history of yoga

It has been very difficult to pinpoint the history of yoga and trace its roots. But over the centuries it has been established that yoga dates back to maybe 3000 or 5000 years BC. Archaeological findings in India reveal postures of yoga that date back to similar periods. Engraved in stone, yoga postures date back to an era when record keeping had not begun and the exact period and time is still a matter of some archeological finds and historical analysis.

Soul searching

It was in those times that the need to figure out the very existence of mankind and all living beings led to a soul searching by the sages holed up in the caves of the Himalayan mountains. Compared to the regions that are now known as part of the western world, ancient India was never short of resources or food. Nature was friendly and people never had to trek long hours or hunt for food. The physical sustenance gave way to the exploration of the mind.

It became imperative to search for the relationship of the existence of human beings to some other more powerful force. And in the search for the truth came out some startling facts. Yoga as was known is basically the union of the individual soul and the universal soul which in later day Indian cultural history got associated with the concept of god. Sages found out that the individual soul is connected to the universal soul and through meditation and certain breathing exercises, the link could be established. That search is basically the roots of the history of yoga.

yoga

Need to balance mind and body

Sage Pathanjali formulated the concept of yoga that was later compiled into several texts around 150BC, but the history of yoga predates that period. It is a series of several exercises or postures which could change the physical and mental state of the human being. Yoga is all about affecting a balance between the body and the mind. Our body has a direct relationship to the mind and the mind is dependent on a healthy body. The idea of yoga has found a large following in the US and other western nations because the need to balance both forces has never been so acute.

In trying to find out the basis of human existence, life and creation in general a philosophy got created which came to be known as the basis of later day Hindu religion. Yoga can be divided into Raja Yoga which is the art of breath control and exercises for reaching an optimum level of fitness of body and mind. The postures we see being used nowadays in various yoga centers coast to coast is based on Raja Yoga which also has its roots in the history of yoga. The postures can prolong youth and cure several diseases and fight off negativity that invades our mind and bodies.

Looking at yoga from a modern scientific perspective, you would realize that our mind and body are inter-linked. Any disturbance centering on any of the two can impact the other. Going back into time we know that the very concept of balancing the two has been a major concern for human beings all over. The exercises and postures that are followed nowadays has been the very basis for the beginning of the history of yoga.

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