Tracing the History of Yoga

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 1800?s.

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.

? Copyright Melvin Chua, All Rights Reserved.

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