One 11th-century Buddhist text is changing how scholars understand the history of hatha yoga. For decades, the Sanskrit text "Attainment of Immortality (Amritasiddhi)" was assumed to be an early Hindu source of hatha yogic teachings. Recent research suggests it was first composed and transmitted within Tantric Buddhist communities. Attributed to the Buddhist siddha Virupa and his disciples, the text contains some of the earliest known descriptions of hatha yogic techniques—including practices involving breath, the body, and vital energies. This layered history reveals hatha yoga not as the product of a single tradition, but as part of a shared culture of exchange across Buddhist and Hindu communities in South Asia, Tibet, and Inner Asia. Ahead of International Day of Yoga, explore the cross-religious history of hatha yoga through the story of the Buddhist siddha Virupa. Read “Virupa and the Cross-Religious History of Hatha Yoga” by Westin Harris (westin.harris) in Spiral. 🔗 Link...