The practise of Yoga is believed to have started at the very dawn of civilisation. The development of Yoga can be traced back to over 5000 years ago, starting with the pre-vedic period when the Indus Valley Civilisation practiced Yoga in their culture. Back than it was certainly not called Yoga, but evidence of practice of physical postures has been found. Next to the Vedic period in Yoga history, there’s also the classical and modern period.

Vedic Period

The Vedic period describes the time when the four Vedas, which are the basis of Hinduism have been written. They contain the oldest known yogic teachings. The four Vedas are:

Each of these Vedas has four text-layers which are hymns, texts about rituals, texts about Brahmans, who live in the forest, and philosophical teachings, called the Upanishads. Therefore, one can divide the Vedas into a ritual and knowledge part. The Upanishads includes knowledge about Yoga as well. They are the essence of the Vedas and are also called Vedanta. The idea of ritual sacrifice from the earlier part of the Vedas has been internalised in the Upanishads. It teaches the sacrifice of the Ego through self-knowledge, action and wisdom. Through inner visions of reality one can gain intense self-inquiry.

Classical Period

Despite the Vedas, Yoga was at that time an incoherent mixture of various ideas beliefs and techniques. The period of Classical Yoga is defined by Patanjali´s Yoga Sutras, which are the first systematic presentation of Yoga (3rd – 6th B.C.). More about that later on. In the post-classical Yoga Period, a few centuries after Patanjali, a number of Yoga masters created other systems as they rejected the teaching of the ancient Vedas and embraced the concept of the physical body as the vehicle to achieve enlightenment. In that time Tantra Yoga and Hatha Yoga is formed with the exploration of physical-spiritual connection and body-centred practises.

Modern Period

Due to modern-day masters and Yoga teachers new Yoga styles and techniques have been developed so that a variety of Yoga has been established nowadays. The word “Yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit word “yuj” and means “union”. In many yogic traditions, this union refers to the union of the individual self with the universal self. More definitions of Yoga in the following chapter.

When we think of Yoga, we tend to think of the physical exercises that got famous all around the world. But as we will discuss in the following posts, Yoga is way more than that. It’s ancient knowledge, ancient philosophies and practices and goes far beyond the physical. Here are some synonyms you might like to know more about: