The 19th and 20th centuries saw yoga re vival into the global wellness phenomenon we know today. Two great yogis of this time, Shri Yogendra and Swami Sivananda, were central to yoga’s modernisation and systematisation.
The earliest Upanishads map out nothing like a yoga system. But they do offer hints of a spiritual path that includes ecstatic states and logical reasoning.
Origins
Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years. It has developed and adapted to fit different cultures, while still remaining connected to its mystical origins and classical systematisation.
The earliest references to yoga come from the Rig Veda, with later expositions appearing in Hindu texts such as the Upanishads c. 900 BCE. These texts used anecdotes, dialogues and hymns to explain ineffable mystical states and realities.
The modern history of yoga is generally considered to have started with Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. He wowed audiences with his depth of understanding and personal charisma. He founded the Self Realization Fellowship to disseminate yogic teachings and wrote his famous book, Autobiography of a Yogi. This was the beginning of a steady flow of Eastern spirituality into Western culture.
Development
As India developed into a major civilization yoga was gradually refined and systematized. Rishis (mystic seers) wrote yogic scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita which outlines a yogic path that is both devotional and active.
The Upanishads outlined methods of meditation and philosophy of spiritual liberation or moksha. They also discussed the nature of consciousness, ecstatic experiences, and ineffable states.
During the 19th century Yoga masters began to travel and share their teachings in Europe and America. Swami Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda were two of the first to share Yoga as a way to achieve Self-realization. They synthesised the deepest elements of Hindu spirituality with Western rationalism. This helped Yoga to become a widely practiced form of physical exercise and spirituality. It was also during this time that Krishnamacharya, the father of modern postural yoga, was born.
Influence
Yoga has had a vast influence throughout the world and continues to do so today. It has become part of many cultures, blending in with their beliefs and traditions, but it has also influenced many other religions and practices.
One of the most significant influences is Hinduism. Yoga became an important part of the philosophy of Hinduism and is often seen as a means to achieve the ultimate union of man and God.
Another major influence is Patanjali. He is the “father of modern, postural yoga.” He developed a series of hatha yoga poses that are still taught today. His yoga teachings are very similar to those of the Bhagavad Gita. His descriptions of the “yamas” and “niyamas” are the foundation for the ethical aspects of yogic philosophy.
Teachings
In the 19th and 20th Centuries yoga shifted from its mystical roots to its classical systematisation. It also absorbed the spiritual forerunner of chemistry, alchemy, and developed techniques to rejuvenate the body and prolong life.
The Rishis (mystic seers) of the Indus-Sarasvati civilization shared their wisdom about life’s purpose and protocols for attaining spiritual liberation through meditative practice. These are documented in the Upanishads, a massive collection of scriptures.
Sage Patanjali compiled a series of aphorisms on an integrative, nontheistic form of yoga called Raja Yoga that combines mental discipline and restraint with controlled postures, conscious breathing and detachment, and meditation (dharana) leading to the absorption of consciousness into intense spiritual union or samadhi. These yogic texts were influenced by Buddhism, which is a major contributor to yoga as we know it today.
Practice
Yoga first comes to light in the Vedic culture that thrived between 1500 – 500 BCE. The word yoga is first recorded in the Rig Veda, a collection of ritual hymns and practices, but the central philosophy of yoga begins to develop in the later Upanishad scriptures, the most famous being the Bhagavad Gita.
These philosophies present a very sophisticated process of interiorisation, which is to say that they offer a path for gradually withdrawing awareness from physical sensations and feelings through increasingly subtle inner states, until a more refined sense of self or purusha is achieved. It’s these teachings that are the basis of what we now consider to be yoga.