Editing Yogi (section)

===Sexuality===
A yogi or yogini aspires to [[Brahmacharya]] (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मचर्य), which means celibacy if single, or non-cheating on one's partner.<ref name=ad>Arti Dhand (2002), "The dharma of ethics, the ethics of dharma: Quizzing the ideals of Hinduism", ''Journal of Religious Ethics'', 30(3), pp. 347–372</ref><ref>Yajnavalkya tells Gargi in verse 1.55 of [[Yoga Yajnavalkya]] that one who copulates (मैथुन) only with and always with one's sexual partner is a Brahmachari; see "[http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_yoga/yogayAjnyavalkya.pdf योगयाज्ञवल्क्य १-५५] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120221014/http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_yoga/yogayAjnyavalkya.pdf |date=20 January 2016 }}" (Sanskrit text of "Yoga Yajnavalkya"), ''SanskritDocuments Archives'' (2009)</ref>

There have been two parallel views, in Hindu texts, on sexuality for a yogi and yogini. One view asserts restraint in sexual activity, towards [[monk]]- and [[nun]]-like asexuality, as transmutation away from worldly desires and onto a spiritual path.<ref name=sovatskybrahmacharya/> It is not considered, states Stuart Sovatsky, as a form of moralistic repression but a personal choice that empowers the yoga practitioner to redirect his or her energies.<ref name=sovatskybrahmacharya>Stuart Sovatsky (1987), "The pleasures of celibacy", ''Yoga Journal'', March/April Issue, pp. 41–47</ref> The second view, found particularly in [[Tantra]] traditions according to [[David Gordon White]], asserts that sexuality is an additional means for a yogi or yogini to journey towards and experience the bliss of "one realized god-consciousness for oneself".{{sfn|White|2012|pp=1–6}} In the second view, sexuality is a yogic practice,<ref>Machelle Seibel and Hari Kaur Khalsa (2002), ''A Woman's Book of Yoga'', Penguin, {{ISBN|978-1583331378}}, pp. 108–109</ref> and one broadly revered through the ''[[lingam]]''–''[[yoni]]'' iconography of [[Shiva]]–[[Parvati]], the divine yogi–yogini in Hindu mythology.<ref>Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (1981), ''Siva: The Erotic Ascetic'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195202502}}, pp. 262–263</ref>