The history of yoga

Who the first yogi really was is lost in the sands of time, but the roots of Yoga can be traced as long as 5000 years back. The earliest reference to Yoga was found when archeological excavations where made in the Indus valley - the most powerful and influential civilization in the early antique period. This sophisticated culture developed around the Indus river and the long gone Sarasvati river in northern India, on the border towards Pakistan.

Archeological findings from two of the largest cities, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, revealed (among other things) a portrait of a human being or god meditating in what looks like a Yoga posture. The Rig-Veda work, that describes different Yoga methods, is believed to be derived from the Inus-Sarasvati people and has been dated to 3000 to 5000 B.C.

Yoga as we know it today, is thus the result of a complex evolution that has been going on for at least 5000 years. However, according to most scholars, Yoga can't be recognized as a complete and complex tradition before about 500 B.C.

Vedic Yoga

The oldest written records of Indian culture and yogic activities is found in the Vedas,  which are a compilation of hymns and rituals over 3000 years old. The Vedic Yoga, also known as Archaic Yoga, revolves around the thought of reuniting the visible material world with the invisible spiritual world by sacrificing certain things. In order to practise these rather long rituals successfully it was necessary to be able to focus the mind to a very hight level. This inner focus as a means to enhance the sensory and human ability is the root of all Yoga.

The Vedic teachings at this point where not reserved for an religious elite, but was instead transmitted to the people by Vedic prophets, called Rishis, who had gained insight in the origin of life and it's existence. The hymns of these prophets witness of strong intuition, wisdom and knowledge about human beings that can inspire new levels of understanding even for the people of today.

Pre-classical Yoga

This period in Yoga history spans about 2000 years, until year 200. The most central Yoga literature from this period are the Upanishades - a collection of texts revolving around meta-physical speculation - and are just like the Vedas considered as enigmatic revelations. As opposed to the public rituals of the Vedic period, the Upanishades where secret scriptures.

Some of these 200 gnostic texts are directly related to Yoga and are about the complete connectedness of all things. Yoga was now slowly finding it's form. As Yoga and it's secret teachings spread from teacher to student, or from guru to yogi, the concept of an individual system of thought began to take shape.

The Bhagavad Gita, that is the most well known and popular work among all Hinduic and Yogic literature was written during this period (about 500 B.C.). It is a beautiful story of a conversation between the god of Hinduism, Krishna, and a prince named Arjuna. The plot, ironically enough, takes place on a battlefield. This location is often interpreted as a metaphor for the many distractions present in our turbulent world, which later on became the main foundation of yoga meditations. Prince Arjuna had put himself in a difficult position, where he must fight parts of his family and friends. Prince Arjuna had put himself in a difficult position, where he must fight parts of his family and friends.

Symbolically speaking, this frustration conveys that prince Arjuna wanted some advice on how to fight the bonds that tie him to the material world, in order to set himself and his soul free. Krishna explained that it was Arjuna's destiny and task to face this situation. He then moved on to explaining to Arjuna how he could emerge from the battle victorious, by outlining a detailed yogic path for the prince to follow; Through devotion (bhakti Yoga), a keen mind (jnana Yoga) and by giving up the ego (karma Yoga), spiritual freedom (moksha) could be attained.

Needless to say, the Bhagavad Gita is a complex work, and is meant to be studied, pondered upon and then studied some more.

Classical Yoga

The eight-limbed Yoga described in the Sutras by Patanjali is usually referred to as Classical Yoga. The Yoga Sutras where most likely written around year 100-200 A.C. and consists of about 200 aphorisms (words of wisdom). Here Yoga is presented in a systematic and approachable way, and many yogis see it as an important source of yogic understanding. Almost all serious Yoga practitioners will at some point study this literature and it has been published with commentary many times since it was first published.

Patanjali thought that every individual consists of two parts - matter (prakiti) and soul (purusha), and that the goal of Yoga is to free the soul from the material world in order to take it's original, pure form. This is often characterized as philosophical dualism, which is quite remarkable considering that most Indian philosophy is of a non-dualistic nature. The world as it is perceived is generally thought to be different aspects of the same pure, shapeless but conscious existence.

Post-classical Yoga

The great number of independent yoga schools and forms that where developed during the period after the Yoga sutras, is usually referred to as post-classical Yoga. As opposed to Patanjalis's Yoga, the Yoga of this era was, very much like the post-classical and Vedic traditions, characterized by an non-dualistic nature.

A few hundred years after Patanjali, the evolution of Yoga took an interesting turn - the potential of the human body now became an interesting field of study. Yogis of the past had not paid very much attention to the (physical) body, as they focused all their energy on contemplation and meditation. Their goal was to leave their bodies and the world, in order to re-unite with the shapeless reality - the soul.

The new generation of Yogis however, developed a system where different exercises - in conjunction with deep breathing and meditation, would help keep the body young and prolong life. The human body was regarded as the temple of the immortal soul, and not just as a meaningless vessel to be abandon at the first opportunity.

This paved the way for the creation of Hatha Yoga, and other branches and schools of Tantra Yoga.

Modern Yoga

Modern Yoga is said to have begun a the Parliament of Religions in Chicago, 1893. During this meeting the young Swami Vivekananda from India made a deep impression on the American he introduced to Yoga. Vivekananda became whom of the most popular members of the Parliament, and he subsequently toured the US giving lectures on Yoga. Many Yoga masters would later cross the ocean and follow in his footsteps, spreading Yoga to all corners of the continent. Yoga schools where founded and increasing numbers of people fell in love with the yogic forms of exercise. Many masters also went to Europe where the reception, for some reason, wasn't quite as warm.

Yoga, in the form of Hatha Yoga, debuted in the consciousnesses of the American masses when russian born Indra Devi, of the called "the first lady of Yoga", opened a Yoga studio in Hollywood in 1947. She taught movie starts like Gloria Swanson, Jennifer Jones and Robert Ryan, as well as educating hundreds of Yoga teachers.

During the 1950s one of the foremost Yoga teachers of his time, Selvarajan Yesudian, wrote the book "Sport and Yoga", and it was through this book Yoga entered the world of sports. This book has been translated into more than fourteen languages and has sold more than half a million copies. Today we can observe many athletes and sports teams that has incorporated Yoga in their injury reducing, strengthening and focus oriented training regimens. One of the most well known examples are the NBA stars of the Chicago Bulls.

1961 Hatha Yoga was presented in american television by Richard Hittleman, and his book called The Twenty Eight day Yoga Plan sold in the millions. In the middle of the 60s, Yoga got a real promotional boost when the Yogi Maharishi Mahesh taught Yoga to the famous pop-stars in the Beatles. Many other artists and musicians where influenced to take up Yoga as well. During the 60s and 70s Yoga became a way of life for many people living on the American west coast.

On an interesting side note, Dalai lama is a great yogi from Tibet, representing Buddhism and Tibetan Yoga. He was awarded the Nobel price for peace and has inspired many westerners to learn more about Buddhism and Yoga.

Yoga today

Yoga has gained tremendously in popularity during the last few years, and today over 30 million people practise Yoga on a regular basis. Yoga is the most rapidly growing health movement of today, despite having existed for thousands of years already.

Peoples attitude towards health, spirituality, way of life and our place in society have changed quite dramatically, as people are looking for answers for their everyday problems. In these chaotic times our environment is fighting for survival and we humans suffer more and more from physical and psychological stress, with new diseases developing while old ones, that we thought we could handle with antibiotics, returns with an vengeance in the midst of out society. We can't always control these developments, but we can learn to face them.

And to this end, Yoga is as good an invention it has ever been.