Volume 6 of the Journal of Yoga Studies is published.

Journal of Yoga Studies

2025 • Volume 6 | Published: 15th May 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34000/JoYS.2025.V6.000 ISSN: 2664-1739

Dear Readers,

welcome to volume 6 of the Journal of Yoga Studies. This edition contains five articles, which discuss a range of topics within yoga studies. These studies hopefully contribute to a deeper understanding of the historical formation and development of several well-known yoga practices and concepts.

The article by James Russell, “Sūryanamaskār: Tracing the Origins of Yoga’s Sun Salutations,” while taking account of work previously published on sun salutations, presents new research on the historical development of this practice, particularly exploring the influence of Indo-Persian martial traditions.

In the last couple of decades or so, significant advances have been made by scholars into the origins of haṭhayoga practices. “Yoga Postures and Forceful Yoga: Tibetan Amṛtasiddhi texts by Amoghavajra” by Dorji Tsering provides pertinent insights into how various body postures and breathing exercises that feature in a corpus of Tibetan texts are, in some instances, similar to, if not identical with, practices later called “yoga.” These Tibetan texts predate by several hundred years later texts that subsequently refer to some of these practices as haṭhayoga.

The gesture usually known either as cinmudrā or jñānamudrā—in which the tip of the thumb touches the tip of the index finger—is generally familiar, depicted in religious iconography and performed by yogis. In the article “Cinmudrā: Origins, Evolution, and Meaning,” Shamita Ray explores the use and depiction of this mudrā in texts on haṭhayoga, Jainism, the Yoga Upaniṣads, dance literature, contemporary practice, and iconography generally.

Karl-Stéphan Bouthillette, in his article “What is Yogic Gnosticism? Demarcating an Elite Ritual Identity Worth Considering,” comprehensively explores the practice of jñāna-yoga in its various historical contexts, usefully explaining the social milieu in which this somewhat under-reported but widespread form of yoga was performed.

“The Wheel of the Navel and Lotus of the Heart: Metaphor, Medical Knowledge, and the Body of Early Yoga” by Shaman Hatley surveys the widely-used metaphors of the lotus flower and the wheel. These symbols appear in both yoga and Tantric texts. In this article there is an exploration of the way these symbols have, historically, crossed the boundaries between medical and esoteric understanding.

Matthew Clark

on behalf of the JoYS Editorial Team:

Jason Birch

Jacqueline Hargreaves

Suzanne Newcombe