YOGA HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY

A very brief overview



The Sanskrit word yoga means to yoke, to unite.

The Yoga Sutras, the root text of yoga, is thought to have been written by Patanjali about 2000 years ago in India. The Sutras, or threads, consist of 196 terse aphorisms, packed with meaning which are meant to be deciphered with the help of a teacher.

The Sutras outline the Eight Limbs of Hatha Yoga (from the Sanskrit ha, which means sun, and tha, which means moon), which consist of: the yamas (ethical standards) and niyamas (personal observances); asana (physical postures); pranayama (breathing exercices); pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses); dhyana (concentration); dharana (meditation); and samadhi (union with the Divine).

The yamas and niyamas are like the Ten Commandments of yoga. They consist of:

Yamas
Satya (truth)
Asteya (non-stealing)
Aparigraha (non-grasping)
Ahimsa (non-violence)
Bramacharya (celibacy)

Niyamas
Saucha (purity)
Santosa (contentment)
Tapas (zeal in practice)
Svadhyaya (self-study)
Isvara pranidhana (surrender to God)


Typically, in the West, when we think of yoga, we think of asana (which means "comfortable seat") or physical postures, the third limb of yoga. These were developed to their current form by Krishnamacharya (1888-1989), whose three disciples, Patthabi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar and T.K.V Desikachar have brought their guru’s teachings to the West in the forms of Ashtanga, Iyengar and Viniyoga, respectively.


Please refer to the following articles for more in-depth information:
On Hatha Yoga
On the legacy of Krishnamacharya
On Patanjali
On the Eight Limbs of Hatha Yoga
On the different styles of Hatha Yoga

Recommended reading:
*Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit, by Donna Farhi.
The Heart of Yoga, by T.K.V. Desikachar.
Yoga for Wellness, by Gary Kraftsow.
Yoga for Transformation, by Gary Kraftsow.