The History of Yoga
YOGA - from Millenia ago to Today
What ROOTS feed the yoga of today?
As you may or may not know, the history of yoga has its roots firmly established in the hallowed lands of India. The teachings of yoga have been practice on this planet for more than 5000 years!
Today what most people know of yoga is a hybrid off shoot of Hatha Yoga. We like to refer to Hatha Yoga as being the grand-father of all the different Types of Yoga being practice in todays yoga studios.
Hatha Yoga grew from one of the Eight Limbs of Yoga, explained in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. ASANA is the particular limb in which it grew from. Asana simply meaning - Stillness of Posture.
What does YOGA mean?
The word itself means - UNION. "Union with what?" you may ask. Answering this questions can be a bit tricky. So let's try using another word that most of us have heard. You can think of Union as Enlightenment.
"Enlightenment," you may also ask, "how can a system of physical postures and breathing exercises bring one to enlightenment?”
The answer, “It can not. The physical practice alone will give you a healthy body and mind, but not enlightenment.”
Sorry folks...
This is WHY it is important to study and understand the history of yoga. Finding the missing pieces to the puzzle, you may say.
These missing pieces can teach you the deeper aspects of yoga. Show you that it is much, much more than just a set of physical postures.
The ancient teaching of yoga show one that suffering is not part of his/her true nature. BLISS is our true nature, and the science of yoga can help one to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of experiencing that Bliss.
What does this Proverbial puzzle look like?
It can be summed up in these three main systems of Indian thought...
- Shankhya
- The WHY of the journey - Underscoring the need to escape from maya - illusion.
- Yoga
- The HOW TO of the journey - Teaches the aspiring yogi how to escape maya - illusion.
- Vedanta
- The WHERE of the journey - Describes the nature of Brahman - The Divien Consciousness, or Spirit.
...Shankya, Vedanta, Brahman, maya???
You may be thinking, "What does all of this have to do with the history of yoga? What's all this talk about illusion and Divine Consciousness?"
The author of this sites says, "Believe me, I felt somewhat the same way when I started exploring yoga a little deeper."
If you're feeling a bit awkward or resistant, it's natural. Most of us are not completely open to new things, ideas and ways of thinking. Take a few moments, take a few breaths, and clear your mind.
Ready? Of course you are! Remember, yoga is about experimentation. You'll never really know if a teaching is true or not until you try it for yourself, right?
Ok, let's jumping right back into it - where were we? Oh yes... something about three systems of Indian... something called maya... and an unfamiliar reference to yoga.
Let's take a few steps back to something more familiar, shale we? Most people know of the Yoga Sutras. They are a keystone to the history of yoga...
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The HOW TO of the journey
Patanjali, exponent of the Yoga Sutras, broke down the yoga system, the How To, into eight limbs or branches. Today this system is commonly referred to as the Eight Limbs of Yoga or The Eightfold Path.
Now if you remember what was mentioned earlier. Hatha Yoga grew and expanded from one of these Eight Limbs - ASANA. So if you think about it...
...the "yoga" we know of today is already a branch of a branch, of a branch, of a great tree. Learning the history of yoga help you understand this "tree".
It's no wonder very few of us have heard of these other ancient Indian systems. Hatha Yoga is a grand-father, maybe even a great grand-father to most of these physical types of yoga practice today.
What we call yoga today can be compared to a diluted cup of tea. It looks somewhat like tea; it spell vaguely familiar to tea, and the taste has small hints of tea, but...
...very little remains of the pure cup of tea, ie., Yoga
This is WHY it is important to expand and open your mind. For those of you new to yoga, this is a great opportunity to get "the good stuff" right from the start!
If you have been practicing yoga for some time now, and this is your first time being exposed to the history of yoga, please don't let it be your last.
Anyone serious about personal growth, lasting happiness and boundless peace; would do well to sample these priceless teachings passed down from the great Sages of the past.
Ok, ok, enough with our little pep talk - back to the reason you're here - learning, knowledge and wisdom. Sound good?
Shankhya & Vedanta
The WHY & WHERE of the journey.
We'll keep this last part simple, agreed? Good! The Shankya and Vedanta systems are very ancient. They were written in a time when people spoke quite different than we do today.
If you where to go out and surf the web, you could find many translations and interpretation. Being that these systems speak about eternal truths, it leaves them open to being interpreted in countless ways.
You might be thinking, "Thanks, you've just pointed me in the direction of another rabbit hole." If that's the case, it was not our intention. We merely wanted to help you realize the expansiveness of yoga and it's teachings.
I, the author of this page, can offer you a personal suggestion. Since you've made it this far with me, I do hope you'll at least look into getting a few books to study.
One that I find helpful is - The Bhagavad Gita! An important study for anyone intrigued by the history of yoga.
It poetically weave the teachings of all three systems...
- Shankhya
- Yoga
- Vedanta
...into an epic story for the ages. A story depicting the internal struggle of all man, and the way out of bondage.
There is one translation in particular I would recommend:
As remembered by his Disciple, Swami Kriyananda
Well, that was quite a journey of awakening, wouldn't you say? We do hope it was helpful and insightful. We welcome any feedback on how we can make this site the place to be for all yogis and yoginis.
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