ABSTRACT

Yoga and meditation have been increasingly promoted as healthcare interventions by the Indian government. This chapter will argue that one distinct feature of yoga and meditation as a therapeutic intervention in India is how meditation is subsumed into a ‘yogic’ intervention rather than being presented as a secular one. It will briefly outline some of the historical entanglements between yoga, meditation and other forms of indigenous medical systems (IMS) of the subcontinent and briefly explore the contemporary popularity and accessibility of yoga and meditation as a health intervention in contemporary India.