History of Yoga

"To unite, or to yoke together" - this is what yoga literally means in Sanskrit, and rightfully so because it's main practice aims to connect the body and the mind together to create a harmonious and peaceful experience. The whole practice of yoga is made of three customary structures - exercise, proper breathing, and meditation - these techniques may seem effortless to some, but it can potentially provide an abundance of health benefits to anyone practicing it. With all the positive raves that it has been getting, one cannot help but wonder what is the history of yoga, and where did all this originate? Here, we will talk about its story and how it became one of the most practiced exercises of today.

The Roots of Yoga

Many scholars and historians believe that yoga is actually older than civilization. They believe that the stone seals found as archaeological evidence from the early eras are proof that it dates way back to circa 3000 B.C. These stone seals are apparently illustrative of different body poses that are believed to be of the same nature as yoga.
There are speculations, however, that yoga existed earlier than mid third millennium. Because of the similarities between orthodox practices of yoga that we know now and early Shamanism, it is believed that it actually existed as early as the Stone Age Shamanism era.

The 4 Periods of Yoga

Because there is no tangible evidence that can be connected to the real origins of this ancient practice, it will be easier to understand the history of yoga if its origins are divided into four periods of history.

The first period is the Vedic Period wherein the Vedas - a large body of text that is considered to be ancient and sacred Hindu scripture - was created and has since become the basis of Brahmanism and Hinduism of today. It contains Yogic teachings, rituals and ceremonies that are now considered to be the oldest kind of yoga and is now being referred to as Vedic Yoga. Vedic Yoga was practiced during this time to acquire living in divine harmony among the community members and to go beyond the confines of the mind.

The next period in the history of yoga is the Pre-classical era. It is believed that that the practice of yoga is already apparent in the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Mahabarata. In these texts, the practice of meditation is consistently present in order to achieve better human condition and inner peace. An excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita states that the "evenness of the mind is called yoga".

The third period in the history of yoga is known as the Classical Period. It is in this time when the philosophical system of classical yoga started to emerge. Patanjali, one of the 18 siddhars or masters of yoga in the Tamil Siddha tradition, wrote and compiled the Yoga Sutra. This compilation aimed to define yoga and expound on its respective principles.

And lastly, the Post-classical Period or Post-classical Yoga makeup the fourth period in the history of yoga. In the 19th century, yoga was introduced to the western public and although it did not get that much wide attention at first, it has definitely sparked the understanding of the public and its popularity has since been on a constant rise.