Yoga

Yoga (/ˈjoʊɡə/;Sanskrit, Listen) is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice or discipline which originated in India. There is a broad variety of schools, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Among the most well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga.

The origins of yoga have been speculated to date back to pre-Vedic Indian traditions, is mentioned in the Rigveda, but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, in ancient India's ascetic and śramaṇa movements. The chronology of earliest texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu Upanishads and Buddhist Pāli Canon, probably of third century BCE or later. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali date from the first half of the 1st millennium CE, but only gained prominence in the West in the 20th century. Hatha yoga texts emerged around the 11th century with origins in tantra.

Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west, following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is more than physical exercise, it has a meditative and spiritual core. One of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called Yoga, which has its own epistemology and metaphysics, and is closely related to Hindu Samkhya philosophy.

Yoga (philosophy)

Yoga philosophy is one of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism. Ancient, medieval and most modern literature often refers to Yoga school of Hinduism simply as Yoga. It is closely related to the Samkhya school of Hinduism. Yoga school's systematic studies to better oneself physically, mentally and spiritually has influenced all other schools of Indian philosophies. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a key text of the Yoga school of Hinduism.

The epistemology of Yoga school of Hinduism, like Sāmkhya school, relies on three of six Pramanas, as the means of gaining reliable knowledge. These included Pratyakṣa (perception), Anumāṇa (inference) and Sabda (Āptavacana, word/testimony of reliable sources). The metaphysics of Yoga is built on the same dualist foundation as the Samkhya school. The universe is conceptualized as of two realities in Samhkya-Yoga schools: Puruṣa (consciousness) and prakriti (matter). Jiva (a living being) is considered as a state in which puruṣa is bonded to prakriti in some form, in various permutations and combinations of various elements, senses, feelings, activity and mind. During the state of imbalance or ignorance, one of more constituents overwhelm the others, creating a form of bondage. The end of this bondage is called liberation, or moksha by both Yoga and Samkhya school of Hinduism. The ethical theory of Yoga school is based on Yamas and Niyama, as well as elements of the Guṇa theory of Samkhya.

Yoga (Janelle Monáe and Jidenna song)

"Yoga" is a song by American singers Janelle Monáe and Jidenna. It was released on March 31, 2015 as the second single from Monáe's upcoming Wondaland Records collective EP, The Eephus. A departure from Monáe's well-known indie funk and psychedelic sound, "Yoga" is a hip hop and trap record with a more mainstream sound and lyrics that can be interpreted as "sexualized". Many music blogs and publications have praised Monáe for her creativity, sense of individuality and boldness on the track as well as Jidenna's relaxed flow. The song was produced by Nate "Rocket" Wonder, Nana Kwabena Tuffuor and Jidenna. In the United States, "Yoga" became Monáe's first single as a lead artist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100; the song, "We Are Young" on which she was featured, peaked at number one in 2012.

Background

In February 2015, Monáe announced that she had signed her Wondaland Records label to a partnership deal with Epic Records. Soon after, she announced that she and her collective (Jidenna, St. Beauty, Roman GianArthur, and Deep Cotton) would be releasing a 5-track EP titled The Eephus. Epic CEO and chairman L.A. Reid said of Monáe and her collective, "The collective talent of the Wondaland artists is awe-inspiring," and also that, "I haven't personally witnessed a collective that sounds and looks this special in quite a while. I've been a longtime supporter and friend of Janelle and it is an honor to now work with her as a visionary businesswoman who brings an all-star group of talented performers to the table." The first single released under the new and revamped Wondaland Records for The Eephus EP was Jidenna's "Classic Man".