Tantra and Yoga are closely connected, but they are not the same thing.
What Is the Difference?
Yoga is a very broad family of Indian philosophical and practical traditions. It existed long before modern yoga studios and included meditation, discipline, breathing practices, and methods involving the body.
Tantra developed as another major family of religious traditions in which ritual, mantra, visualization, initiation, and the use of sacred symbols played important roles.
Where Did They Overlap?
Over time, Tantric ideas strongly influenced certain forms of Yoga. This is especially evident in the development of Hatha Yoga, where practices involving kundalini, chakras, nadis, and breath control became important.
As a result, many techniques that are now commonly regarded simply as Yoga have historical connections with Tantra.
However, it would be inaccurate to say that Yoga and Tantra are the same thing.
Tantra and Yoga are distinct traditions with many historical points of interaction and overlap.
In the next article: Tantra and Buddhism — an introduction to Buddhist Tantra.