Origins of Yoga
Despite a lot of research we still really know very little historically of the earliest beginnings of #Yoga and its people. It is thought that Yoga originated in the Indus Valley about 5000 BCE. It was mainly practiced by transmission from teacher to student in an oral tradition. These were mostly seers, and seekers of knowledge who lived simple lives in the forests. At the end of this period, called Vedic – meaning knowledge or wisdom – there was an evolutionary leap in yogic thought with the appearance of the Upanishads about 500 BCE (Upa (approach), ni (near), shad (sit)).
This period went beyond Vedic oral tradition to inquire into the deeper questions of existence such as: How do I fit into the bigger scheme? It is this deeper inquiry of the Upanishads that defines the evolutionary path to the Yoga we know today. Over the centuries Upanishads became the original vehicle for wisdom of all Yoga traditions. It was about this time that Patanjali (200-500 BCE) systemised Yoga into the eight limb path and wrote the Yoga Sutras. Sutra means Su (thread) and Tra (to transcend).
#Patanjali’s #Yoga #Sutras are the cornerstone in the system we know as #Traditional Yoga. Although much is not known about Patanjali, the man, it was during Patanjali’s time that many types and schools of Yoga began to flourish.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali describe the Eight limbs of Yoga:
- 1. #Yama (individual behaviour)
These are guidelines for restraining our behaviour and how we relate to the external world and in society. It refers to Yamas as a way of guiding us to achieve a yogic path, includes truthfulness, non-violence, non-greed and abstaining from irresponsible behaviours.
- 2. #Niyama (ethics)
These include inner self practices such as contentment, cleanliness, austerity, mental control, self study and observation. While Patanjali does not pass judgement over Yamas and Niyamas he advocates simple ways of living to minimise disturbances in mind/body that cause impediments to achieving higher meditative states.
- 3. #Asanas (postures)
Focus on Hatha yoga practice to maintain a healthy body, preserve energy and calm the mind.
- 4. Pranayama (science of breath)
Patanjali says that Pranayama is beneficial to health, strengthens understanding of the nature of self and is beneficial to concentration of mind.
- 5. #Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses)
Patanjali defines Pratyahara as withdrawing the senses from externals objects in order to gain mastery over the senses and quieten and strengthen the mind.
- 6. #Dharana (developing concentration)
Developing the ability to focus attention on an object can include breath or even the space between breaths.
- 7. #Samadhi (bliss/union)
Absorption between act of meditation and object of meditation is a non-dual state.
Previous generations of yogis paid no particular attention to the body. They were more interested in contemplation to the point they could exit the body consciously, their goal to merge with formless spirit.
During this practice it was common for yogis to neglect their physical bodies. The new breed of yoga masters created a system of practices designed to rejuvenate the body and prolong its life.
Then a few centuries after Patanjali another evolution of Yoga took an interesting turn.
Modern Yoga Comes to the West
Modern yoga is widely thought to begin with the Parliament of Religions in 1893 in Chicago. It was at that congress that the young Vivekananda made a lasting impression on the West. In the following years Vivekananda travelled widely, attracting many students to Yoga. His enormous success in the West opened up the gates for other adepts from India, and the stream of eastern gurus has not ceased.
Since the early 1900’s many yoga schools have flourished. In the early years of the Western Yoga movement Pramahansa Yoganandra arrived in Boston in 1920. Five years later he established the Self Realisation Fellowship which still has its headquarters in Los Angeles.
Yoganandra was well known for his book Autobiography of a Yogi. There were other yoga masters including J. Krishnamurti, 1930 to 1986.
Yoga, in the form of Hatha Yoga, entered mainstream America when the Russian born Yogini Indra Devi opened her yoga studio in Hollywood in 1947.
In the mid 1960’s the Western yoga movement received a big boost through Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, largely because of his brief association with The Beatles and popularisation of Transcendental Meditation (TM).
What is Modern Yoga?
Recent research shows that Yoga was introduced to the West at the turn of the 20th century as a result of the decline of yoga teachings within India. It was at this time that Yoga masters were sent to the West to open up yoga schools. In the 1960’s and 1970’s many yoga masters swamis, opened their schools in Europe and US. This became a successful endeavour and many are still active today.
A number of yoga adepts in the West reworked the teachings of yoga to adapt and accommodate to a different culture. Historically, Yoga was taught on the fringes of Indian society to a small group of initiates where the teachings were mainly transmitted orally. With the opening up to the West the demand for this knowledge was great and no doubt the early teachers were under pressure to deliver lectures. As a result short cuts were taken and its message, which was once in the realm of only a few sages, was developed into a flexible set of teachings that would meet the needs for exotic but accessible forms of practical spirituality.
As a result a number of varying texts and disjointed mixture of ideas emerged. The reinterpretation of Yoga became associated with asana or physical exercise practices and breathing or pranayama practice. These new teachings were heavily influenced by mesmeric beliefs in North America at the time. (#History of #Modern #Yoga p150). The style of Yoga in turn became uneven, conversational and went in different directions from the turn of the twentieth century.
Yoga is continuing to enjoy popularity in the 21st century in America, Australia and Europe though it is being practised in different forms from that of original Yoga.
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