THE DAWN OF PHYSICAL YOGA . DISPELLING THE HINDRANCES TO IMMORTALITY (*Amṛtasaṃkaṭanibarhaṇa, Tib. ’Chi med kyi ’phrang sel)

Dispelling the Hindrances to Immortality is one of the earliest known manuals of physical yoga, representing a significant milestone in the history of embodied yogic practices. This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of this rare and compelling text, preserved within the Tibetan canon as part of a group of ancillary writings connected to the Amṛtasiddhi, a foundational Vajrayāna Sanskrit treatise on yoga. While the colophons attribute the tradition to the revered figure Virūpa (Tib. Bir ba pa), the compilation itself is ascribed to the mahāsiddha Yogeśvara Amoghavajra, an enigmatic 11th-century Buddhist yogin from eastern India active in Tibet. Structured around 108 dynamic physical movements, the manual is designed to remove impediments to the realization of amṛta or spiritual immortality. By tracing the transmission and transformation of yogic techniques between India and Tibet, this study highlights the formative influence of such texts in the evolution of physical yoga. It offers new perspectives on the diversity and depth of medieval yogic traditions, challenging simplistic narratives of yoga’s historical development and emphasizing the intercultural richness of its early forms.