Yoga Mīmāṃsā: Journal of Science and Culture in Yoga (YMJSCY) – A Review of the First Scientific Yoga Journal

BACKGROUND: Scientific journals play a central role in validating and disseminating research through peer review. For much of history, yoga was viewed primarily as a spiritual discipline, with limited scientific investigation. The establishment of Yoga Mīmāṃsā: Journal of Science and Culture in Yoga (YMJSCY) in 1924 marked a turning point by introducing systematic scientific inquiry into yogic practices. AIM: To review the historical origins, scientific scope, editorial development, and continuing significance of Yoga Mīmāṃsā as the world’s oldest peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal dedicated to yoga research. METHODS: A qualitative, literature-based historical and descriptive review was conducted using peer-reviewed publications, archival materials, editorial records, and institutional documentation related to YMJSCY and the development of scientific yoga research. RESULTS: Founded by Swami Kuvalayananda at the Kaivalyadhama Institute, YMJSCY emerged from early experimental studies conducted in 1920–1921 that integrated traditional yogic philosophy with modern scientific methods. The journal has maintained uninterrupted publication for over a century, reaching 57 volumes by 2025. Its content spans fundamental, applied, interdisciplinary, and philosophico-literary research, supported by a rigorous double-blind peer-review process and open-access dissemination. CONCLUSIONS: Yoga Mīmāṃsā has played a foundational role in establishing yoga as a subject of systematic scientific inquiry. Its longevity, adaptability, and scholarly influence underscore its enduring relevance in both historical and contemporary yoga research.