BACKGROUND: The Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (VYASA), founded in 1986 in Bangalore, India, emerged during a period when yoga was increasingly being explored through scientific methods and integrated into healthcare. Guided by the vision of Swami Vivekananda and led by pioneers such as Dr. H.R. Nagendra and Dr. R. Nagarathna, VYASA has played a significant role in bridging traditional...
BACKGROUND: The encounter between Eastern and Western spiritual traditions has generated significant discussion, particularly among Christian practitioners of yoga who may perceive a tension between their religious beliefs and the Eastern origins of yoga. Understanding the nature of spirituality, its relationship to religion, philosophy, and science, and the historical interactions between...
BACKGROUND: The scientific development of yoga during the twentieth century was shaped by several pioneering researchers who successfully integrated traditional yogic knowledge with modern medical science. Among the most influential was Dr. Mukund Vinayak Bhole (1935–2021), physician, physiologist, yoga researcher, and former Research Director of Kaivalyadhama, the world's first yoga research...
BACKGROUND: Integrative medicine represents a holistic approach to cancer care, blending conventional treatments with complementary therapies to address the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of patients. AIM: This article explores key complementary practices, with a particular focus on yoga and meditation, which have roots in ancient spiritual traditions. METHODS: Drawing on recent...
BACKGROUND: During the early 1990s, yoga was still widely misunderstood and burdened by cultural and scientific prejudices, particularly in the context of healthcare. Only a limited number of open-minded researchers explored its therapeutic potential. Since then, yoga—especially Hatha Yoga—has gradually gained scientific and clinical recognition as a complementary approach to health and disease...
Science Studies Yoga: A Review of Physiological Data by James Funderburk represents a significant scholarly contribution to the scientific understanding of yoga. The book critically examines yoga not as a spiritual or philosophical system, but as a subject of empirical investigation grounded in modern physiology. Drawing on experimental studies, clinical observations, and laboratory...