The Dawn of Physical Yoga

Dispelling the Hindrances to Immortality is one of the earliest known manuals of physical yoga, representing a significant milestone in the history of embodied yogic practices. This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of this rare and compelling text, preserved within the Tibetan canon as part of a group of ancillary writings connected to the Amṛtasiddhi, a foundational Vajrayāna Sanskrit treatise on yoga. While the colophons attribute the tradition to the revered figure Virūpa (Tib. Bir ba pa), the compilation itself is ascribed to the mahāsiddha Yogeśvara Amoghavajra, an enigmatic 11th-century Buddhist yogin from eastern India active in Tibet. Structured around 108 dynamic physical movements, the manual is designed to remove impediments to the realization of amṛta or spiritual immortality. By tracing the transmission and transformation of yogic techniques between India and Tibet, this study highlights the formative influence of such texts in the evolution of physical yoga. It offers new perspectives on the diversity and depth of medieval yogic traditions, challenging simplistic narratives of yoga’s historical development and emphasizing the intercultural richness of its early forms.

This volume makes a significant international contribution to the field of yoga studies, with a particular focus on the history of the body and somatic practices within the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist context. The work stands out for its pioneering nature, offering the first comprehensive analysis of Dispelling the Hindrances to Immortality, one of the earliest known manuals of physical yoga. Preserved in the Tibetan canon and connected to the influential Amṛtasiddhi, the text is examined through an interdisciplinary lens that combines philology, religious studies, Indology and Buddhist studies.This work contributes to ongoing international debates on the evolution of yoga and the interactions between Buddhist and Śaiva traditions. It is of particular relevance to scholars in South Asian religious studies and yoga history. The volume has undergone peer review by experts in the field and has been published in the Series Minor of the University of Naples "L'Orientale", a leading academic press known for high-quality publications in Asian and religious studies.