The Yoga of Abraham Lincoln

—Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the classic Autobiography of a Yogi

Abraham Lincoln was a yogi. No . . . there is no record that he assumed the headstand during Cabinet meetings. Nor did he meditate in the lotus pose before delivering the Gettysburg Address. Yet, in many aspects of his life—in little things he did, and in his reactions to situations—Lincoln behaved, quite naturally and unconsciously, just like a yogi.

Yoga is more than a series of physical postures. It is a philosophy, a way of life, a spiritual path. In fact, whether they know it or not, many people today who consider themselves “spiritual” follow a yogic way of life. And so did Lincoln.

Lincoln would have agreed, in his own way and to varying degrees, with certain points of view followed nowadays by spiritual people. He was, in some ways, a forerunner of the modern truth seeker.

This book was written to throw a spotlight on Lincoln’s many regular, and even daily, habits that demonstrate his affinity with the ancient spiritual science of yoga.