Today, yoga is one of India’s biggest exports and an example of India’s global soft power. It is now widely practiced all over the world. According to some estimates, there are around 30 million yoga practitioners and thousands of yoga studios in the United States alone. More than a fitness regime it has come to represent a mind-body discipline; even an entire way of life. While yoga has evolved and more strands have become added to it over the years, its history goes back thousands of years.
Five thousand year old history
Lord Shiva himself is considered to be the original yogi – which elevates yoga to the level of the divine. In historical terms, the roots of yoga can be traced back five thousand years to the Indus-Sarasvati civilization according to scholars. However, there is much about yoga that remains shrouded in mystery or may be lost in the mists of time. This is because a lot of ancient tradition and wisdom was passed on orally or was written down on fragile, easily destroyed parchments or palm leaves.
Yoga finds mention in the oldest of all Vedas, the Rigveda. Yoga is mentioned in these ancient texts that contain hymns, chants and guidelines for living life. While earlier, yoga was an amalgam of ideas, beliefs and techniques, over the ages, it evolved and more strands became woven into it.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
The classical period of yoga is thought to date back about two thousand years to about the second century when Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras were written down in text form. This original form of yoga described yoga as an ashtang (having eight parts) methodology devised to attain ultimate enlightenment or oneness with the eternal being. The Patanjali texts influenced many generations to come and over the next several hundred years, this became a guide for people to live a healthier, longer life. During this time as well, more aspects of healthy living came to be added to the prescribed Patanjali lifestyle and the concept of yoga continued to evolve and grow.
Modern yoga
The aasans or poses that we think of as representing yoga today are a very small part of the yogic lifestyle as contemplated by the ancient sages. The naming and codifying of these aasans as we know today started in the 1800s and continued through the 1900s to the present day. In was close to the end of the 19th century that Swami Vivekanand introduced the West to yoga and the yogic lifestyle via his writings and public addresses. During the 20th century, yogis such as T. Krishnamacharya and Swami Sivananda and then later experts such as B.K.S. Iyengar, T.K.V. Desikachar and Pattabhi Jois created wider awareness of yoga in India and all over the world.
It is a tribute to the inclusive and fluid nature of yoga that it welcomes and absorbs change and additions as a natural to its growth and development. Yoga today may not be the same as it was envisioned by sages five thousand years ago; however, it is a mind-body discipline that the entire world has embraced today in a quest to live healthier, happier lives.