Yogi Calisthenics 137
He was enthused and excited upon reading in the book about muscle-
building through mental power. Seeing me, he said, “I have found exactly
what I was looking for.” This book had greatly helped in systematizing
the “Yogoda” method. Swamiji had experienced that power could be
gathered via the inexhaustible internal will of human beings, by which,
different muscles could be controlled and strengthened; without using
tools or machines, the body could be made strong and powerful by natu-
ral techniques [mind and body] alone... . The bodybuilding education
of Yoganandaji’s youngest brother— now the eminent physical culturalist
Sri Bishnu Charan Ghosh— actually began here. Of course, later on [Sri
Bishnu Charan Ghosh] received inspiration from the famous physical cul-
turalist Chittun and other great athletes.^29Unfortunately, no Miller appears to exist among the ranks of well- known German
physical culturalists of the time who would fit the required qualifications. The
birth name of Eugen Sandow, German icon of the turn- of- the- century Ironman
movement, was Friedrich Wilhelm Müller. However, Sandow never published
anything under that name, and in any case his style was almost exclusively focused
on exercises with dumbbells rather than mental power. A better candidate might
be Danish physical culturalist, Jørgen Peter Müller, whose 1904 work, Mit System
(My System), was translated into twenty- five different languages.^30
Upon close examination, Müller’s repertoire of exercises appears to resemble
to a remarkable extent the exercises prescribed by Yogananda in the early pam-
phlets detailing his Yogoda method. For instance, the two systems include torso-
rotation exercises that are virtually identical in practice, with the exception of
the positioning of the arms (see figs. 4.1 and 4.2). Generally speaking, though
the ordering is different, Yogananda’s system is based on a series of pendular and
rotational moves applied to the torso, arms, and legs that are quite similar if not
identical to Müller’s. Despite these structural points of convergence, however,
the two systems ultimately appear different in focus and overall methodolog y.
Müller’s system does place extensive emphasis on coordinating breath with move-
ment but ultimately does not concern itself much with muscular control. Rather,
it cultivates flexibility and “looseness” in the muscles and joints, even relying on
momentum where necessary. Yogananda’s system, on the other hand, is based on
a conscious and willful flexing and relaxing of isolated muscles even in the midst
of sustained movement. A similar emphasis can be found in other body- building
manuals of the day, which focus on flexing isolated muscle groups in order to
develop control and tone. Even more telling, if one is looking to attribute influ-
ence, is Müller’s complete lack of concern with the role of the mind in any of
his work. Thus, though there are enough points of convergence to suggest that