What on earth is Yoga?

A quick introduction to the origins of Yoga with a big Y, what was its purpose and how it evolved.

YOGA = UNION = BODY+MIND+SPIRIT

Today when we say Yoga we usually think about the asana practice, an asana being a posture. Yoga however is a word that includes much more and originally refers to a transcendental connection between Body, Mind and Spirit through different means and practices such as the 8 limbs.

In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the eightfold path basically shows the way to a healthy and purposeful life using 8 steps to eventually reach Enlightenment. The Asana practice is one of the 8 steps to lead a healthy life and acknowledge the Truth of our spiritual nature.

How about we start at the beginning?!

From what we know today, it goes back over 5000 years ago, maybe more, and as you probably know, originates in India.

Archaeological research have revealed objects that seem to be related to the

practice of meditation dating as far as 3000BC. Apart from these remnants, there is a lack of writing, which suggests that the transmission of knowledge between masters and pupils was typically communicated orally.

The sacred texts of the time were called Vedas. They came from the Vedic civilisation.

At this time, we already have the existence of a form of yoga. Indeed, these texts were spoken in the form of incantations (as it is today in Mandra Yoga) while holding in a specific position (Mudrā).

From this came Brahmanism, the formalised ritual system of Vedic culture. Indeed, the term Brahman appears in many Vedic texts to qualify the Supreme Self (Sva) which refers to the transcendent Absolute and the cosmic consciousness.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (a man OR group of people, we don't really know) are a portion of many verses within the first known texts that talk about the yoga philosophy.

Since its first translations from a Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, there has been different interpretations but the main idea behind them is to find peace and liberation through specific practices:

Yamas, Niyamas, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi.

The Sutras in short:

The first two limbs outline moral principles and observances that prepare a practitioner for the profound inner work to come. The next three limbs are quite practical in nature: sit, breathe, withdraw from sensory stimulation. One of these practical limbs is asana, which in this context simply meant posture.

In order to enter into meditation, it is necessary to assume a posture that is easy to maintain.

The final three limbs describe a deepening meditative state, culminating in samadhi (pure contemplation), in which the person becomes one with the object of their meditation.

Today as we understand it, the physical practice of yoga is to prepare our body for long periods of stillness in meditation.

There you have it, the shortest and easiest description of the origins of Yoga. I will go into more details about each limb and other aspects on future posts.

Now how did we get to the Yoga we know today in the western world??

From the Sutras period we begin to see different orders of yogis corresponding to different practices.

It is important to mention that Yoga was developed in parallel with the Hindu religion. Yet it is not itself a religion. It is rather a philosophy whose aim is to better understand our place within a universal whole.

Tantrism emerges around 500 AD. This gives rise to Tantric Yoga.

During this period, the Brahman (the fundamental principle of the world) and the Atma (the self) are increasingly mentioned as a unit.

In terms of the civilisations that have come into contact with India and the practice of yoga, there are:

• The Arabs thanks to the translation of the Yoga Sutra by Al-Biruni who compares it to Sufism;

• The Persians (through Sufis such as Bistāmi or Al-Ghazali);

• The Greeks (translating the Bhagavad-Gita which is one of the fundamental writings of Hindu culture).

• Marco Polo, in the Book of Wonders, will gives an accurate description of yogis.

This period, which ends around the 15th century, is decisive in understanding the arrival of yoga in the West.

It was thanks to the various commercial and cultural exchanges that this Indian practice was brought to other nations.

Moreover, it is interesting to note that we find different aspects of this discipline in other civilisations (such as the Arabs and Sufism).

Indeed, some other civilisations perform rituals involving inner purification, repetition of traditional and sacred chants, and precise poses in order to achieve mental, physical and spiritual excellence.

Modern Yoga as it is known in the West took off in the late 1890s,

when Indian monks began spreading their knowledge to the Western world for the first time. Moreover, people who traveled to India were able to rub shoulders with the yogis and observe their practices first hand.

Amongst the precursors of Yoga in the west were:

-Swami Vivekananda, first ever Indian monk to have visited the Western world, translated the Yogic texts from Sanskrit into English and in 1893, during a visit to the US, sparked the nation's interest by demonstrating Yoga poses at a World Fair in Chicago. As a result, many other Indian Yogis and Swamis were welcomed with open arms in the West.

-Richard Hittleman, after studying in India, returned to New York in 1950 to teach yoga. Not only did he sell millions of copies of his books and pioneered yoga on television in 1961, but was the first to introduce a nonreligious form of yoga for the American mainstream, with an emphasis on its physical benefits.

-BKS Iyengar is widely regarded as one of the most fundamental figures in the spread of Eastern spiritual philosophy across the world.

-In India, Sri Krishnamacharia (born in 1888 and died in 1989) enabled Hatha Yoga to take the form we know today (it was formerly more rough). Krishnamacharia went on to create his own yoga school in his native country (where he stayed until his death). After his passing it was his son, T.K.V. Desikachar, who contributed to the development of this form of yoga throughout the world.

A 1965 revision of U.S. law removed the 1924 quota on Indian immigration, opening our shores to a new wave of Eastern teachers. a flood of Eastern teachings to the West. By the '70s you could find yoga and spiritual teachings everywhere.

Obviously, between traditional yoga and modern yoga, practices are no longer quite the same.

It can be said that some ancestral techniques were harsher for the body than those we are familiar with today.

Today, yoga is for people of all ages and physical abilities.

Over time, different forms of yoga have developed to meet the needs of everyone.

The best known are:

-Hatha

-Vinyasa

-Ashtanga

-Yoga Nidra

-Kundalini Yoga

-Iyengar Yoga

-Bikram Yoga,...etc

To get started with the Yoga Practice, you are welcome to start at home from online classes, finding Beginners classes if you are scared to arrive in a studio which can be intimidating at first.

However do go to a class with a teacher as soon as you feel ready (or take a private class) so you can be corrected if needed, especially if you don't have a great body awareness yet. Give it time, it is a skill you will develop too.

And if something bothered you in the class, you did not like it, do try another teacher or Yoga style, not every teacher is for everyone.

When it comes to the style, Hatha Yoga is the one you should get started with, since we stay in the poses for at least 5 breaths, having time to understand the alignment.

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All the best and enjoy the journey!

Justine