Pre Classical Yoga
The beginnings of Yoga were developed by the Indus – Saraswati Civilization in the northern India around 2700 BC. The word Yoga was first mentioned in the oldest sacred texts, the Rig Veda. The vedas were a collection of texts containing songs, mantras & rituals used by vedic priests. It was then slowly refined and scriptured by taking portions of knowledge, practices & beliefs into ‘Upanishads’. They are the concluding portions and essence of Vedas within the gem of a concept known as ‘Vedanta’.
Classical Yoga
In the Pre-Classical era, yoga was incoherent mixture of various ideas, beliefs and techniques that often conflicted and contradicted each other. The classical period is defined by Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (aphorism), the first systematic representation of yoga which was written around 500 BC – 800 AD. This text describes the path of ‘Raja Yoga’ often called as ‘Classical Yoga’. Sage Patanjali organised the practice of yoga into an Eight Limbed Path containing the steps and stages towards Samadhi or Enlightenment known as ‘Ashtanga Yoga’.
Post Classical Yoga
From the period of 800 AD – 1700 AD, Yoga masters created a system of practices designed to rejuvenate the body & prolong life. They rejected the teachings of ancient vedas and embraced the physical body as the means to achieve enlightenment. They developed Tantra Yoga, with radical techniques to close the body and mind to break the knots that bind us to our physical existence. The exploration of these physical – spiritual connections and body centred practices led to the creation of what we understand today as ‘Hatha Yoga’.
Modern Yoga
During 1700 AD – 1901 AD, yoga masters began to travel to the west, attracting attention and followers. This began at the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago, when Swami Vivekananda wowed the attendees with his lectures on Yoga and the university of world’s religions. In the 1920’s & 1930’s, Hatha yoga was strongly promoted in India with the work of T. Krishnamacharya, Swami Sivananda and other yogis practicing Hatha Yoga.