PRE-CLASSICAL YOGA -THE VEDAS – 10,000 BC - 500 BC
Pre-classical yoga The first mention of the science of yoga is in the ancient texts of the Vedas, which are more than 10,000 years old. The oldest copy of the Vedas found is about 7500 years old. But the Vedas are believed to have been transmitted orally for more than 10,000 years or more. Vedas are a collection of sciences about mother nature, agriculture, mathematics, astronomy, social sciences, ethics and morals, culture, arts, Ayurveda and many more. The Vedas consist of sacred songs, mantras and rituals that were taught at that time. The Vedas have four parts, Aranyaka, Samhita, Brahman and Upanishads. The first clear references to yoga can be found in the Upanishads. The concepts of withdrawing the senses, controlling the mind and attaining liberation are the main goals of the Upanishads. There are four Vedas, Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda Archaeological heritage The earliest verifiable traces of yoga date back more than 5,000 years to the Aryan civilization in the Indus Valley. Archaeological excavations from the region have found many seals depicting a man sitting in a meditative position.
Ramayana
Hatha yoga About 7000 years old true story of Lord Rama, very important in the science of Yoga. The Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses and tells the story of King Rama of the kingdom of Ayodhya, whose life is all about pain and suffering. But in this trial and hardship, King Rama remained composed, living a virtuous life without compromising the principles and values of life. All his actions are for the fulfillment of duties and responsibilities towards others. Despite this altruistic and selfless life, he was happy and calm all the time. This is the true idea of yoga.
THE MAHABAHARATA
Another very important true story for the science of yoga is the Mahabharata. This is the story of the greatest yoga master, Lord Krishna, who lived about 5000 years ago. Written by Sage Vyasa, the Mahabharata is one of the longest known epic poems consisting of over 200,000 individual lines of verse. This text contains the Bhagavad Gita, which is the most important ancient text for yoga. Bhagavad Gita is also known as yogic psychology or science of life. It contains solutions to the problems of human life. The Bhagavad Gita has inspired generations and great civilizations have followed the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. Many wise people, seers, masters of yoga consider the Gita as the most valuable knowledge. The Bhagavad Gita is a dialogue between Lord Krishna, who symbolizes supreme consciousness, and Prince Arjuna, who represents human consciousness. Prince Arjuna asked Lord Krishna about his problems. Arjuna was in a state of depression and despair. Lord Krishna helped him realize the purpose of life, the meaning of life and encouraged Prince Arjuna to live his life in contentment and peace. Lord Krishna explained the concepts of dharma, karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga.
CLASSICAL YOGA -500 BC
The systematic process of yoga was written down by the great sage Patanjali in 500 BC. He wrote the Yoga Sutras to explain the process and systematic analysis of practical methods for awakening and expanding the higher powers of mind, intelligence, quality of consciousness. His Ashtanga yoga path includes yamas and niyamas, asanas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi. The Yoga Sutras are concisely packed into 196 lines of Sanskrit divided into 4 chapters.
POST-CLASSICAL YOGA 800 AD
Bhakti yoga Shankaracharya - A revolutionary yoga master who lived in 800 AD changed the culture of yoga. He brought together different yogic traditions, bridged ideological differences and gave the science of yoga greater appeal. He has written commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and Vedantic philosophy, which are wonderful insights into the science of yoga. He established the tradition of Swami Sannyasa, or monks, who subsequently played a positive role in society.
HATHA YOGA 600 AD - 1500 AD
Hatha yoga, the most popular yoga tradition developed between 600 and 1500 AD. Hatha yoga focuses on strengthening and purifying the body-mind. Harmony of body and mind is the main goal and can be achieved by practicing asanas, purifications, pranayama, mudras, bandhas. Hatha Yoga was founded by Sage Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath. This type of yoga is practical and helps everyone improve their health.
MODERN ERA 1890s
Karma Yoga At the end of the 19th century, yoga began to travel west. The first of the masters was Swami Vivekananda, who impressed the public at a yoga lecture in Chicago in 1897. He was a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa of Calcutta, India. Swami Vivekananda was a sannyasi (monk) and presented the true picture of the science of yoga and convinced Western intellectuals of the importance of yoga for humanity. His lectures on Bhagavad Gita, Karma Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga are a real inspiration for every yoga follower. He founded the Ramkrishna Mission, an organization that strives to keep alive the pure spiritual traditions of yoga and uplift society.
Today, everyone knows what yoga is, but their understanding is mostly limited to the physical poses known as asanas. But does yoga mean physical poses? To find the answer, we need to understand the definitions of yoga in the ancient texts. These ancient texts convey a powerful message of yoga that goes deeper than we understand. Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means union, 2 or more things are needed to join. when 2 or more things come together, it becomes one thing. There is union and harmony between two things becoming one. So yoga is about unity, the experience of unity, the feeling of harmony.
ASHTANGA YOGA
IN THE YOGA SUTRAS, PATANJALI CONSIDERED YOGA AS "Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodhah" - Chitt - mind, Vritti - movement of mind, Nirodha - control Yoga is control of movement of mind. We have our thoughts, emotions, feelings and mental states. Very difficult to control. Yoga is a technique to control all these functions of the mind.
BHAGAVAD GITA
LORD KRISHNA INTRODUCES YOGA Lord Krishna defined Yoga as “Samatvam Yoga Uchyate” – Samatva – balanced state, Uchyate – said to be Yoga is a balanced state. Yoga is a state of balance of body and mind. Yoga is a balanced state of emotions. Yoga is a balanced state of mind and intellect. Yoga is a balanced state of mind. We are excited in a happy state and sad when it is a negative situation. Yoga is about maintaining balance of mind in every situation. This equanimity of mind is the ultimate goal of yoga.
BHAGAVAD GITA -LORD KRISHNA gives another meaning of YOGA.
Lord Krishna gave yoga a different meaning. "Yogah karmasu kaushalam" - karma - action / behavior / any change in time and space, kaushalam - skill / perfection / perfect or appropriate behavior Yoga is absolutely skillful action or behavior. Absolute action is positive action for our evolution and positive life. Perfect action leads to positive health both physically and mentally. All of our actions are necessary to avoid negative experiences in life, so any behavior that causes a negative experience should be avoided. For example, anger harms our body and mind and therefore needs to be controlled. If stress and anxiety are not healthy, then our actions should be such that stress and anxiety do not interfere with a positive state of mind.
VASHISHTHA YOGA
In Vashishtha Yoga Lord Rama's Guru Sage Vashishtha defines yoga as "Yoga mana prashmana upayah" - mana - mind, prashmana - completely calm and quiet, upay - medicine, medicine Yoga is the medicine to make the mind completely calm and peaceful. Our natural state of mind is calm and free from any disturbance, agitation, trouble and anxiety. Yoga is the way to achieve this natural state. The method of yoga is simple. If the mind is not controlled, the body is not controlled either. If the mind is not healthy, the body is not healthy either. Research shows that every thought in the mind affects the brain, nervous system and all other organs of the body. Negative thoughts and emotions disrupt the balance of the nervous system and all other organs. It is the cause of all diseases of the body and mind, so controlling the mind is essential for both physical and mental health. A balanced lifestyle is essential for mind-body harmony. This lifestyle is connected to nature and is therefore a more environmentally friendly positive path to health. Yoga is the harmony of body and mind with nature and a lifestyle in harmony with nature
