The history of Yoga has a lot to do with the present times. Yoga
started some 5000 years ago when human civilization has only
begun. Scholars have believed that Yoga was originated out of
Stone Age 'Shamanism'.
This is because there were some cultural similarities between
Mehrgarh which was a Neolithic settlement and the Modern
Hinduism. The shamanistic culture of Mergarh was in fact
influenced by Hindu ideals, symbols and rituals of the present.
The ancient shamanism and early Yoga had so much similarity for
the reason both wanted to go beyond the human condition.
Shamanism's primary goal was to heal the members who were in
their society and at the same time act as the religious
mediators.
Archaic Yoga also had the same purpose as they were community
oriented and they aimed to determine the enormous order through
senses and inner vision which then can be applied to our daily
lives.
As time went on, Yoga has progressed and has regarded the inmost
experience. Yogis then have focused on how to improve the
individual enlightenment, recovery and salvation.
Yoga's evidences were first tracked in the archeological
evidence which was found in stone seals exhumed from the Indus
valley. Yoga postures were traced and seen fro the figures which
were illustrated in the stone seals. the artifacts were placed
on History books circa 3000 B.C., which was linked to the great
Indus-Sarasvati Civilization which was known to be the largest
civilization that exist in the ancient world. The
Indus-Sarasvati, being a maritime society, exported goods all
over Africa and the Middle East. They build up sewage systems
and put up geometrical brick roads and constructed multistory
buildings.
The Vedas are known as the oldest scripture in the world, which
were the ancient texts brought by the Indus-Sarasvati
civilization. It was a compilation of hymns that commends a high
power which included the oldest recorded teachings in Yoga. They
have considered this the divine revelation. The intelligence of
the Vedas was known as the Pre-classical Yoga or the Vedic. This
was described by the ritualistic ceremonies that the Yoga
practitioners have been required in order to go beyond the
limitations of the mind. The history of yoga would not have
been completed in the classical stage of yoga. After the time
and turn of the millennium, yoga and its spread in different
forms have come up with the need for standardization. This is
important so that the people will be aware with it and it can be
applied by them. Due to this, during the second century, C.E.,
Patanjali has composed and collected seminal text which was the
Yoga-Sutra which had defined the Classical Yoga.
At the age of Postclassical Yoga in the enormous history of
Yoga, it gave rise to some productive literature which has
included the Tantra and the Hatha which is famously known
nowadays. These were taught in schools for Yoga and practiced by
many. Therefore, post classical Yoga is described to the
adaptation of our present state. It is the time when yoga has
evolved greatly and introduced to people. It has then been
applied in the United States in the 1800ís.
Now in the recent decades, yoga has greatly and swiftly evolved.
Swami Sivananda was one of the prominent gurus ever to master
yoga. He has served as a doctor and he has generously opened up
schools in Europe and America.
Now as we move on with the yoga practices that we have today, it
is much helpful and easier to understand if we looked back on
the history of yoga.
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