1)Yoga today is a mainstream fitness activity; 1 in 5 American adults participates in what most people believe is an ancient practice. Surprise: The yoga you’re going to the mat for isn’t that old.
2)What we generally think of as yoga began in late 19th century India, when leaders of an anti-colonialism movement sought to rally their countrymen to their cause.
3)Modern postural yoga, the practice of actually holding poses, originated with early 20th century guru Krishnamacharya, who taught a mix of gymnastic and wrestling moves, Western calisthenics and hatha yoga, a medieval practice all but lost in India for centuries.
4)It’s in hatha yoga, beginning about the 10th century, that an emphasis on controlling breath and maintaining certain postures arose. But it has little in common with doing a sun salutation at your local gym for tighter abs; medieval hatha yoga’s goals included divination and attaining immortality.
5)What’s really ancient about yoga? The word itself. Around the 15th century B.C., key Sanskrit writings use it to mean an animal’s yoke and also an entire war chariot, yoke and all.
6)We’re not saying there’s anything fraudulent about many of the mental and physical health benefits claimed by practitioners of modern yoga, however
7)Yoga may be especially helpful to seniors hoping to avoid a fall. In a 2016 meta-analysis of six studies involving individuals over the age of 60, participants showed small improvements in balance and moderate mobility gains after going through postural yoga programs.
8)The practice may even help asthmatics breathe easy. In 2014, a meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials investigating yoga’s effects on asthma found that it appeared to alleviate the chronic inflammatory airway condition better than conventional care.
9)A 2016 pilot study of women who described themselves as “psychologically distressed” provided a clue to how yoga works on a molecular level. After eight weeks of instruction, participants had lower levels of certain immune system biomarkers linked to stress
10) A study published earlier this year found that self-reported physical health quality was higher among people who practiced yoga in a school or studio setting rather than alone at home.
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