How yoga philosophy inspired Thoreau

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.

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.

An 1893 speech in Chicago set the stage for yoga in the US

Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu monk, spoke to the World’s Parliament of Religions, addressing those in attendance as his “sisters and brothers of America.” The speech—and Vivekananda’s subsequent lecture tours—introduced many in the West to Hinduism, setting the stage for the interest in yoga that would follow in the next century.

Why Thoreau considered himself spiritual but not religious

This interview with Richard Higgins, author of "Thoreau's God," unpacks the writer's deep spirituality, which underlies his exploration of "deliberate" living. Higgins notes that Thoreau was opposed to the dogma of organized religion but took his spirituality seriously, treating July 4, 1845, when he moved to Walden Pond, as his own "spiritual independence day."

Diving into the life of Henry David Thoreau

Before he went to live in the woods by Walden Pond, Thoreau (who originally went by David Henry) lived a fascinating life, opening a school with his brother, working for his father's pencil-making business, and becoming close to Ralph Waldo Emerson, who'd become a mentor figure for the aspiring writer. This deep profile explores all that and more.

Read the poetry of Henry David Thoreau

Although primarily known for his nonfiction, the New England transcendentalist was also a prolific poet, writing verse that, like his essays, tackled nature, man, and society. The Academy of American Poets has collected 30 of his poems, which you can read for free.

Traveling yogis spread the practice across the US

After a 1923 Supreme Court decision ruled that Asians were ineligible for citizenship, many South Asian immigrants had relatively few job opportunities and began moving around the country teaching yoga and spirituality. At the time, yoga was viewed less as a physical practice and more as a mystical one, something many of the teachers embraced to attract students. South Asians regained the right to citizenship in 1946.

BKS Iyengar emphasized yoga's physical aspect

The guru’s 1966 book “Light On Yoga” included detailed instructions for over 200 postures, presenting a version of yoga that emphasized it as a form of exercise with controlled breathing, believing that its physicality was the key to unlocking its spirituality. The book was the first mass-market manual to show the poses, furthering the Western impression that yoga was primarily about exercise.

Understanding Thoreau's critique of American work

John Kaag, a coauthor of "Henry at Work: Thoreau on Making a Living," explains how the writer is often mischaracterized as a layabout who avoided responsibilities. Kaag, though, notes that Thoreau was a jack-of-all-trades—working as a schoolteacher and a handyman, and even for his father's pencil-manufacturing company—who came to believe that relentless striving was getting in the way of authentic living.

The long-tail influence of Thoreau's 'Civil Disobedience'

His essay "Civil Disobedience" laid out both a practical and a moral plan for resisting unjust governments, inspiring civil rights leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as anti-war anarchists like Emma Goldman and literary figures like Leo Tolstoy.

What is transcendentalism?

The 19th-century movement, largely centered around the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson, believed that individuals needed to form transcendent connections with the universe. For many transcendentalist philosophers, writers, and religious figures, that meant seeking it in nature. This Stanford explainer on the philosophy digs deep into its major concepts and figureheads.

Sri Swami Satchidananda gave the opening remarks at the first Woodstock

The yoga guru was invited to begin the legendary 1969 festival and told the massive crowd he believed music “is a celestial sound and it is the sound that controls the whole universe, not atomic vibrations.” The speech leaned into yoga as a philosophy, one that the many concertgoers in attendance could use to guide their collective desire for peace.

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

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.)

Ray Dalio credits much of his success to his transcendental meditation practice

Dalio took up transcendental meditation after learning that The Beatles practiced it on a trip to India in 1968. He says the practice allows him to clear his mind, be more creative, and unlock his subconscious.

In 1927, Oklahoma’s governor was criticized for his associations with yoga

Governor Henry Johnston was already dealing with criticism regarding his administration. When it was revealed that he'd attended a lecture on “Divine Yoga,” given by Deva Ram Sukul, a traveling guru, his opponents leaped at the opportunity to use Johnston's budding interest in non-Western traditions (and, in some cases, the occult) against him.

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.

Why one runner believes Stoic philosophy is important for marathoners

There's plenty of time for thinking while training for a marathon, and Matt Fitzgerald suggests it'd be wise to study the Stoic philosophers to navigate the many frustrations that come with that training. Fitzgerald may be talking about running, but his advice can apply to any seemingly impossible goal.

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.

William HH Murray spurred American interest in rustic retreats

Murray's 1869 self-help book, "Adventures in the Wilderness; or, Camp-Life in the Adirondacks," encouraged urban residents to embrace outdoor activities, depicting upstate New York as an unsullied paradise free from the chaos of city life.

Hippies explored the possibilities of organic food

The 1960s counterculture sought to buck traditions, including culinary ones. Hippies believed that healthier food was integral to dismantling the status quo and, in turn, started health food stores, espoused vegetarian diets, and cultivated organic food, which they found to be a welcome alternative to the over-commercialized farming industry. In the decades since the movement’s decline, many of its practices have been absorbed by the mainstream.

Philosopher Roland Barthes loved wrestling

In his essay "The World of Wrestling," French philosopher/literary theorist Roland Barthes analyzes the "Human Comedy" of professional wrestling, arguing the form is a legitimate dramatic genre.

Frank Lloyd Wright influenced contemporary architecture to have a more holistic approach

Frank Lloyd Wright’s work throughout the 20th century introduced concepts like open plans, floor-to-ceiling windows, and community-focused design. His “organic architecture” philosophy can be seen as a predecessor to today’s sustainable architecture.

Simone de Beauvoir was a serious hiker

The existentialist icon began hiking as a young school teacher in Marseilles. Eventually, she would plan out long trips that covered up to 18 miles and took her around 12 hours to complete. She would later write that the hikes saved her “from boredom, regret, and several sorts of depression.”

Scholars trace existential anxiety back to early Hebrew scriptures

Paul Megna, a scholar of literature and philosophy, notes that the existentialist ideas of Kierkegaard (and, to a lesser extent, Sarte and Camus) had their roots in much earlier texts, which posited that "fear of the Lord" was "the beginning of wisdom."

Exploring Martha Graham's 'love of the body'

The innovative choreographer encouraged her dancers to tune into their bodies' natural movements. According to Dr. Kimerer L. LaMothe, author of "What the Body Knows," that kind of mindfulness made them better able to communicate a piece's symbolic meaning.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

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

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

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

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.

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.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

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

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

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.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Scientists testing how climate change affects plants found, in a years-long simulation study, that poison ivy grew 70% faster with the resulting extra carbon dioxide.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

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

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe