History of Yoga

It's been nearly 150 years since yoga first became popular in the United States. But the history of this mental, physical and spiritual discipline goes back almost 5,000 years.

Over the course of several millennia, generation after generation, men and women have redefined what it means to be a yogi. Despite the diversity of schools, practices, and goals that have come and gone over the millennia, one thing has remained the same.

This complex but beautiful exercise system has always helped people live happier and healthier lives. This means that yoga will continue to flourish all over the world.

The average woman in America thinks it's okay to wear yoga pants to the gym, the grocery store, or for errands. And most Americans are familiar with several different yoga disciplines, including Bikram, Lenevo, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Lyengar, Kundalini, and Jivamukti.

Yoga in Early Civilizations

Yoga has its roots in an oral tradition; this means that yogis originally passed their knowledge from person to person during teacher-led yoga sessions, similar to what people learn today.

Evidence also suggests that yoga may have been first developed 5,000 years ago by the Indus-Sarasvati civilization in northern India. According to historians, the word yoga was first used in one of the oldest and most sacred books of Hinduism called the Rig Veda, which was written in an ancient form of Sanskrit around 1500 BC.

This collection of songs, mantras, and rituals was used by the Brahmans, the highest Hindu priestly caste. But over the years yoga was fine-tuned and fully developed by Brahmans and Rishis, enlightened mystical seers documenting their practices and beliefs in another ancient Sanskrit text on spiritual teaching and Hinduism called the Upanishads.

Around 500 BC one of the most famous yogi writings was created - the Bhagavad Gita. It is derived from the Upanishads and teaches how to sacrifice the ego and focus instead on self-knowledge, action, and wisdom.

Fluid Exercise

Keeping up with all these long-forgotten civilizations can be quite difficult. But the truth is, yoga is a complex system of physical postures and meditations practiced by many different ancient cultures over thousands of years.

Each of these unique civilizations had different yoga poses and postures. As strange as this may seem, That most of our popular assumptions about yoga have been in the last 150 years. It is claimed that there are very few modern practices that appeared before the 12th century.

Today, if you take a yoga class or visit a local studio, you'll notice many of the same popular poses, such as the downward dog, which is one of the most widely recognized poses. However, this widely known pose did not become popular until the 18th century.

This example highlights the fact that the specific roots of yoga will always be a mystery, as different cultural groups have practiced their own versions of yoga throughout history. Therefore, many different people today can make yoga a part of their lives.

Meaning of Yoga

Like the many poses and postures, yoga means different things to different people. But most yogis agree that yoga is spiritual in nature. Although practitioners are not required to attend a church service, worship at a mosque, or visit a synagogue, spiritual themes are often covered in classes and come up in conversations about yoga.

The word yoga is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit term "yoke" meaning to bind or bind. Therefore, the accepted theory is that yoga was created to unite the human soul with the divine, a connection that people of all cultures seek to achieve.

In short, although yoga is one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophical traditions, practicing yoga does not necessarily mean worshiping Hindu gods. Instead, the more accepted belief is that yoga was created in response to the quest for inner peace and spirituality.

While practicing yoga can do wonders physically, it was created to emphasize mindfulness and movement. Yoga is believed to be a way designed to help people overcome emotional and physical tension to prepare for meditation.

Yoga in America Today

Whatever the reason people come to the mat, yogis are enrolling in record numbers. According to research conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys USA and sponsored by Yoga Journal, about 8.7 percent of Americans practice yoga, which is about 20.4 million people.

While that number may seem high, roughly 38.4 percent of those surveyed said they had practiced for a year or less, and 44.8 percent described themselves as beginners. Although yoga is as old as human civilization, the discipline is currently becoming particularly popular in the West.

Today, when many people think of yoga, certain images come to mind. Possibly wealthy Westerners wearing expensive yoga pants, athletes immersed in holistic treatments, and savvy 20s trendsetters looking to tone or shape their bodies. However, the app covers much more than that.

The origins of yoga go back to a time when people didn't write much and YouTube was unheard of. Rather, this beautiful doctrine is the product of a time people spend learning about spirituality and health in their quest for self-improvement.