• Front cover of the paperback book 'A Brief History of Yoga: From Its Tantric Roots to the Modern Yoga Studio'.
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A Brief History of Yoga — Tantric Roots of Modern Practice

A Brief History of Yoga — Tantric Roots of Modern Practice

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Most books will tell you yoga began in the Vedas. Ramesh Bjonnes disagrees — and spends 152 unhurried pages explaining why the practice you meet in a modern studio grew instead out of Tantra, among teachers the standard histories tend to skip past.

It is a short book with an argument in it, which is rarer than it sounds. If you have ever stood in a class and wondered where any of this actually came from, this is the one to read first.

At a glance

  • Paperback, 152 pages
  • Author: Ramesh Bjonnes
  • Published: June 25, 2018
  • Dimensions: 0.35 x 8.5 x 5.5 in
  • Argument: yoga developed among the teachers of Tantra, not in Vedic society
  • Introduces the tradition's most influential teachers along the way

How to read it

  • Start at the front. The case builds; it is not a reference book to dip into.
  • Read it before a teacher training. It gives you the historical frame most trainings assume you already have.
  • Keep it near your mat. Short enough to finish across a couple of weeks of practice.
  • Pair it with a history of Tantra if the argument grabs you — this book is the doorway, not the whole house.

✨ Temple Tip — a good first book, not a first-and-only

Bjonnes is making a case, and cases have opponents. Read it, then read someone who argues for Vedic origins. The disagreement is the interesting part, and you will understand your own practice better for having sat in the middle of it.

Questions we get asked

Is this a practice manual?
No. There are no pose sequences here. It is a history of where yoga came from and who shaped it.
How long is it?
152 pages, in a 8.5 x 5.5 inch paperback — a few evenings.
Do I need to know Sanskrit or Indian history?
No. It is written for readers who care about yoga's past without being scholars of it.
What is the central claim?
That yoga did not originate in Vedic society but developed among the teachers of Tantra.
When was it published?
June 25, 2018.

To go further

For everyone who ever wondered what came before the studio. #TempleOfDesire

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In short

A Brief History of Yoga is a 152-page paperback by Ramesh Bjonnes, published in June 2018. It argues that modern yoga developed among the teachers of Tantra rather than in Vedic society, and introduces the tradition's most influential teachers along the way. Readers use it as background before a teacher training or as context alongside an existing studio practice. The paperback measures 8.5 x 5.5 inches and sells for $20.95. It is not a practice manual — there are no pose sequences, and it presents one side of a contested historical debate.

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