The early historical context out of which Yoga emerged is the Vedic universe of ritual practices that included animal sacrifice. Here I show how both ritual and social expressions of anxieties over these practices eventually led, through substitutional steps, to reconceptualization of sacrifice as yogic “internal sacrifice.” This reconceptualized, reconfigured praxis had a radically different aim than the earlier ritual forms, reflecting a profound shift in understanding of the human condition and ultimate reality. Here I suggest that this new understanding at the root of yoga is promising ground for rethinking animal ethics in a register of yoga philosophy and—importantly—practice.