The History of Yoga

Yoga has an ancient tradition which is at least 5,000 years old, some suggest it may even be up to 10,000 years old.

Many of the well-known yoga postures have natural names; animal or plant names. In the past people have lived much closer to nature. Yoga originated in India and can be divided into 4 periods: the Vedic Period, Pre-classical Period, Classical Period and Post-classical Period.

Verdic period

The Vedas is the sacred scripture that is the basis for modern day Hinduism. It was characterized by a set of rituals and ceremonies devised to help overcome the limitations of the mind and live in divine harmony.

Pre-Classical Yoga

Creation of the Upanishads marks the pre-classical period and it was during this time that the characteristics of yoga, Hinduism and Buddhism began to merge when, during the 6^th century, Buddha stressed the importance of meditation combined with physical exercise.

Classical Period

This period was symbolized by the creation of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali approximately 2,000 years ago in which Patanjali attempted to define and standardize Classical yoga. To this day, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are still the go-to bible of yoga. Patanjali’s principles center around the 8 limbs of yoga:

1. Yama – social restraint and ethical values
2. Niyama – personally embracing the virtues of purity, tolerance and study
3. Asana – physical exercises
4. Pranayama – breath control
5. Pratyahara – preparation for meditation
6. Dharana – concentration
7. Dhyana – meditation
8. Samadhi – ecstasy

Patanjali believed the physical and the spiritual in a person should be separated to cleanse the spirit. This is in stark contrast with previous yoga traditions, which specify a union of body and spirit.

Post-Classical Period

The emphasis in this period bought yoga into the present moment, no longer the focus being the liberation of the spirit from reality but rather an acceptance of the here and now and a focus on living in the present.

During the early 19^th century yoga was first introduced into the West. By the 1960’s it had a strong following with 2 Guru’s in particular standing out in the popularization of yoga – Maharishi Mahesh who introduced Transcendental Meditation and Swami Sivananda, a Malaysian doctor who opened schools in the America and Europe and simplified the 8 limbs of yoga into 5 Principles of Yoga which are:

1. Savasana – proper relaxation
2. Asana – proper exercise
3. Pranyama – proper breathing
4. Proper diet
5. Meditation and positive thinking.

Of course modern day yoga sometimes lacks the spiritual aspect and tends to focus more on the physical exercises, indeed chanting ‘om’ at the end of a class can be a little off putting to some practitioners. But I believe the more you get into it and start to appreciate the physical and spiritual benefits, the more they reveal.