Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did yoga and meditation become popular in Western countries?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Painting depicting Hindu gods Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma with Ganesha standing and paying homage to Mahadevi, who is seated on a lotus and playing a stringed instrument. — Hinduism Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma (left to right) pay homage to Mahadevi (the great goddess, in white in the form of Saraswati), attended by the elephant-headed deity Ganesha, in a painting dated c. 1750.

The popularity of yoga and meditation in the West grew through a combination of early 20th-century philosophical interest, the influence of prominent spiritual teachers, and a later cultural shift in the 1960s and 1970s.

Early Foundations

In the late 19th century, Indian philosophical doctrines began to influence Western thinkers, and the Vedanta Society, founded by Vivekananda following his 1893 appearance at the World’s Parliament of Religions, introduced Hindu monistic beliefs to the United States. By 1920, Paramahansa Yogananda founded the Self-Realization Fellowship, which helped establish yoga in the West by presenting it as a discipline with both physical and spiritual benefits.12345

Cultural Expansion

The 1960s and 1970s marked a period of widespread adoption, driven by a growing disenchantment with materialistic values. During this time:61
* Celebrity Influence: The Beatles and other public figures helped spark a vogue for Hindu-oriented practices.61
* Scientific Framing: Techniques like Transcendental Meditation were marketed as "scientific" methods for achieving peace, leading to rapid academic study of their psychological and physical benefits.61
* Adaptation: Various Asian traditions were adapted for Western audiences, such as the integration of mindfulness meditation into psychotherapy and psychiatric care.6