis and see the guideline on how to write an article. Yoga is a diverse practice. If we start describing every aspect of Yoga on page, forget 35 Kb, the Yoga page will exceed 2000 Kb. --Deepak gupta|सदस्य वार्ता 00:02, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
I apologize if I have offended and been quick to judge by calling it a twisted theory. I am wary of some new-age thinking that links 'free sex' to Hinduism.
Who is claiming free sex links to Hinduism. This is a page on yoga.
I understand that the Naked Wiki movement (if that is what it is) organizes several activities in that state. The most popular of these seems to be beach activities and cycling. I do not see Naked beach or Naked cycling as part the main articles though. As you mentioned, it's just a choice of dress and not a variant of Yoga as such. (I would be interested in stats on it's popularity also if you still think it merits mention in this page. )--Pranathi 00:07, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
I did not say naked yoga is 'not a variant of Yoga as such'.
Deepak, I am not agreeable to a compromise of even a few lines on Naked Yoga. I would be interested in stats on it's popularity if Dandelions thinks it merits mention in this page. If the stats (without dragging Shaiva nagas in) are significant then we could maybe mention that Naked Wiki movement practices Hatha Yoga in that state. But I would like to see it in cycling and beaches articles first.
Dandelion, You said that it's a choice of dress, which I don't see as a 'variant' of Yoga, its paths or its techniques. --Pranathi 00:23, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Dandelion: Okay, I apologise for my outburst. Please see Wikipedia:Manual of Style. As you said, Naked Yoga is a variant of Yoga. Yoga consists of several other variants. If we start describing every variant of Yoga, this article will exceed the adivisory 35-40 Kb limit. Besides, I am not removing Naked Yoga entirely. There is a link to the Naked Yoga article in the See also list. So if someone wants to find some info regarding Naked Yoga, s/he can easily find it on the See also list.

Where is the criticism about Yoga from the Christian perspective? Has that been deleted too? Is this how we resolve things by delete other peoples' contributions?
I don't want a discussion about naked yoga on the film's page!!! I thought I was helping to move that section out to its own article but now somebody has continuously been vandalizing by adding an article about naked yoga.Dandelion1 03:12, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Its not about how Hindus think about it, its about Wikipedia's policies which we need to follow as Wikipedians. Not every person is same, forget religion. What is fine with me might be disturbing to you. Respecting the beliefs of other cultures and religion is what matters the most. Thanks --Deepak gupta|सदस्य वार्ता 00:39, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Why are you trying to turn this into a religion thing? Silencing others and erasing contributions, such as seen when the criticism from a Chrisian perspective was deleted, is not helping your case.Dandelion1 03:12, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
Your edits to film Naked Yoga are vandalism. That page is clearly made with the second word in caps to reflect a film name, and in the discussion page it says it is for the film. Some one has also moved content to Naked yoga (not the film) whereas before it was a redirect to the Naked yoga section on the Yoga page. I will continue to seek to resolve this dispute. I will request that the page be protected. See Wikipedia:Requests for page protection. Dandelion1 02:53, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
Apologies for that. However, I still stick to my theory. --Incman|वार्ता 02:56, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
This is not about theories!! This is about putting content in the correct place. (1) There needs to be a place for info on naked yoga to go. (2) There needs to be a place where criticism from the Christian perspective goes (I may not agree with it, but it contributed to helping keep Wikipedia a NPOV source of information. Even my own sister, who is a minister is concerned and it deserves to have an intelligent pro and con discussion, not just simply being deleted out of existence!!).

Paranathi: I agree entirely with your logic. But we will have to compromise in accordance with Wikipedia:Civility. Thanks --Deepak gupta|सदस्य वार्ता 00:39, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Stop Totally Redoing the whole Arrangement. This is getting me Dizzy Every time I look at the article it is totally restructured. This is really annoying. Stop Editing.

How About something between the Whole article in under Yoga and the whole article by itself. What about a really minimal Section in the Yoga article with a link to the Main article. It is also ok as is with it's own article for Yoga,

==Naked yoga==
 :''Main article: [[Naked yoga]]''
 A brief Summary of Naked yoga with no/small picture

I preferred Naked yoga[1] when it was about Naked yoga in general and not about the film and had a disambiguating to Naked Yoga (film) --E-Bod 03:43, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Use Template:Main
==Naked yoga== :''{{main|Naked yoga}}'' :A brief Summary of Naked yoga with no/small picture

Paul foord 10:54, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nudity and yoga / Naked yoga section debate (con't)

This text was put on page Wikipedia:Requests for page protection however there is a policy of not allowing discussion there:

Response to Dandelion's request to protect Yoga:

I have no problems with the section Criticism from Christain point of view if the User:Dandelion1 agrees to provide references. The section is speculative and POV and undermines the very meaning of Wikipedia. Regarding, the Naked Yoga issue, I guess administrators are best judge. Please note that Naked Yoga is just one of the several variants of Yoga and if we write one whole section on every variant of yoga, the article will easily exceed size limit. I tried my best to explain Wikipedia:Manual of Style but the user doesn't seem to be listening. --Incman|वार्ता 03:27, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
What specific point are you trying to make regarding Wikipedia:Manual of Style as it relates to the inclusion of nudity and yoga in the article Yoga? And why is the topic of nudity in the article the first that needs to get cut before other topics? I'm very concerned that people were refering to the image used in the section as being pornographic, when it was not, and I suspect that may be one reason why the section has been removed, since it was brought up when the section was cut out. Please do not refer to me as "the user" as if I am some outsider in all this. That is rude. Dandelion1 05:23, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

re: Admin decision on not protecting Naked yoga:

Well, ok. I'm storing the information here (where it used to be before) until it can go back into the Yoga article. Dandelion1 05:25, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
Being generous Naked yoga could be treated as a school or part of the variety of yoga, however it is probably more a modality of practice, but most likely a western prediliction to titillate or push boundaries. Are there historical/theoretical foundations, are there recognised gurus, and sources to cite? Whether these are Hindu, Tantric, Buddhist, whatever. Having a ref in "See also" is really as much as it justifies without this. Paul foord 10:39, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
You said "most likely a western prediliction to titillate or push boundaries". That's total bullshit unless you can back up your claims... and why would there need to be a a "special" guru to do the practice without clothes. Is there some kind of huge shift in thinking here? No! What kind of acadamic theory really does one need to change the mode of dress? Your comments are completely ridiculous and laughable at best. No, this is not coming out of the tantric tradition and it isn't an attempt to sexualize yoga as you seem to be implying without supporting your claims. Can't you even bother yourself with reading the references at the bottom? Dandelion1 17:36, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
Hi Folks. Just passing by. I agree it's more a modality of practice. Though, it's not a Western prediliction; I have a few yoga texts that note being naked as part of the practice. One is an old Tibetan Trulkhor text: NEVA: Start in sitting position, legs extended, naked.
I can't find any reference though for it being necessary that this kind of practice is titled Naked yoga. Peace. ॐ Metta Bubble puff 13:07, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I agree that Naked Yoga merits it's own page: It doesn't fit on this page because: 1) it doesn't appear to be spiritualy linked 2) What kind of Yoga is it? Since it isn't specifically spiritual, is it a form of modern excercise?

The fact is, it doesn't appear to be very well defined as a concept, and the name 'Naked Yoga' gives no insights to what it's all about. Justifying it's existence by citing the 'Shaiva Nagas' habit of nakedness is rediculous, since Naked Yoga doesn't share any aspects of the Naga belief system except for the naked part. The fact that they were originaly loosely refered to as 'Sadhus' in the article shows just how distinct 'Naked Yoga' is from any spiritual group, and just how ill-defined and baseless it is as notion.

Sfacets 17:59, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Well, I've removed the text. I don't know where it came from. What is your next complaint? Dandelion1 18:08, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Dandelion, there are plenty of movies which share the same name with certain things and practices. For example, Lord of the Rings. The article talks about Lord of the Rings in general but the article on the film by Peter Jackson is found in the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy page. Also have a look at Wikipedia:Disambiguation. The Striptease article talks about Striptease in general but the article on the film Striptease is found here. I just don't understand why you tagged my edit to the concerned article as vandalism?! Regarding the content of Talk:Naked Yoga, we could have always copy and paste it to Talk:Naked Yoga (film).

Naked Yoga ("Y" being capitalized) is a film, if there was enough article to have an exclusive section naked yoga it would be titled Naked yoga (lowercase "y") accordint to the way articles on Wikipedia are titled. Dandelion1 03:30, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
So you mean to say that that particular movie is called Naked Yoga and not Naked yoga :). I don't know what to say. I think asking for external assistance is the only option left. --Incman|वार्ता 03:36, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I have raised up the issue with Village Pump. See [2]. We can also seek an administrators help/guidance to resolve the dispute. Thanks --Incman|वार्ता 03:09, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I am not trying to erase your contributions. I moved the section on Naked Yoga to a separate article. Also, the Criticism section is unreferenced. Have a look at Wikipedia:References. You gotta give Citations for those sentences which call Yoga demonic. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. You just can't add speculative, POV stuff here. --Incman|वार्ता 03:20, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

And I was the person who flagged the problem, did I not? How are we supposed to defend yoga if we don't even allow the crticism to be made in the first place so we can respond to it? Dandelion1 03:30, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
I have no problems with criticisms but you need to provide some external sources and quotations made by Christian leaders criticising Yoga. Again, see Wikipedia:References. --Incman|वार्ता 03:36, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
Fine, done. But why is a section on Christian yoga so much easier to accept here than a section on naked yoga? Why are you welcoming one and not the other? Dandelion1 19:39, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
Because Naked yoga doesn't deserves to have an entire section on the main Yoga page. It is nothing but one of the several different variants of yoga and we cannot possibly describe each and every yoga type on the main page. Go ahead and write a few lines on it in ===Yoga practice and intention=== section. You can also mention it in the ===Diversity of yoga=== section. I never opposed the inclusion of Naked Yoga as such, my only objection was to the image and to the entire section devoted on it in the main yoga article. --Incman|वार्ता 19:48, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Dandelion1, please remember WP:COOL. Incman's edits are clearly not vandalism, this is just a naming dispute. I have removed the prod tag from Naked Yoga (film) because it's a perfectly valid name for the article, and have changed Naked Yoga to a redirect because it is a term that would be very easily confused with Naked yoga. That arrangement makes perfect sense to me: it is where I—as a complete outsider—would expect to find things. Oh, and by the way, they are excellent articles, both of them. GeorgeStepanek\talk 16:15, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Wait a minute bud, he was replacing the contents of a page on the film, with content about naked yoga. If he was so eager to do things correctly he would have discussed it first.Dandelion1 18:16, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
I apologise for my removing it without discussing. However, I did what in my eyes was obvious, logical and appropriate. If a film shares the same name with a another general ABCD topic, the valid name for the article on the film is ABCD (film). See King Kong and King Kong (2005 film). You know what, please file a WP:RFC against me or approach the Arbcom and let them decide if my edits were an act of vandalism. I've made more than 3800 edits to Wikipedia, and never was I accused of vandalism. Congratulations, you are the first one to call me a vandalist --Incman|वार्ता 19:35, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
Please spare us your whining and drama. My comments refer to someone changing article Naked Yoga into a general information page about naked yoga. I feel comfortable now with the addition of the word (film) on Naked Yoga (film), but I don't think it was necessary given the way the page was setup. Let's focus on the the topic of you guys excluding naked yoga on Yoga and not Christian yoga on Yoga. See above section. Thank you. Dandelion1 19:54, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
I'm striking out my claim that the page has been vandalized. (See strikeouts above). Its seems to be an honest mistake made by whoever was making the edits. Dandelion1 21:12, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
What are you talking about? Now who is this "someone"? Now if you are pointing at someone other than User:Deepak gupta aka Incman, mention that "someone's" username. Boy, your comments are so confusing! BTW, I was referring to your this edit. --Incman|वार्ता 20:02, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Number of Shaiva Nagas

Since correcting the entry from 'Sadhus' to 'Shaiva Nagas', which is the group which lives naked, there needs to be a correction to the number of followers which has been left at 20 million, but which is actually considerably smaller, considering the 'Nagas' are just a part of the Sadhu ensemble. Shane 09:07, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

The section in question here has been removed until I can figure out how it relates to anything (I never wrote it and I don't understand it at this point). Dandelion1 19:42, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Responding to Village Pump query

I suggest opening a request for comments on this page and naked yoga. My own suggestion is to have naked yoga be a separate page and describe it in summary style, similar to how the featured article Hinduism treats many subtopics: within the main article text with a paragraph and an italicized link. Regards, Durova 19:13, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I am still confused. The Clothes free movement performs many activities in the nude. These include cycling, swimming etc. Why is their performing Hatha Yoga singled out as a variant of Hatha Yoga, while the rest are not. I don't think every thing should get a new name just because it is performed in this state - again, it is simply a choice of dress. --Pranathi 20:14, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Well, I'm no yoga expert. If the only significant difference is the absence of clothes then you have a point. Durova 08:46, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

I googled Nude Yoga and read a couple of related articles and none of them said Nude Yoga is a variant of Yoga. As you said, there is little difference between Yoga and "Nude Yoga" except the fact that the latter is done without clothes. I think one sentence is more than enough to describe so-called Nude Yoga. --Incman|वार्ता 16:46, 24 March 2006 (UTC)
I am a yoga teacher well versed in the literature and practice and I've never heard of yoga being practiced publicly in the nude. Yoga is like anything else we do in public life. Do we go shopping in the nude? Do we take a walk in the park or along the riverfront in the nude? When we go downtown on a Saturday afternoon, how many nude people do we see? In other words, whether one is clothed or not, or what percentage of the body is covered, has no bearing on yoga, just as it has no bearing on shopping or on taking a walk. Clothing or lack thereof is a matter of social customs and climate. As has been mentioned above, the so-called "naked yoga" is a non-entity: it has no tradition, no gurus, no heritage. In short, it is not notable and does not belong in an encyclopedia article on yoga, period. --Smithfarm 11:42, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

My preference is for both Naked Yoga and Naked yoga to redirect to the film Naked Yoga (film) as I see it as much more notable than an article about nude yoga, which can just as easily be called Nude yoga or Clothesfree yoga or Nudist yoga or any other variations. The notability of Yoga in the nude as an American fad is quite tiny compared to the notability of the Naked Yoga (film) which is an academy award nominee. The film page could have disambiguation link to the nudist page. ॐ Metta Bubble puff 03:09, 25 March 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Contemporary Yogi issues

Something has to be done with the contemporary yogi section, or it will quickly grow HUGE, with everyone adding their favourite baba, babu and sadhu of choice. I propose it either be removed, or mograted to a new page... Sfacets 10:48, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

A new article wouldn't be a bad idea. The sub-heading doesn't belong at all. There's enough contemporary-ness in the preceding section already. Peace. ॐ Metta Bubble puff 10:55, 29 March 2006 (UTC)
I agree. A new article called 'Contemporary Yogis' would allow room for the infinite growth of the latest new yoga teacher(s). It seems this article should be more about 'Yoga' than about 'Yogis'. Even the 'Notable Yogis' could get too big if people put in their fave yogi. ॐ Priyanath 23:55, 2 April 2006 (UTC)
I agree too, I doubt people looking for general info on yoga need to know all about the masters up front. Dandelion1 00:15, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
I agree too too--E-Bod 01:19, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

O.k. I have moved the section to Contemporary_Yogis... the contemporary yogis found in the previous section (i.e. 'Notable Yogis') should also be moved to the new article

There is an article Yogis which contains a section Modern Yogis... should these also be moved to Contemporary_Yogis? I have placed a merge template under the section. Sfacets 03:20, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Removed copvio content

I removed the section on Yogendra and the yoga institute, all of which which is copied and pasted from http://www.yogainstitute.org/about.html , including the image.

While there is no copyright notice on the site, legally express permission must be granted by the association for it to be copied as is to wikipedia see Public_domain. Sfacets 10:57, 3 April 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Notable Yogis

Usher the RnB singer as a notable yogi shows just what can happen to this article unless scrict(er)criteria are put in place.

Does this section deserve a seperate article? Sfacets 07:08, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

Yes, yes, yes! I had suggested a while ago that only Yogis whose popularity stood the test of time be represented here. Perhaps with criteria such as - should not be living and - have significant following. Maybe that criteria can be used for the new article and stricter criteria for this section in Yoga such as only those born before the 20th century. I know thats vague but without any criteria this section can go out of control. --Pranathi 23:43, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
And now "World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s Trish Stratus" is a notable yogi, or was until I removed her. How does one go about making a separate page for 'Notable Yogis', and how do you make criteria that people can agree upon? There are now three pages with growing lists of yogis: Contemporary Yogis, Yogi, and the Yoga pages's 'notable yogis'. What's the best way to organize this? All three have many of the same yogis listed. I suggest merging all three into one page, called something like Notable Yogis. Alternatively, there could be two pages: Notable Yogis (deceased), and Notable Yogis (living). ॐ Priyanath 02:02, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
See my previous suggestion here--Nemonoman 03:32, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
I like the idea. Do you think 'Notable Yogis' should stay on the Yoga page, along with 'Modern Yogis'? Or a new page? And separate pages in that case, or one combined page? I think that a separate page is best, since the Yoga page is already too long. Then there's the question of the list of yogis at Contemporary Yogis and Yogi, which are redundant. All three should be combined/merged somewhere, and I'm happy to do it. But I would like a consensus on how to do it, even if it's a consensus of two. I especially like your idea of Notable Yogis being in chronological order, and mostly dead yogis - and Modern Yogis being in Alphabetical order. I also think there should be criteria of who should be listed there. For example, Modern Yogis should be Notable Yoga Teachers or authors, not every rapper or WWE wrestler babe who practices yoga. ॐ Priyanath 03:56, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Buddhism and tantra

(The fact that Hindu "yoga" has these things as well may have escaped the attention of classical Tibetan commentators.) this is unjustly dismissive, I reffer you to a work by Ronald Davidson , Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, ISBN: 0-231-12618-2 - this studious work shows how buddhist tantra preceeded hindu tantra by a couple of centuries, although later there were mutual influences. So there is no question that there are some rough similarities in a few later texts, (though terma texts are completely tibetan, and early tantras like guhyasamaya/guhyagarbha are written too early to have any influences of then-nonexistent hindu tantra) but its far from true that Tibetans didn't know of the existance of hindu yoga - they just considered it a corruption.. Also its ridiculous to describe an essentially theistic explanation of what tantra is and then claim that buddhist tantra, which is nontheistic as 'roughly similar'?? Yogachara is a classic indian school of buddhism and is relevant to most of mahayana, so 'indotibetan' is misleading. In for instance the journal of east and west, I saw multiple uses of the term when analyzing chinese buddhism. Also, it has little to do with yoga, but is usually mentioned in connection to the cittamatra philosophical position, and the yogacara-madhyamaka debate shaped both of those most significant mahayana philosophies (and the debate is still continuing in new forms). Its strange that the term tibetan yantra yoga is not mentioned in that section, since its implied with mentioning phisical exercises.. The mahasiddhas you mention connected to Kagyu is true, but there is no reason to consider Kagyus separately here - all schools have connections with some of the 84 traditionally named mahasiddhas (yogis).

Also can anyone show a source for the claim that Theravada practices any form of yoga? I think this is not true, though its possibly not forbidden. Also, tibetan yantra yoga (and this has nothing to do with the meaning of the word yantra would evoke in hindu context) claims a lineage unrelated to patanjali - though I know of no study to check the validity of such claims. --Aryah 03:00, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wikipedia:WikiProject Yoga

I'm surprised no one has ever started such a project....--Dangerous-Boy 04:54, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "God" or "god"?

In the interests of grammar, I reverted a couple of the recent changes by Sfacets of "god" to "God." "God" isn't always a proper noun, and a couple of the recent changes were incorrect. To be perfectly honest, I think leaving the remaining instances may be confusing. I associate the term "God" with the Judeo-Christian one, which I expect is common among English-speakers. I don't think that's the god under discussion when the subject is Hinduism or Buddhism. Still, Hinduism capitalizes the word when discussing Brahman, and I'd rather leave it as is than offend.--Pastafarian Nights 23:18, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Your edits seem good. In general I think the word should be capitalised when there is no article (a/the) as it is being used as a name. So ... worships God, but ... worships a god. Ashmoo 06:53, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm yes on consideration I would agree... there isn't actually any guidelines (that I could find) regarding this... however there are exceptions to using a lowercase 'g' when used as a proper noun, - when the capital letter is user as a sign of defference to G(g)od - also used is capital letters in 'He', 'Your', 'His' when referring to G(g)od(s). This is true in many istances in French for eg. Sfacets 07:22, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] the Yogi Fighting Style?

I have heard of an ancient tibetan martial art derived from Yoga, confirmation of this would be greatly appriciated

Not sure, but it could be Kalarippayattu that you heard of. (?) --Pranathi 16:44, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Authority of Patanjali

Is there any verification available for the claim that "Panini, Patanjali and Kātyāyana are regarded are the highest authority not only in Sanskrit but also in the whole of Linguistics"? It's a pretty strong statement and would require pretty solid evidence to substantiate it. Off the top of my head, I would imagine that Noam Chompsky is currently considered a 'higher' authority in linguistics than either of the three mentioned above.

Well, you have to take into account the rift of ignorance between East and West. Sometimes people in the West ignore well-established historical facts, claiming for example that Galileo was the first human to propose a heliocentric universe, etc., when such things were well-known to Vedic civilization hundreds, if not thousands, of years before. At the same time, sometimes people from the East go overboard in highlighting the accomplishments of "their" historical figures. In reality, nobody can "own" the history of human civilization. Things like this are good because they highlight the absurd ignorance that comes from considering oneself to "belong" to any particular nation or geographical region. Perhaps the sentence could be altered to read: "Panini, Patanjali and Kātyāyana are regarded are the highest authorities in Sanskrit as well as major historical contributors to the science of Linguistics." Of course, it would be nice to add an appropriate reference. --Smithfarm 17:14, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Scientific evaluation of Yoga

The actual yog [unfortunately in english people calls "Yoga"] is a philosophy of sanatam dharma [ again unfortunatly known as Hinduism] to understand the super natural powers of this planet and beyond the planetial environment. The acts for this approach is comprehensively known as yog. The Sanatam Dharam philosophy is divided into eight branches mainly #Chravak#Nyay#vaishesik#mimansa#jain# yog etc. Except charvak, all philosophical approaches accept the existence of the super power, say God. All philosophical approaches ends upto the conclusion of the meeting of the super power. The way of meeting with the super power may have differences. These differences can be seen worldwide in creeds of different nations. So is with the Yog. The real yog have eight fold directive to follow , if any body wish to meet, experience and understand the super power. These eight fold directives have to follow in strict way.Yam,Niyam,Aaasan,Pranayam,Pratyahar,dhyan, dharana, samdhi are eight subjects, which have to follow very strictly. Now today, yog is considered to be a type of exercise, which consist only Posture and breathing exercises. This is not actually yog and is misunderstood. One should understand that Yog literal mean is unity, mixture,conjunction, combination. Regarding other yog say prem yog, karma yog etc are not related to the Yog. One should understand that Yog is sanatam dharma philosophy and should known as "Yog Darshan" or "Yog Philosophy". Yog Philosophy have no any far relation to the other yog, whatever they have described. User:Dbbajpai1945@sify.com 11:10 IST, 22 June 2006

There is a good reason for calling it "Yoga" in English - simply that it assures correct pronounciation! If we spelled it "Yog", English-speakers would pronounce it to rhyme with "nog" (as in egg-nog). As for your argument, it seems self-contradictory. You say there are different approaches for meeting with the super power, but then you say there is only one "real Yog", which for you is the eight-limbed Yoga expounded by Patanjali. But you then go on to say that Yog is really Hindu philosophy. These statements seem to contradict eachother. Patanjali's Yoga is not philosophical at all - it is pure practice of mind control (of one's own mind, not of other minds!), devoid of philosophy. Please help me understand. --Smithfarm 16:17, 28 August 2006 (UTC)
After giving the matter some more thought, I realized I was mistaken to say that Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are "devoid of philosophy". Obviously this classic work has profound philosophical underpinnings. However, those underpinnings, I believe, are more rooted in the Vedas (including, in particular, the Upanishads) and should not be attributed to Patanjali himself. --Smithfarm 20:16, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Not central to Buddhism

Yoga as a means to enlightenment is not central to Buddhism as this article states.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Aperion001 (talk • contribs) .

The difficulty is that the article lacks a definition of the term yoga (maybe that isn't feasible—I don't know), making it impossible judge whether yoga is central to a given religion or practice.—Nat Krause(Talk!) 15:14, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

There's an excellent article on this subject, entitled "Yoga and Buddhism" by David Frawley. You can read it here. I highly recommend it. I suggest that this section of the article be rewritten by paraphrasing the points Frawley makes in that article. The treatment is quite balanced and I don't think there's anything in it that would make a Buddhist feel defensive. --Smithfarm 17:02, 27 August 2006 (UTC)


In traditional contexts, and certainly in a Buddhist context, a "yoga" is any well-defined practice for attaining a particular spiritual goal, eg. the Yogas of Naropa. This includes physical postures, prayers, visualisations, breathing practices. In fact it would be true to say that Buddhism is a coherent set of Yoga practices, that it is in essence a yogically based religion. Prime Entelechy 18:18, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

Clearly yoga and buddhism share various concepts because of their broadly shared history and geographical origin. However in some respects (including, I think, historically) Buddhism can be seen as a reaction against yoga, in as much as it represents a "third way" between materialism and ascetism. An authoritative discussion would be useful, especially as many modern enthusiasts don't seem to appreciate that some aspects of the two are in fairly sharp disagreement. An example: the concept central to much yoga that we can transcend the physical realm by purifying the body, whose explicit rejection formed part of the motivation of the founding of Buddhism. Alexbroadbent 22:04, 20 October 2006 (UTC)
Well, Alexbroadbent, you are clearly using a different definition of yoga than "Prime Entelechy" is.—Nat Krause(Talk!) 02:42, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Citations?

Hi, I'd like to help improve the references in this page... however, it sounds like the pointers to the Upanishads, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika in the header were considered insufficient. If anyone has thoughts, I'd welcome them. I was thinking of citing mostly books like Iyengar's Light on Yoga and other deeper, historical texts as well. -- Joebeone (Talk) 16:42, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Yes, that would be a start. The article is badly in need of references. This govt. site can also be used as a reference for some of the claims. -- thunderboltza.k.a.Deepu Joseph |TALK06:11, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Higher Yoga

If somebody has an expertise on the subject, please add something about Higher Yoga too. I saw a programme on discovery channel that demonstrated Higher yoga. the person drank about 100ml desi ghee and about a litre of milk but still managed to deflate his stomach so as to literally touch his back. He said that if normal person drinks so much ghee and milk, he will become clumsy, but since he did higher yoga, he grew thinner.nids 21:09, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Yogic Outer Spiritualism merger

This nebulous subject isn't notable by itself and should be part of the Yoga article. Plus all the google hits seem to redirect here or to WP's copies. Lincher 19:59, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Agreed that the subject isn't notable. I doubt it is even notable enough to include in the Yoga article, as it seems to disjointedly group a series of practices used in different forms of existing Yoga. Delete. Sfacets 00:37, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fad categories

Should yoga be categorized as a fad? Most fads can be traced back to a particular year or decade, after which they go out of style, however yoga doesn't appear to meet this requirement. —Viriditas | Talk 10:00, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "American Yogis" Section

Do American Yogis deserve a section all to themselves? This is definitely Systematic bias. I propose to merge these teachers into the main "Notable Yogis" section Sfacets 06:11, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ext links removal

I notice 82.13.31.68 removed the Ext links section, but instead of reverting it, I thought I would vote for it to remain like that. It seems to me to be a post of random selection a of a mass of similarly motivated sites just as easily googled. As long as there isn't a rule that there be an external links section, isn't it more neutral to abstain from having one in articles like this? Murgh 22:03, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

An edit like that by a first-time editor is vandalism. I reverted it. I'd certainly agree to a reasoned edit made by a reasonable editor.--Nemonoman 22:59, 25 November 2006 (UTC)
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