42. Who are the Siddha Yogis?
Yoga Studies in Five Minutes - Theodora Wildcroft
Adrián Muñoz [+]
El Colegio de Mexico
Adrián Muñoz is faculty member at the Centre for Asian and African Studies, El Colegio de
México. His main areas of research are premodern religious movements and yogic
hagiography and literature. He is currently leading a collective project on the history and
practice of yoga in Latin America. Among other titles, he has co-authored Historia mínima del yoga (2019) and co-edited Yogi Heroes and Poets. Histories and Legends of the Nāths (2011). He has also contributed to The Routledge Handbook of Yoga and Meditation Studies and The Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions.
Description
In general terms, a yogī is someone who practises yoga, and a siddha is someone who has accomplished (usually religious and ascetic) perfection: literally, siddha means a perfected or accomplished one. As the circa 14th century Yogabīja states, a real yogasiddha is one who is equipped with siddhi, or special powers.