About Yoga

What is Yoga :

Yoga, derived from the Sanskrit word, YUJ, meaning "union," is a spiritual practice that uses the body, breath, and mind to energize and balance the whole person. This mind-body therapy involves physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation to improve overall well-being. Yoga began nearly 6,000 years ago in India, as part of the Hindu healing science known as Ayurveda. Today, approximately six million Americans practice yoga regularly.
Though Yoga's Origin is shrouded, evidence links the earliest Yoga tradition back at least 5000 years to the beginning of human civilization. The first archaeological evidence of Yoga's existence is found in stone seals excavated from the Indus valley. The stone seals depict figures performing Yoga postures. These artifacts officially put Yoga on the History books circa 3000 B.C., and more importantly link it to the great Indus-Sarasvati Civilization. The Indus-Sarasvati was the largest civilization in the ancient world and exceptionally modern for its time. Named after the two rivers that flowed through India, the Indus-Sarasvati was a maritime society, exporting goods throughout the Middle East and Africa. They constructed multistory buildings, a sewage system, and laid out geometrical brick roads.

Vedas : The Indus-Sarasvati civilization also gave birth to the ancient texts known as the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the world. The Vedas is a collection of hymns that praises a higher power; it contains the oldest recorded Yogic Teachings and is considered divine revelation. Thus, the wisdom of the Vedas is known as Vedic or Pre-classical Yoga. Vedic Yoga is characterized by ritualistic ceremonies from which the Yoga practice that requires Yoga practitioners to transcend the limitations of the mind originated.
Later, texts known as the Brahmanas were written to explain the rituals and the hymns of the Vedas. The Aranyakas texts followed, detailing rituals for Yogis living in the seclusion of the forest. This era also served as the beginning of India's medical tradition known as Ayurveda.

Inception :
While the practice of yoga started nearly 6,000 years ago, the earliest written records documenting yoga as a health practice are recorded in The Vedas, texts from India dating back at least three thousand years. There have been other ancient texts documenting the philosophy and teachings of yoga. However, yoga did not emerge as a fully developed practice until 500 B.C. In its traditional form, yoga is considered a complete lifestyle that provides a path to spiritual enlightenment.
Traditionally Yoga is the divine science, a gift of God to his creation, When man has reached a certain stage of evolution, the Yoga is "revealed" to a few sages who are empowered to transmit it to qualified pupils and through them to successive generations.