What is the relationship between yoga and āyurveda?

Newcombe, Suzanne (2025). What is the relationship between yoga and āyurveda? In: Wildcroft, Theodora and Sojkova, Barbora eds. Yoga Studies in 5 Minutes. Religion in 5 Minutes. Sheffield, UK: Equinox Publishing Ltd. (In Press).

Abstract

During the twentieth century, yoga and āyurveda became closely linked as indigenous systems of promoting health and healing, united in their contrast to colonial ‘western’ medicine. Their association became even more intimate from the 1970s onwards as global countercultures championed both yoga and alternatives to western medicine. From around this time, yoga and āyurveda became popularly associated as ‘sister sciences’ and āyurveda became a subject of interest for Global North students of Indian yoga teachers. However, the historical association between the two traditions has been complex. Yoga and āyurveda might be best understood as two distinct traditions which draw upon each other, overlapping in certain times and places, but also offering distinct practices and goals.

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