I love myself a good flowchart, and was thrilled to come across this one! Titled “An Overly Brief and Incomplete Yoga History”, I found it on a lovely yoga blog called Yoga Dork, and they got it from Alison Hinks Yoga. What fun!

Chart by Alison Hinks

If you’re not already familiar with these names and philosophies it’s going to be a little confusing. Here’s an equally brief and incomplete glossary of terms:

The Bhagavad Ghita: A spiritual text describing several different aspects of yoga, revolutionary for its time (as well as the current time) as it made yoga available to everyone.

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: One of the first texts describing the practice of yoga – this predates the physical practice of yoga and the only reference to an asana (yoga pose) is that you should find a “sturdy, comfortable seat” in order to meditate.

Krishnamacharya: An influential yoga teacher who is often credited as the grandfather of yoga in the west as his students brought the practice to England and North America, spawning many sub-practices including power yoga, restorative yoga, anusara, and more.