Embodied Consciousness in Yoga: Re-reading Āsana and Prāṇāyāma through Philosophy of Mind
RESEARCH HUB International Multidisciplinary Research Journal April 15, 2026 C. Ghosh
Yogic practices of Āsana (postures) and Prāṇāyāma (breath control) teach that awareness, attention, and self-regulation are shaped by embodied practices, not just mental processes. Reinterpreting Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra alongside modern phenomenology and embodied cognition, the paper argues that traditional Yoga presents a complex interdependence of mind, breath, and body, challenging mind-body dualism. Yoga serves both as a spiritual practice and a theoretical framework for understanding consciousness, integrating physical being, mental operations, and self-awareness. The Yogic understanding of embodied consciousness offers a link between traditional wisdom and contemporary philosophical discourse on mind and embodiment.