HISTORY
From times immemorial the city of Kashi, nesting on bank of Ganga, India's scared river, the city known in recent time also under the names of Varanasi, Banaras or Benaras has been contributing vigorously to the growth and propagation of yoga, undoubtedly the oldest and most fascinating scientific-cum-spiritual tradition of India. Outstanding path-finders in the field of Yoga like this city that has been cherished for millennia as the spiritual metropolis of the Indian subcontinent. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the revered founder of Banaras Hindu University, was a karma yogi per excellence, while other servants like Dr. Annie Besant, Dr. Bhagwan Das,Dr. Swarpalli Radhakrishnan and Pandit Gopalnath Kaviraj, made their own massive and distinct contribution of yoga during first three quarters of the last century. During this period many great Acharyas in the field of yoga like Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh, Swami Kuvalayananda of Lonavala, Professor Krishnamacharya of Mysore's and Shri Yogendraji of Bombay also strove along with their many distinguished disciples to interpret the philosophy and practice of yoga to the outside world and to highlight its special relevance and global significance in the present age of science and technology. Many of them derived inspiration from Swami Vivekanand's clarion call in the last decade of the nineteenth century to treat Yoga "Like any other science" and to ride its noble edifice of cobwebs of secrecy and superstition.
In May 1979 in the conference on Yoga, Science and Society it was resolved having galaxy on Yogis from all parts of India to establish an Indian academy of Yoga, as learned Society at this center.
The founder of the Yoga Institute, Shri Yogendraji, Santa Cruj, Bombay spoke his message "Knowledge both objective and Subjective, intellectual and transcendental and suggested that its first task will be to organize, codify and put across the knowledge concerning yoga in an effective and systemic way, without fear and favor. The monumental contribution of great yogis of today as well as ages gone by will without doubt be a source of information and inspiration to the academy of all time". The Indian academy of Yoga came into existence in 1981 and Quarterly Journal of Yoga entitled "The Yoga Review" was started to a plan to include a research articles, review research papers, reports of institutions, thesis synopsis etc. dealing with theoretical and practical aspect of Yoga on scientific and
Systematic forms with modern ideas. This was circulated free of cast to all members of the academy and was circulated to the libraries of various institutions.