Posts Tagged ‘History Of Yoga’

History of Yoga and Its Archaeological Evidence

The history of yoga is based during the epoch of the Indus Valley civilization. The yoga exercises and philosophies are practiced by the Indus to instigate spiritual growth and awareness. The yogis promote inner unification with the finite jiva or transitory self and with the infinite Brahman or eternal self. Yoga views man’s problem and suffering in terms of ignorance. Human beings simply bound themselves to materialistic things and forgetting to serve God, the source of all things. That’s why humans need enlightenment or an experience of union with God.

Earliest archaeological evidence indicated Yoga’s existence and can be found in engraved stone seals which illustrate figures of yoga positions. The stone seals depict yoga’s existence dating around 3000 B.C. However, archaeologists and scholars, have reasons to suppose that yoga existed long before that and traced its origins in Stone Age Shamanism. Both shamanism and yoga have comparable characteristics predominantly in their efforts to polish the human condition at that time. Both methods aspire to treat community members and the practitioners act as chief religious mediators or gurus.

A number of steatite seals were unearthed at Indus Valley Civilization sites describing figures in a certain yoga position. These meditation-like postures are forms of ritual discipline, signifying an originator of yoga. There are particular figures that were discovered in the core of Mature Harappan relics that indicate Harappan devotion to ritual discipline and focus and that the yoga poses may have been used by both humans and their deities. Some type of link between the Indus Valley seals and later yoga and meditation practices is backed by many other researchers.

These archeological discoveries allow people to cogitate with some good reason that an ample range of yoga activities was already accepted by the pre-Aryan India people. A seal recently revealed in the Cholistan desert evidently depicts a “yogi”. The puzzling Indus Valley seal images display figures in a position known in hatha yoga as Mulabhandasana. The genesis of the 200-scriptured Upanishads describes the inner vision of reality ensuing from Brahman devotion. Yoga also shares some attributes not only with Hinduism but also with Buddhism as well. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, studied yoga and obtained enlightenment at the age of 35.

The Yoga Sutra, composed of 195 aphorisms or sutras, was written by Patanjali around the second century attempting to classify and even out yoga at that time. During the 1960’s, Hindu gurus gave further details about the system of yoga positions and its philosophies.

Is Yoga something for me?

Who was the initial Yoga apprentice? It all started 5000 years ago. Some people say Yoga is as old as civilization itself, but there is no real evidence. The oldest evidence we have is an ancient stone seal which depict figures of Yoga poses. From where does the word “Yoga” originate? The word came from the Sanskrit word “yuk” which means “to unite or integrate”. That is exactly what Yoga is all about. The ancient students believed that in order for people to be in harmony with himself and his surroundings, he has to integrate the body, the mind and the spirit. For these three to be integrated your emotion, action and intelligence must be in equilibrium. If you want to get and maintain this balance it is through exercise, breathing and meditation – the three primary Yoga basics.

The body is dealt with care and respect, because it is the primary instrument in living itself. Yoga work out enhance circulation, stimulate the organs and put pressure on the glandular system of the body. This can improve in better health.

The breathing techniques were evolved because breathing is the source of life itself. The Yoga apprentice gain control as they slowly increase their breathing abilities. While the students are focusing on their breathing, they get ready for the next step – Mediation.

Mediation assist us cool off from the daily stress and the breathing technique and physical poses assist us evolve the awareness of our body and mind. A lot of people think that our mind has to be blank to meditate, this is of course not correct. It should assist us to focus and give you a pause in the feverish day.

Yoga teaches us that we have to be self conscious about ourself, the people surrounding us and the nature. You will get impressive benefits for your body and soul. “Who may benefit from Yoga?”, you may ask. Yoga are for everybody, youngish and active to elderly. Yoga does not either require any particular equipment or clothing. The only thing that requires is your will to get a healthier and more stress-free life.

The History of Yoga and Four Thousand Years

Since the beginning of its creation, yoga has always meant a bringing together of the mind and body in perfect union and since that time, the main intentions of yoga have not changed, but have improved and been refined. Originally from the country of India, the brief history of Yoga has a lot of tradition embodied in its movements and is a fitness system that incorporates the mental, spiritual and physical health for an individual. Thus, the history of yoga is rich not only in its tradition, but also in its effectiveness and it may be divided into four different periods that began with the pre-classical period which was followed by the classical period which gave way to the post-classical period and up to the present or modern period.

The Book of Yoga: Yoga Sutra

The classical period of yoga would not have been possible with the book yoga sutra and the full history of yoga that it helps to contain in its pages. The word yoga itself means the ëYolkí or something which joins other things together and a good example would be joining of a cart to the ox while using a yolk. Thus, you can easily infer that yoga has everything to do with uniting each and every aspect of the human being into one single entity.

In addition to the famous body contortions, there are breathing exercises, physical postures and meditation that work together to bring all aspects of yoga and its ethics together.

Nowadays, there is a change in the world of yoga and the the history of Yoga has gone to the past, allowing a more globalized version of yoga and a more experienced renaissance to evolve, allowing a delineation between the spiritual and physical aspects of yoga. The history of yoga has also been witness to the many schools and methods of teaching for yoga over the years, springing new philosophies and approaches to yoga itself.

Nevertheless, the common thread that runs in all forms of yoga and which have not changed much throughout the history of yoga is that the fundamental aim of yoga is to create a harmony of the mind, body and also the environment. The modern period in the history of yoga shows us that we can have comprehensive control on our minds and bodies and not just use yoga as a way to stay skinny, but instead as a way to empower ourselves and control our minds and bodies.