Yoga comes from the East. The word Yoga means “union” often translated as “to yolk” or unify.
History of Yoga:
As far back as 3000 B.C. we have records of Yoga poses in the form of seals or stone tablets. These stone seals depict persons in positions like what we see in some yoga classes today in the west. These original texts depict twelve poses including Legs up the Wall and Lotus.
In and around 1900 B.C. the Vedas were written in Sanskrit. Veda means knowledge. These Vedas contain hymns, chants, scriptures and some of the oldest poetical and symbolic expressions of the spiritual truths of Hinduism.
Yoga in an of itself is not Hindu, Buddhist or belonging to any one religion. Yoga is a philosophy and way of life that may be integrated into any set of spiritual beliefs.
In 1000 B.C. the Mahabrata was written. One of the major epics of ancient India.
800 B.C. the Upanishads, a collection of texts describing the Creation story and form the theoretical basis for Hindus.
In 500 B.C. Guatama Buddha became “The Enlightened One”. The Buddha taught us the “Middle Way” through Meditation, Postures and Awareness.
The Bhagavad Gita or Lord’s Song, part of the Hindu epic Mahabrata, consists of 700 versus describing the battle between Good vs Evil, God (Krishna) and Man (Arjuna) and the three themes: Bhakti-Devotion, Jnana-Knowledge and Karma-Action. This is the Battlefield of Life, and the Epic within us all.
Somewhere between 400 B.C. and 200 A.D. we surmise that Patanjali lived. Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutras. The Yoga Sutras contain 196 Sutras or Threads of Knowledge, Eight Limbs of Yoga including the Yamas, Niyamas, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. Visit the FAQ page for a full description of each Limb.
During the 15th century Yoga takes a drastic turn. Yoga transitions from a mostly verbal passage from teacher to pupil to a more written form. This new breed of Yoga masters create a system of practices in order to rejuvenate the body and prolong life. Hatha Yoga is born and Svami Svatmarama writes Hatha Yoga Pradapika.
In the 19th century Yoga begins its journey to the West. Vivekananda visits Chicago at the World Parliament of Religions. Vivekananda wrote Pathways to Joy.
Paramahansa Yoginanda introduced the Kriya Yoga path during the 1930’s.
Krishnamacharya known as the true father of Hatha Yoga taught well known teachers Pattabhi Jois – Ashtang Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar – Iyengar Yoga and the roots of Anusara Yoga, Indra Devi, and TKV Desikachar – Viniyoga.
In the 1970’s we begin to see the Boom in Yoga. From Choudhury Bikram, Pattabhi Jois with Ashtanga, Yogi Bhajan with Kundalini Yoga and many more arrising as the decades have passed.
Now in 2020 we have more than 20-30 million Americans practicing yoga. Yoga is a booming industry worth approximately 20 billion dollars annually as a business.
The Current year is 2021. With the Covid Crisis The Posture Consultant has halted in person Yoga classes and does not teach at a studio. Virtual classes are availabe upon request.