Originating in India, yoga is now a globally recognized term often associated with postural practice. Indeed, the recent Yoga in the World survey calculated that 38.4 million Americans practiced yoga in 2022.[1] Despite the focus on postures (āsana), yoga is a multi-faceted system of practices for attaining higher goals, including powers and liberation. Indeed, according to Patañjali, the fifth-century author[2] of the Yoga Sūtras (YS), yoga aims to “restrain the movements of the mind.”[3] Thus, Patañjali’s yoga primarily has a meditative aim and focuses on calming an agitated mind. Since Patañjali does not overtly express a religious affiliation and postural yoga has already been shared across numerous faith traditions, yoga chaplaincy has the potential to provide interfaith support. Here, I argue for an innovative chaplaincy based on the accessible translation of Sanskrit yoga texts to offer a comprehensive and interfaith support system based on yoga. This yoga chaplaincy draws on yoga philosophy and practices beyond posture to support chaplains and care seekers.
Since yoga has widespread multi-faith traction, encompasses teachings for calming the mind, and has medical benefits according to the scientific research literature, it has great potential to form the basis of an interfaith chaplaincy based on its philosophy and teachings. While there are many definitions of yoga and distinct practice paths (sādhanas), I suggest that Patañjali’s yamas and niyamas, ethical precepts discussed in Pāda (Book) Two of the Yoga Sūtras, provide a good initiation point for a yoga chaplaincy. After discussing the basis of a yoga chaplaincy, I will present a sample chapter that accessibly discusses how santoṣa (contentment) can support spiritual care. Since the Yoga Sūtras represent a spiritual system that is not aligned with a specific deity, a yoga chaplaincy is an accessible wisdom source for interfaith chaplains. Indeed, chaplains may choose to mindfully and respectfully use yoga teachings alongside devotional practices from their specific theological tradition.
Why a yoga-centered chaplaincy?
The publication of Hindu Chaplaincy by the Oxford Center for Hindu Studies[4] and Hindu Approaches to Spiritual Care[5]were critical milestones in developing resources for dedicated Hindu Chaplains. Yet, many spiritual care settings are unlikely to have the resources to hire a Hindu Chaplain, especially if Hindus are in a minority amongst their care-seeking population. Yoga chaplaincy would also provide resources, such as a narrative about santoṣa, for interfaith chaplains to support Hindu patients.
In addition, certain practices have proven powerful for care seekers across traditions. For example, Thich Nhat Hanh’s Miracle of Mindfulness[6]and Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Full Catastrophe Living[7]brought the Buddhist practice of mindfulness into widespread awareness, even in hospitals. Indeed, Kabat-Zinn’s mindfulness program, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), has a well-defined eight-week curriculum “that unfolds mindfulness for patients” and aims to “relieve suffering and catalyze greater compassion and wisdom in our lives and culture.”[8] While MBSR originally had a medicalized aim, pain management, and avoids overt spirituality, a similar program could provide interfaith spiritual support based on overtly named yoga practices. While yoga is part of many Indian spiritual traditions, the familiarity that yoga already enjoys may make a yoga-based chaplaincy acceptable to patients with diverse theologies.
Scientific analyses of the outcomes of yoga
While many scientific research studies have argued that yoga has medical benefits, they are sometimes flawed due to low sample size, variability in the types of yoga subjects practiced, or lack of adequate controls. However, meta-analyses that test whether effects are consistent across studies can provide reliable information. One meta-analysis argued, “that yoga interventions appear to be equal or superior to exercise in nearly every outcome measured except those involving physical fitness.”[9] Furthermore, a meta-analysis of depression that compared different exercise practices found that yoga is associated with consistent moderate reductions in depression.[10] Yoga practitioners in this study showed the most robust adherence to practice, meaning that subjects made yoga a consistent part of their lives.[11] Critically, medical associations may find yoga a particularly acceptable source of support for patients because rigorous studies exist.
In addition to scientific studies, there are preliminary analyses of rigorous surveys to capture the non-medical effects of specific yoga practices. Questionnaires that probe the impact of the yamas and niyamas are under development, one reason that I framed yoga chaplaincy around these ethical precepts. Specifically, Büssinga et al. developed and tested a yama niyama-basedquestionnaire on a large cohort. While further testing is required, this survey tool might allow standardized follow-up on whether yama/niyama practices impact compassion, presence, and other attributes of well-being.[12]
In short, yoga is well-placed to provide a foundation for caregiving to a range of patients, given its flexibility, familiarity, and its inherently interfaith nature.
[1] Yoga Alliance, 2023:9. Yoga in the World: Executive Summary. https://r.yogaalliance.org/Yoga_in_the_World.
[2] Maas, 2013:66. Maas Philippe (2013). “A Concise Historiography of Classical Yoga Philosophy.” Sammlung de Nobili (Publications of the De Nobili Research Library, 37).
[3] yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ (YS 1.2, translation Clooney 2024).
[4] Chander, Das, and Sutton, 2017. Chander Vineet, Das Shaunika R., and Sutton Nicholas (2017). Hindu Chaplaincy. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.
[5] Mosher and Chander, 2019. Mosher Lucinda and Chander Vineet (2019). Hindu Approaches to Spiritual Care: Chaplaincy in
Theory and Practice. Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
[6] Hanh, 1975. Hanh, Thích Nhat (1987). The Miracle of Mindfulness. Boston: Beacon Press.
[7] Kabat-Zinn, 2013. Kabat-Zinn, Jon (2013). Full Catastrophe Living. New York: Bantam Books.
[8] Kabat-Zinn, 2011; 282, 285. Kabat-Zinn, Jon (2011). “Some reflections on the origins of MBSR, skillful means, and the trouble
with maps.” Contemporary Buddhism 12:281-306.
[9] Ross and Thomas, 2010:9. Ross Alyson and Thomas Sue (2010). “The Health Benefits of Yoga and Exercise” The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 16:3–12.
[10] Noetel et al., 2024:1. Noetel et al. (2024). “Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-
analysis of randomised controlled trials.” British Medical Journal 384:e075847
[11] Noetel et al., 2024:12-13.
[12] Büssing et al., 2021: 326. Büssing Arndt, Bretz Sukadev V., Beerenbrock Yvonne (2021). “Ethical Principles of Yoga
Philosophy in Western Yoga Practitioners.” Complementary Medical Research 28: 325-335.
Originating in India, yoga has become globally popular, with 38.4 million US practitioners in 2022. Despite modern emphasis on yoga postures, yoga is a multi-faceted practice system for attaining freedom from suffering. Indeed, according to Patañjali, the fifth-century author of the Yoga Sūtras, yoga aims to restrain the movements of the mind. Indeed, yoga seeks to calm an agitated mind through ethical discernment, posture, breathwork, and meditation. Here, I argue for an innovative chaplaincy based on accessible translation of Sanskrit yoga texts to provide an interfaith support system based on yoga. Since Patañjali does not overtly express a religious affiliation, yoga chaplaincy potentially resonates across faiths. Indeed, yoga enjoys widespread multi-faith traction, encompasses teachings for calming the mind, and has medical benefits, according to the scientific research literature. Therefore, it has the potential to form the basis of a comprehensive interfaith chaplaincy.