Where Did Yoga Originate? The History Of Yoga in India

Unfortunately when it comes to anything India, history is often vague, and rarely precise.

However, it is clear that yoga originated on the Indian subcontinent. The basic meditation pose for which yoga is best known, is found on the early Indus Valley seals - about 3000 BC.

The most famous text devoted to Yoga practice is the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali. Scientists estimate that he lived in the second century before the Christian Era. However, it is clear that the text codifies practices that were already classic at the time. Patanjali merely organized them. The text reads like a very concentrated catalog in places.

Though I've talked a bit about what's known about yoga here, the fact is - the history of Yoga is hard to tell, partly because it's not very well defined.

The word 'yoga' or 'yog' is used in every major religious movement that started on the Indian continent. Buddhists use it, Hindu's of course, but also Jains and Sikhs. There is even a philosophical school named after Yoga.

The word Yoga is usually used to describe a path to enlightenment, or God (or both). Very different methods will be used in each of those paths - from devotion to God, to thinking clearly, to meditation - and last but not least - yoga practices close to what westerners do as 'yoga practice'.

Patanjali defined yoga as the cessation of the movement of thought. Sounds more like meditation does it?