BKS Iyengar emphasized yoga's physical aspect

Stretching and breathing are just two aspects of yoga

Most contemporary yoga studios focus on two of astanga yoga’s eight branches, as codified in the ancient text “Yoga Sutras of Patañjali”: asanas (physical postures) and pranayama (breath control). However, the larger practice of yoga includes six additional limbs: yama (universal ethics), niyama (individual ethics), pratyahara (control of senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (pure consciousness).

Theos Bernard's book on yoga formalized the practice for many Americans

His 1943 book “Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personal Experience” was supposedly based on a 1936 trip through India and Tibet, though it’s believed many of the details were fabricated. Still, the book featured photos of Bernard in numerous postures that were some of the first published in the US, helping to popularize yoga in America.

Learn about 12 basic yoga postures

A typical yoga class runs students through a sequence of basic postures, also known as asanas. This illustrated guide outlines 12 poses—including the “plough,” “fish,” and “crow”—and breaks down the specific benefits.

Richard Hittleman brought yoga to TV

"Yoga For Health" was a 1960s television show that sought to make yoga accessible for everyday Americans. Richard Hittleman, the show's host, walked viewers through basic postures, introducing them to the practice's therapeutic benefits. "We know that within us there's great forces, and great power, and great beauty," he says in this 1961 episode, "and the idea is to bring it out."

Yoga dates back to about 1500 BCE

The earliest known mention of the word is in the Rig Veda, one of the four canonical Hindu texts. Rishis, or sages, then documented its evolution in the Upanishads, the Hindu scriptures. Much of the modern understanding of Yoga comes from “Yoga Sutras of Patañjali,” which outlines the practice’s eight elements, including physical postures and breathwork.

Buddhists believe the Buddha practiced yoga

Although yoga is often associated with Hinduism, many Indian spiritual traditions engage with similar practices. It’s said that Buddha practiced an intense form of ascetic yoga before rejecting the practice and eventually discovering “the middle way,” a philosophy that rejected extremes.

Why yoga teachers are dissecting cadavers

Thousands of fitness professionals are choosing to attend cadaver workshops to improve their understanding of anatomy and their teaching abilities. Though 3D virtual models give students a fresh way to explore the human body, medical students say experiencing the intricacies in person is far more instructive. As fitness professionals increase their understanding of the muscular and skeletal systems, their movement cues and instructions evolve in tandem.

Bikram Choudhury's abuse dismantled his yoga empire

The guru popularized a form of hot yoga that followed a 26-point script. In the process, he became incredibly wealthy and ostentatious. In the early 2010s, formal accusations against him began, ranging from harassment to rape. He fled the US in 2017 to avoid paying his former lawyer a sexual harassment settlement. In the US, the "Bikram yoga" style has been divorced from its namesake but is still practiced, often as "hot yoga." Bikram still teaches yoga outside the country.

Some parents have objected to yoga in schools

Yoga has been introduced in some public schools as a form of exercise and emotional regulation. Some parents, however, have objected to its inclusion, arguing that it promotes the Hindu and Buddhist religions. Note that this resource will be paywalled for some readers.

Yoga has become a popular tool for veterans dealing with PTSD

As the practice has become more popular in the West, it’s been incorporated into the Department of Veterans Affairs’ treatment plans for post-traumatic stress disorder. Veteran instructors say that although yoga and the military might seem like odd fits, they share many commonalities, including a rigorous approach. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

One classical musician arranged a work specifically for yoga

In the middle of a yoga class, Ellen Fishman noticed that sitting closer to a speaker allowed her to feel the music in her body, enhancing her overall experience. She arranged music for a string ensemble with a yoga session in mind. The group, StringFlo, now performs the work live in yoga classes.

Several NFL teams incorporate yoga into their training

Although brawny football players might not seem like obvious yogis, many of the NFL’s athletes have taken to the practice for flexibility and mindfulness. Several teams, including the Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, and Dallas Cowboys, make the practice a part of their conditioning routine.

Yoga can be beneficial for aging practitioners

Studies suggest that yoga can help alleviate several diseases associated with aging by lowering blood pressure, reducing blood fat levels, and combating obesity. It has also been shown to increase telomerase activity, which helps slow cell aging.

Ancient Greek gymnasium: where philosophy met fitness

In ancient Greece, gymnasiums were not just places of physical training, but centers of intellectual life. This article explores the ways in which exercise, philosophy, and education were deeply intertwined, reflecting a cultural belief that physical fitness was essential for mental development.

Steve Jobs mandated that a legendary book on yoga be distributed at his memorial service

The iconic entrepreneur died in 2011, but before he did, he planned the details for his memorial service. One of the instructions was to leave attendees with a parting gift: a brown box that contained Paramahansa Yogananda’s book “Autobiography of a Yogi,” a book he read as a teenager and then returned to annually.

Bill Bowerman brought running for fitness to America

Nike cofounder Bill Bowerman once cowrote a book with a doctor, W.E. Harris, called “Jogging.” Published in 1967 by New York, Grosset & Dunlap, it introduced America to the idea of running for health, instead of just sport—and kicked off the fitness frenzy of the 1970s that fueled Nike’s early success. (Some readers may experience a paywall).

Explore a series of bedtime exercises to improve sleep

Low-impact, mindful movements can potentially help the body and mind relax before sleeping. Such exercises could be a helpful complement to regular exercise during the day.

Activity trackers promise to improve health by forcing us to examine the facts

Explore how modern fitness culture, rooted in capitalist ideals of productivity and control, shapes our perception of health and self-worth. The author blends cultural criticism with personal insight to examine the contradictions of the wellness industry, the rise of wearable tech, and what it means to "optimize" a body.

Pilates was invented by an acrobatic WWI prisoner of war

As the Great War raged on, and as months gave way to years, the imprisoned Joseph Pilates explored a question that he had pondered since childhood: Could he reimagine the capabilities of the human body through an anatomically based method of training, taking inspiration from scientific treatises, the carefree movement of children, and the dexterous ease of cats? Read this article to learn about the birth and legacy of Pilates.

Ashrita Furman, owner of over 600 world records

What does it take to break so many world records? Hardcore spiritual discipline, at least according to Ashrita Furman, who was trained by an ascetic teacher to do challenging things. Read up on his accomplishments in this photo essay.

A step-by-step guide to the Martha Graham Technique

This BBC explainer walks you through Martha Graham's famous approach to dance, offering you six moves you can work into your exercise regiment—or Graham-inspired routine.

'Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised.'

- Legendary athlete Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (1911-1956)

Unlike physical therapy, chiropractic lacks substantive, evidence-based support

Originating as a practice focused on removing blockages in the spine that impede the flow of mystical energy in the body, chiropractic has claimed to resolve many ailments, even those unrelated to the spine or skeletal system. However, no scientific studies have identified such blockages, and there are insufficient clinical trials supporting these treatments.

Gutai was performance art’s Japanese predecessor

Works by the post-WWII Japanese artist collective Gutai are widely considered a precursor to Western performance art of the 1960s and 1970s. The word “Gutai” means “concrete” in Japanese, referring to the concrete ways the artists’ bodies were used to create their works. Gutai members like Kazuo Shiraga, who painted with his feet to express the movement of his process, are thought to have influenced later artists like Jackson Pollock.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

'For it would seem—her case proved it—that we write, not with the fingers, but with the whole person. The nerve which controls the pen winds itself about every fibre of our being, threads the heart, pierces the liver.'

- Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) in "Orlando: A Biography"

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Poison ivy's characteristic rash is caused by an allergic response to an oily compound in the plant called urushiol.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.