Yoga started as a collection of physical prayer and meditation practices developed by the priestly Brahmin class and passed on orally for centuries. It was then refined by the sage Patanjali into the system of Yoga that is practiced today.
In the 19th century Indian Yoga masters first began to travel to Europe and America to share their teachings. This is when Hatha Yoga emerged.
Origins
The origins of Yoga date back to the beginning of human civilization itself. According to legend, Shiva – the god of transformation – taught Yoga to his wife Parvati on the banks of lake Kantisarovar in the Himalayas thousands of years ago and passed this profound knowledge to seven sages known as the Saptarishis (or “Seven Sages”). These sages took the yogic framework for life to various parts of Asia, the Middle East and Northern Africa and modern scientists have marveled at the similarities of ancient cultures that shared the same core yogic philosophy.
Sometime between 1500BCE and 500BCE the oral knowledge of these sages was written down in a series of texts called the Vedas. These Vedas include chants, mantras and rituals to be performed by Brahmin priests as a path of worship and self-sacrifice. The Upanishads are the fourth part of the Vedas and contain a collection of mystical teachings on the spiritual path to self-realization. The best-known of the Upanishads is the Bhagavad Gita, composed around 500BCE.
By this time, a new type of yogic master was emerging, influenced by alchemy – the spiritual forerunner of chemistry – these masters explored advanced techniques that could rejuvenate and prolong the life of the body. They also began to teach that the mind was capable of joining the material world with the invisible realms of spirit. This required a great deal of inner concentration and the ability to detach the mind from worldly things and relationships. This kind of yogic master was limited to those who renounced their lives and was not accessible to most people.
The Classical Period marks the first systematic presentation of Yoga methods and practices. The author of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali, compiled all available yogic knowledge at that time and structured it into a system of eight limbs. Around this time, Hatha Yoga developed, combining physical exercises with meditation.
Preclassical Yoga
The earliest forms of yoga that we can find were developed during the pre-classical period, which spanned from about 2700 BCE to 200 BCE. During this time yoga was primarily a spiritual practice, steeped in ritual and focused on the worship of gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon.
It was during this time that the key concepts of yoga were established and consolidated. The philosophy of karma and dharma were outlined along with the yogic path that leads to spiritual liberation or moksha. The practices of meditation and the asanas (poses) were developed.
This was also the time that the famous epic texts the Ramayana and Mahabharata were written. One of the most important yoga teachings from this time is the Bhagavad Gita, a conversation between the incarnation of Vishnu and Prince Arjuna that takes up chapters twenty-three to forty in Book VI of the Mahabharata.
During the pre-classical period, yoga began to grow in cultural significance as it found its way into other religions and beliefs. Buddhism and Jainism were two of the earliest religions to take up yoga and incorporate it into their philosophies and teachings.
The yogic science was carried to other parts of the world, including Asia, the Middle East and Northern Africa. It was during this period that the hatha yoga style of yoga began to develop, which is still practiced in its modern form today.
The Classical period in yoga’s history marks a transition from the dualism of pre-classical yoga to nondualist teachings going back to ancient Vedic times. This is when you, me and everyone or everything else are seen as an expression of a singular reality, called brahman or atman in Sanskrit. That is, we are all part of the divine, which can be experienced through the practice of self-realization or moksha. Yoga became more systematically organized with clear steps, and the eight limbs of yoga were set out, which include asanas, pranayama, meditation and self-reflection.