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According to this commentary on the Bhagavata Purana by Swami Prabhupada:

By controlling the breath, the perfect yogī can continue his life for as long as he likes. Sometimes we hear from the Vedic literature that some personalities from the Vedic age, such as Vyāsadeva and Aśvatthāmā, are still living. Here we understand that Maru is also still living. We are sometimes surprised that a mortal body can live for such a long time. The explanation of this longevity is given here by the word yoga-siddha. If one becomes perfect in the practice of yoga, he can live as long as he likes. The demonstration of some trifling yoga-siddha does not constitute perfection. Here is a factual example of perfection: a yoga-siddha can live as long as he likes.

Questions:

  1. Are those two people (Vyasa and Ashwatthama) still alive?

  2. Has anyone used yoga to live for supernatural lengths of time?

(Note: Question has been edited based on this recommendation on meta)

Say No To Censorship
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    Meta discussion: https://skeptics.meta.stackexchange.com/q/3991/14622 – called2voyage Jun 21 '17 at 17:49
  • It looks like the downvote came in before your title change. – called2voyage Jun 21 '17 at 19:26
  • @CPerkins [Eliade](http://www.adolphus.nl/xcrpts/xceliade.html) mentions "It is possible that many references to the yogin’s “immortality,” references that are especially frequent in Hatha-yogic texts, ultimately stem from the experiences of such “dead men in life.”" [Hatha yoga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatha_yoga#Origins) was developed by a sage of the [Samkhya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhya) school, which was an atheistic school of Indian philosophy. – called2voyage Jun 21 '17 at 21:18
  • Since it hasn't happened (nobody has lived that long) so what are they basing this on?? – Loren Pechtel Jun 21 '17 at 22:24
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    @LorenPechtel You mean, what is the original source basing its claim on? Ancient documents that say someone achieved this thousands of years ago. – Brilliand Jun 21 '17 at 22:32
  • Closed the question while we resolve on [meta](https://skeptics.meta.stackexchange.com/q/3991/14622) whether it is answerable. – Oddthinking Jun 22 '17 at 00:03
  • Seems like there are really two questions here: 1) Does exercise increase life expectancy? and 2) If so, does yoga increase in more or less than other forms of exercise? – jamesqf Jun 22 '17 at 18:34
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    @jamesqf No. It appears to me that the referenced claim is about a sudden leap to unlimited life expectancy from achieving a certain level, not a gradual increase in life expectancy due to overall health. Thus whether a partial accomplishment increases life expectancy to a small degree is not really relevant. – Brilliand Jun 22 '17 at 21:16
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    Gotta say editing from "can you achieve immortality" to "can you live 200 to 500 years" to "can yoga increase life expectancy" is **completely** making the question into something not only different, but a claim that is completely and utterly not noteworthy. Yoga is exercise and helps with core strength and flexibility. Of course it can increase life expectancy, just like any other regular exercise program. You won't find anyone that says otherwise. – PoloHoleSet Jun 26 '17 at 15:30
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    @PoloHoleSet I would edit and revert the question to its original state but my edits were meant to make the question on-topic for this site. There are a lot of Hindus who do believe with Yoga one can achieve anything and everything, only sky is the limit. See this question on Hinduism.SE: [Did ancient Yogis float in the air and what is the method to do it?](https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/19067/) – Say No To Censorship Jun 27 '17 at 16:29
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    My comment was less directed at you and more towards people who push for changes that eventually lead to something akin to "is salt salty?" as a final result. I understand why you felt you had to make the changes. – PoloHoleSet Jun 27 '17 at 16:32
  • I don't think it's a good idea to have two question in one. Maybe focus the question on whether any of Vyasa/Ashwatthama/Maru are still observed to be alive? – Christian Jan 24 '18 at 11:06
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    This question is not scientifically answerable. Yoga in this context is meant as a religious practice, not merely as an exercise system as it is how it is usually known in the West. – BKE Jan 25 '18 at 15:22
  • Might be better suited to https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/ – BKE Jan 26 '18 at 19:37
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    @BKE It’s totally scientifically answerable, and the answer is a resounding “no”. – Konrad Rudolph Jan 29 '18 at 17:08

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