Yoga: origins, definitions, and traditions

Etymology of the word yoga

The word “yoga” comes from the Sanskrit noun योग (yoga), which is derived from the root yuj (युज्), meaning “to attach, join, harness, or yoke.” Etymologically, it is associated with “yoking” or “restraining” the senses and, by extension, “linking” or “joining” the practitioner to a higher or divine reality. Related interpretations include “bond,” “restraint,” and “spiritual discipline,” and it is also cognate with the English word “yoke” because both trace back to a shared Indo-European root. Traditional and grammatical discussions also connect “yoga” to different possible roots. Pāṇini (4th century BCE) notes that yoga can be derived either from yujir (“to yoke”) or from yuj samādhau (“to concentrate”). In the context of the Yoga Sutras, traditional commentators prefer the “to concentrate” derivation, and Vyāsa’s commentary treats yoga as meaning samādhi (concentration), describing it as encompassing the full range of mental states and awareness. Scholars further caution that yoga has a wide semantic range across Indian religions, making it difficult to pin down a single exact definition solely from etymology.

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Classical definitions of yoga

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