History of Yoga

When we speak of yoga, we’re actually referring to a plethora of paths that have changed and evolved over time. For example, Hindu and Buddhist traditions have been greatly influenced by yogic teaching. Even the systems of Buddhism and Hinduism do not need to be confined to the narrow definitions of religion. Both these traditions are simply manifestations of larger cultural movements. They both grew out of the development of spiritual practices, first catalyzed by ancient yogic teachings.

Throughout yoga’s history, teachings have been passed on orally, memorized, and recited countless times. The early yogis followed teachings dating back to the most ancient texts, the Vedas. But despite the multitude of approaches yoga has offered throughout the ages, yogis have, for the most part, agreed on a few basic principles.

At its most pith distillation, yogis have recognized that this human existence is illusory and we need to wake up to reality for our true liberation. This is the purpose of yoga.

~ 3000 – 1500 B.C.E. Information came through a priest class (Brahmins). Sacrifices and visions were important cornerstones of the culture, dividing those who could access higher spiritual powers from lay people who made up the rest of society. The Rig Veda is a collection of 1028 Sanskrit hymns on meditation and various practices developed by seers and saints at this time.

~ 800 B.C.E. Much of the wisdom of the Vedas was slowly lost. Instead, rituals led by Brahmin priests left lay people longing for their own personal connection to the divine. A growing number of seekers began questioning the status quo and leaving their families, jobs, and communities behind. Many of these seekers followed Jainism and practiced disciplines (tapas) in search of answers to age-old questions related to spirituality and meaning. Many practices involved strict renunciation and ethics.

By turning away from the mainstream form of religious worship, ruled by the Brahmin priests, these early yogis were considered radicals. These yogis developed practices that encouraged deep states of jhana (meditative absorption), and they emphasized contact with a self that is boundless and intimately connected with the totality of creation. The early Upanishads (lit. sitting near one’s teacher) are recorded from approximately 1500-200 B.C.E

~ 500 B.C.E. Siddhartha Gotama, a young son of a powerful leader, starts questioning the meaning of his own life through a series of auspicious events that demonstrate the fragility of life. Eventually, he, too, leaves his family, takes up robes, and rejects the conventional life for the spiritual path. The spiritual seekers he joins are now becoming a strong voice within India’s social and political structures.

Siddhartha practices for some time but eventually leaves the harsh restrictions of the ascetic life. He sees that, even though he and his colleagues can reach great states of bliss through specific practices, they always return to this reality, which is full of dhukka (suffering). One day, Siddhartha accepts a bowl of rice milk from a young woman and resolves to stay under the bodhi tree until his full enlightenment. He attains enlightenment shortly thereafter and becomes known as “the awake one,” or the Buddha.

The Buddha went on to teach for approximately 60 years. His teachings are similar to the traditions he was practicing when he became enlightened, with one crucial distinction. The Buddha emphasized that focusing on the impermanent nature of all reality, including the self, leads to full and complete liberation. Some of the Buddha’s key teachings include the four noble truths and the noble eight-fold path. The Buddha’s teachings travelled across the globe and morphed into the many traditions we see today.

~ 300 B.C.E. One of the last of the early Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, is created and taught. It contains no ritualistic ideas and instead espouses deeper spiritual teachings. The Vedas and the Upanishads are considered direct knowledge from an intuitive sage. All teachings after this time are considered sutras, which are based more on tradition and not on the inspired discovery of a highly realized being.

~ 200 B.C.E. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali were composed between 200 B.C.E. and 200 A.D. There is debate over whether Patanjali was one person or whether the sutras are a collection from various teachers and students.

The yoga sutras contain the outline of the eightfold path of yoga (sometimes referred to as “ashtanga yoga” or “royal yoga”): Yamas (ethical conduct) Niyamas (inner integrity) Asana (posture) Pranayama (breath manipulation) Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses) Dharana (concentration) Dhyana (meditation) Samadhi (unity consciousness) With a foundation of inner and outer ethical guidelines the yogi sits in meditation through asana (literally seat) and develops greater states through the last limbs outlined above. The sutras draw on the teachings of the yogis and sages who came before this time, including the emphasis on meditative practice taught by the Buddha.

~ 800 – 1100 C.E. Up to this point, both Hindu and Buddhist yoga schools focused on the true nature of reality and how to find inner freedom through specific practices. However, through the recognition that manifest reality was ultimately impermanent and full of suffering, an attitude developed that was divorced from, if not averse to, worldly things such as women, the body, and sexuality. Because of this, tantra arose, a new kind of practice led primarily by lay people, which used daily existence as a kind of vehicle for transformation.

During this time, practitioners mapped intricate details of the subtle energetic channels or nadis. They codified the teachings of kundalini, purification, and the bandhas. They also developed a deeper understanding of breaking through psychological, emotional, and energetic blocks. Out of this milieu, Hatha yoga emerged, and with it, several influential texts. The most popular being the Hatha Yoga Pradapika.

The emphasis that Hatha yoga places on complex physical postures, purification practices, and breathwork connects it to the tantric tradition. However, Hatha yogis distanced themselves from tantra as the tantric revolution had gained a bad reputation due to the many unsightly and unconventional practices it utilized, such as practice in charnel grounds, or its close connection to deviance from sexual norms. During this same time, the tantric practices of body postures and breath work spread to Tibet, helping to inform what is now a school of Buddhism called Vajrayana.

Early 1900s C.E. As Indian national pride rose during the early part of the twentieth century, the search for a system of health to replace the imported British YMCA became a priority for nationalists. Dedicated yogis started combining ancient yogic teachings with systems of European gymnastics. These new hybrid offerings were presented within a standardized context, which was deemed more palatable to mainstream modern society.

T. Krishnamacharya, B.K.S. Iyengar, and Sri Satchinanda all popularized this form of yoga further by teaching various influential people and Westerners. These westerners often travelled back home and spread the practices further. The blending of the fitness and personal development world with Western sensibilities and values, along with the more ancient practices of meditation and breathwork, has brought us the practice of yoga, which many of us use today.

Just as culture is not static, yoga is not static either. It is a living, breathing process deeply informed by centuries of spiritual seekers and practitioners. The possibilities of how this ancient and sacred practice will evolve are yet to be discovered.