The earliest verifiable traces of yoga date back over 5,000 years to the Indus Valley civilization. The Vedic traditions that developed from 1500 – 500 BCE introduced spiritual texts that described yogis and yogic-like practices.
The word ‘yoga’ is first mentioned in Rig Veda, one of the oldest religious scriptures, which describes it as a meditative means to unite body and spirit.
Origins
The word yoga derives from two Sanskrit roots, yuj and yogir, which mean ‘yoking’ or ‘joining’. It was first used in the Rig Veda, an ancient sacred text that lays the foundations of what became the Hindu tradition. From there, sages began to refine and develop this spiritual practice over time.
The Katha and Maitrayaniya Upanishads, composed a century or so apart, elaborate on this theme and define yoga as a steady control of the senses along with cessation of mental activity that leads to a state of intense spiritual union. They also lay out the sixfold path of yogic practice – breath control (pranayama), concentration of the mind (dharana), absorption or meditation (dhyana), philosophical inquiry or creative reasoning (tarka) and ultimately spiritual enlightenment or samadhi.
By the middle of the first millennium BCE, these teachings had evolved into a more organized system of yoga that was called Raja Yoga. The sage Patanjali, who lived between the fourth and second centuries BCE, compiled these teachings into a book called the Yoga Sutras. The Yoga Sutras are a series of texts that contain aphorisms, anecdotes and dialogues, all of which point to the ineffable experiences and realities that can be cultivated through yoga.
During this period, the yoga practice was adopted by members of the Hindu monastic communities, known as brahmans. Then, in the 19th century, Swami Vivekananda helped to bring yoga to the modern world through his lectures and teachings. Yoga has since grown into a global wellness phenomenon, and many different traditions have developed within its umbrella. When most people think of yoga, they probably envision affluent Westerners wearing expensive yoga pants and trend-sensitive 20-somethings immersed in holistic treatments. However, the origins of yoga show that it is much more than that. It is a spiritual, physical and mental practice that originated in northern India over 5,000 years ago.
Pre-Classical Period
The oldest known evidence for yoga comes from this period. It appears in the Rig Veda, the oldest holy book in the world dating back to 1500 and 1200 BCE. The word yogi is mentioned but there is no mention of the practice as we know it today. The next reference to a practice is found in the Atharva Veda with a description of yoking or regulation without mention of a physical practice. It is also at this time that the idea of karma appeared, the belief in cause and effect that continues to inform yogic philosophy today.
The next significant development in yoga was the emergence of the Upanishads, spiritual texts that encouraged devotion to a wide range of gods and goddesses. These were largely ritualistic in nature and based on a foundation of philosophical ideas that continue to shape yoga to this day, including the mystical concept of Consciousness emphasised by these traditions and recognised by modern scientific thinkers such as Erwin Schrodinger.
In the 19th Century yoga began to gain a foothold in the West thanks to various gurus such as Swami Vivekananda, Paramahansa Yogananda and others. They introduced yoga to a new audience and helped it to become a global wellness phenomenon that has moved quite far away from its mystical origins, classical systematisation and post-classical emphasis on spiritual liberation (moksha).
During the Classical Period of Yoga (200 BCE – 500 CE) the sage Patanjali compiled 195 sutras into a more concise view of yoga. This was known as Raja yoga and included the yogic eight limbs: Yama (social conduct), Niyama (personal conduct), Asana, Pranayama, Prathyahara (withdrawal of senses), Dhyana (concentration) and Samadhi (transcendence). At this point in history it seems likely that hatha yoga developed from this teaching. It was a physical form of raja yoga with the addition of a physical postures and a focus on breath regulation and kryas or bandhas that balance the two channels of prana – ida and pingala.