Tag: Yoga Sutras

History of yoga- an overview
The history of yoga is believed to be as old as civilization. The prehistoric roots and its gradual evolution and development are testimony to this fact. Ancient yoga derived from Indian asceticism to uniting in the cosmic one. Yoga history could be traced in the Upanishads, Vedas and even in Brahmanas. The yoga history was also illustrated in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

How yoga derived its name?
The history of yoga is recorded in our scriptures and its continuously evolving in recent times. Though yoga has evolved with changes in techniques and methods but the essence and goal remains the same. The word yoga derived from Sanskrit word Yuj, meaning to unite.

History of yoga in Indus valley civilization-
The archeological excavations of ancient civilization shows that even before 3000 BC yoga had evolved. The artifacts and the Yogi glyptic are testimony to the fact. The various yoga postured relics depicts, some of the noteworthy yoga postures in them.

History of yoga in Vedic period
With evolution of Vedas the foundation of Hinduism was laid. The Vedas hold the ancient yogic teachings and hence is known as Vedic yoga. While some vague references of history of yoga could be found in the Vedas but practices could be found in the Brahmanas. The Rig Veda mentions yogas practice as yoga was essential with Vedic ritual. This dates back to 900 BC.

History of yoga in the Upanishads-
This period is also knows as pre-classical yoga period. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad makes the reference of yoga meditation and is clearly reflected in 900 BC to 400 BC. The Mahabharata and the Bhagavad-Gita (oldest Yoga scripture) shows the yoga history in 500 BC and 200 BC resp. Even in Buddhism, the importance of yoga meditation and various yoga postures have been mentioned.

History of yoga in the Patanjali Yoga Sutras-
This period is also known as the Classical period of yoga. The main attempt of Patanjali was to define and normalize classical yoga form and is known as Patanjali eight fold path of yoga (Eight Limbs of Classical Yoga).

Post classical yoga-
Numerous sovereign yoga schools were developed during this period after the Yoga sutra period, hence the name Post classical yoga. The human body became filed of study along with the meditation which was missing is the previous years. A new system with numerous yoga exercises was developed. And thus Hatha yoga, Raj yoga and other branches emerged.

Modern yoga and its history-
The Chicago summit and the famous lecture of Swami Vivekananda became a turning point with the introduction of Yoga to the Western world. Thus various yoga schools emerged and more and more people learnt this yogic form of exercise.

Yoga today in modern world-
Yoga has gained immense popularity in recent years. Yoga has become a health movement. The westerners views and spirituality has changed a lot. Yogas has become a mandatory fitness regime. Yoga has evolved into more modern form like power yoga or Zen yoga.
Yoga has revealed through its long history. The vast oceans of Yogic literature and the motivation and drive makes all follow the true Yogic path.

The history of yoga is believed to be as old as civilization. The prehistoric roots and its gradual evolution and development are testimony to this fact. Ancient yoga derived from Indian asceticism to uniting in the cosmic one. Yoga history could be traced in the Upanishads, Vedas and even in Brahmanas. The yoga history was also illustrated in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

How yoga derived its name?

The history of yoga is recorded in our scriptures and its continuously evolving in recent times. Though yoga has evolved with changes in techniques and methods but the essence and goal remains the same. The word yoga derived from Sanskrit word Yuj, meaning to unite.

History of yoga in Indus valley civilization-

The archeological excavations of ancient civilization shows that even before 3000 BC yoga had evolved. The artifacts and the Yogi glyptic are testimony to the fact. The various yoga postured relics depicts, some of the noteworthy yoga postures in them.

History of yoga in Vedic period

With evolution of Vedas the foundation of Hinduism was laid. The Vedas hold the ancient yogic teachings and hence is known as Vedic yoga. While some vague references of history of yoga could be found in the Vedas but practices could be found in the Brahmanas. The Rig Veda mentions yogas practice as yoga was essential with Vedic ritual. This dates back to 900 BC.

History of yoga in the Upanishads-

This period is also knows as pre-classical yoga period. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad makes the reference of yoga meditation and is clearly reflected in 900 BC to 400 BC. The Mahabharata and the Bhagavad-Gita (oldest Yoga scripture) shows the yoga history in 500 BC and 200 BC resp. Even in Buddhism, the importance of yoga meditation and various yoga postures have been mentioned.

History of yoga in the Patanjali Yoga Sutras-

This period is also known as the Classical period of yoga. The main attempt of Patanjali was to define and normalize classical yoga form and is known as Patanjali eight fold path of yoga (Eight Limbs of Classical Yoga).

Post classical yoga-

Numerous sovereign yoga schools were developed during this period after the Yoga sutra period, hence the name Post classical yoga. The human body became filed of study along with the meditation which was missing is the previous years. A new system with numerous yoga exercises was developed. And thus Hatha yoga, Raj yoga and other branches emerged.

Modern yoga and its history-

The Chicago summit and the famous lecture of Swami Vivekananda became a turning point with the introduction of Yoga to the Western world. Thus various yoga schools emerged and more and more people learnt this yogic form of exercise.

Yoga today in modern world-

Yoga has gained immense popularity in recent years. Yoga has become a health movement. The westerners views and spirituality has changed a lot. Yogas has become a mandatory fitness regime. Yoga has evolved into more modern form like power yoga or Zen yoga.

Yoga has revealed through its long history. The vast oceans of Yogic literature and the motivation and drive makes all follow the true Yogic path.

The word yoga was first used in the Rig Veda but not clearly explained. Patanjali introduced Ashtanga (eight limbs) yoga and the Asanas are part of Patanjali yoga. Hatha yoga focuses on the Asanas and Pranayama parts. Hatha is a Sanskrit word. Hatha means forceful or willful. And some people describe this as ha means Sun and tha means Moon. Hatha yoga consists of Asanas (postures), Shatkarma (purifying practices), Mudras (hand and finger positions), Bandhas (locks) and Pranayama (breathing exercise). In this article, we discuss on Hatha yogas origin and evolution.

Sources of Hatha yoga:
Basically there are three books on Hatha yoga available, from ancient India. They are Gheranda Samhita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Shiva Samhita.

Gheranda Samhita: Samhita means a collection. The name represents the Gherandras collection. The book belongs to nearly 17th century. These are the teachings of Gherandra to his disciple Chanda Kapali. Gheranda Samhita is considered the encyclopedia of yoga. There are only a few differences between Hatha yoga Pradipika and Gheranda Samhita. Both Gheranda Samhita and Hatha yoga Pradipika have similarities with Patanjalis eight limbs of yoga. Gheranda Samhita explains seven limbs of yoga. Those are

Shatkarma six types of purification methods

Asana postures

Mudra hand and finger positions

Pratyahara withdrawal of senses

Pranayama breathing exercise

Dhyana meditation

Samadhi the goal of yoga, higher level of concentration

Hatha Yoga Pradipika: Hatha yoga Pradipika was written by Swami Svatmarama in Sanskrit in 15th century CE. Hatha yoga Pradipika is the practices and experiments of Swami Svatmarama. The book consists of four Upadesas (chapters). They explain Asanas, Pranayama, Kundalini (corporeal energy), Bandhas, Kriyas (action, deed effort), Chakras (spinning wheel, vortex, or circle), Shakti (empowerment, sacred force), Nadis and mudras.

Shiva Samhita: Shiva Samhita is written in Sanskrit. The author and the exact period of time are not known. Some scholars opinion is that it was written in 17th and 18th centuries. Recent scholar James Mallinson opined that it belongs to period before 1500 BC. It consists of 84 Asanas. Only four of them have been described in detail. It also contains mudras, meditation, etc. as other books do.

Recent developments:

Sritattvandhi was compiled by Maharaja of Mysore in the 19th century. It contains details of 122 Asanas.

B.K.S. Iyengar published Light on Yoga the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with 360 asanas in the year 1966.

Dharma Mittra completed a master yoga chart with 908 asanas in 1984.

A remarkable expert of yoga is Sri Krishnamacharya. He travelled throughout India and taught yoga several students in 20th century. The famous yoga teachers are Indra Devi (who opened a yoga studio in Hollywood), Pattabhi Jois (Ashtanga Vinyasa System), B.K.S. Iyengar (authored many books and founder of Iyengar yoga), T.K.V. Desikachar (son of Krishnamacharya and founder of Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram).

Today, there are many yoga types around the world. Many yoga experts developed their own yoga style. Some of them are Anusara, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Baptiste yoga, Bikram yoga, Flow yoga, Jivamukti yoga, Power yoga, Subtle Yoga, Universal Yoga, Viniyoga, and Yin yoga.

Yoga is continuously evolving. But for basic concepts, go back to the Yoga Sutras written by Pantanjali.

Yoga practice is a journey of self-discovery. Depending upon your point of view, Yoga may be perceived as a way of life, an art of life, a science of life, or a series of exercises you practice on a mat. Despite all the differences in what Yoga means to each of us, most practitioners continue to pursue knowledge and advance in their practice.

What is an advanced practitioner of Yoga? An advanced practitioner has been practicing for years and often decades. A serious practitioner applies the lessons learned from practice toward life. Meditation, study, pranayama, asana, and many other Yogic methods are practical applications we learn to use in daily life.

If the prime emphasis of Yoga was performing difficult asanas, we could ignore all of the classic writings of the past. We could discount Raja, Karma, Bhakti, Jnana, and many more styles that have existed for thousands of years. We could forget all the lives that have been improved through practice and application. Yet, every advanced practitioner knows that the value of applying Yoga goes far beyond the mat.

One, who has advanced in practice, applies what he or she knows toward daily situations. One aspect we learn from Yogic studies is doing the right thing. If someone needs help, we stop and help them. Granted, there are a few people who need help for life. In such cases, it is best to point them in the direction of self-help.

Most people just need a little nudge forward to proceed in a positive direction. If we help someone, it must be needed. Who wants to take advice, or help, when it is not asked for? As parents, we learn that our free advice can be perceived as worthless, but our timely help is appreciated for life.

When to do the right thing can be a very difficult learning process, because we learn when exactly to give assistance. Our efforts to help others mean nothing if the timing is not right. If you are not hungry, a loaf of bread has little value at that moment in time. Random acts of kindness are not flower petals to throw on the ground. Too much of a good thing becomes something that is taken for granted.

When reading the Yoga Sutras, of Patanjali, we learn that Yoga is an extremely deep practice. We also learn that moderation is a key component to all Yogic principles. Random acts of kindness must be timely in order to be useful.