Yoga (Sanskrit: योग) is a generic term for the physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in Ancient India with a view to attain a state of permanent peace. Specifically, yoga is one of the six āstika ("orthodox") schools of Hindu philosophy. One of the most detailed and thorough expositions on the subject is the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, which defines yoga as "the stilling of the changing states of the mind" (Sanskrit: योग: चित्त-वृत्ति निरोध:). Yoga has also been popularly defined as "union with the divine" in other contexts and traditions. Various traditions of yoga are found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
Post-classical traditions consider Hiranyagarbha as the originator of yoga. Pre–philosophical speculations and diverse ascetic practices of first millennium BCE were systematized into a formal philosophy in early centuries CE by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. By the turn of the first millennium, Hatha yoga emerged as a prominent tradition of yoga distinct from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and marks the development of asanas into the full body postures now in popular usage and, along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate with the word yoga today.
Hindu monks, beginning with Swami Vivekananda, brought yoga to the West in the late 19th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. This form of yoga is often called Hatha yoga. Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma and heart patients. In a national survey, long-term yoga practitioners in the United States reported musculo–skeletal and mental health improvements.
The Vedic Samhitas contain references to ascetics, and ascetic practices known as (tapas) are referenced in the Brāhmaṇas (900 BCE and 500 BCE), early commentaries on the Vedas. The Rig Veda, the earliest of the Hindu scripture mentions the practice. Robert Schneider and Jeremy Fields write,
According to Feuerstein, breath control and curbing the mind was practiced since the Vedic times., and yoga was fundamental to Vedic ritual, especially to chanting the sacred hymns
While the actual term "yoga" first occurs in the Katha Upanishad and later in the Shvetasvatara Upanishad, an early reference to meditation is made in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the earliest Upanishad (c. 900 BCE). Yoga is discussed quite frequently in the Upanishads, many of which predate Patanjali's Sutras.
Amitabha depicted in yogic meditation, Kamakura, Japan
Early Buddhist Pali suttas (c. 29–17 BCE)
are the oldest surviving texts to describe a systematic and
comprehensive yoga discipline. The only other Indian texts with an
antiquity comparable to the Pali suttas are the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Most of the other contemporary yoga systems alluded in the Upanishads and some Pali canons are lost to time.
Another yoga system that predated the Buddhist school is Jain yoga. But
since Jain sources postdate Buddhist ones, it is difficult to
distinguish between the nature of the early Jain school and elements
derived from other schools.
The early Buddhist texts describe meditative practices and states, some of which the Buddha borrowed from the ascetic (shramana) tradition. One key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative absorption must be combined with liberating cognition. Meditative states alone are not an end, for according to the Buddha, even the highest meditative state is not liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place: a liberating cognition, based on the practice of mindful awareness. The Buddha also departed from earlier yogic thought in discarding the early Brahminic notion of liberation at death.While the Upanishads thought liberation to be a realization at death of a nondual meditative state where the ontological duality between subject and object was abolished, Buddha's theory of liberation depended upon this duality because liberation to him was an insight into the subject's experience.
The Pali canon contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate for the purposes of controlling hunger or the mind, depending on the passage. However there is no mention of the tongue being inserted into the nasopharynx as in true khecarī mudrā.
Post-classical traditions consider Hiranyagarbha as the originator of yoga. Pre–philosophical speculations and diverse ascetic practices of first millennium BCE were systematized into a formal philosophy in early centuries CE by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. By the turn of the first millennium, Hatha yoga emerged as a prominent tradition of yoga distinct from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and marks the development of asanas into the full body postures now in popular usage and, along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate with the word yoga today.
Hindu monks, beginning with Swami Vivekananda, brought yoga to the West in the late 19th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. This form of yoga is often called Hatha yoga. Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma and heart patients. In a national survey, long-term yoga practitioners in the United States reported musculo–skeletal and mental health improvements.
Vedic period
Ascetic practices (tapas), concentration and bodily postures used by Vedic priests to conduct yajna (Vedic ritual of fire sacrifice) might have been precursors to yoga. Vratya, a group of ascetics mentioned in the Atharvaveda, emphasized on bodily postures which probably evolved into yogic asanas. Early Vedic Samhitas also contain references to other group ascetics such as, Munis, the Keśin, and Vratyas. Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned in the Brahmanas (ritualistic texts of the Vedic corpus, c. 1000–800 BCE) and the Atharvaveda. Nasadiya Sukta of the Rig Veda suggests the presence of an early contemplative tradition.The Vedic Samhitas contain references to ascetics, and ascetic practices known as (tapas) are referenced in the Brāhmaṇas (900 BCE and 500 BCE), early commentaries on the Vedas. The Rig Veda, the earliest of the Hindu scripture mentions the practice. Robert Schneider and Jeremy Fields write,
According to David Frawley, verses such as Rig Veda 5.81.1 which reads, "Seers of the vast illumined seer yogically [yunjante] control their minds and their intelligence," show that "at least the seed of the entire Yoga teaching is contained in this most ancient Aryan text"Yoga asanas were first prescribed by the ancient Vedic texts thousands of years ago and are said to directly enliven the body's inner intelligence.
According to Feuerstein, breath control and curbing the mind was practiced since the Vedic times., and yoga was fundamental to Vedic ritual, especially to chanting the sacred hymns
While the actual term "yoga" first occurs in the Katha Upanishad and later in the Shvetasvatara Upanishad, an early reference to meditation is made in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the earliest Upanishad (c. 900 BCE). Yoga is discussed quite frequently in the Upanishads, many of which predate Patanjali's Sutras.
Early Buddhist texts
The early Buddhist texts describe meditative practices and states, some of which the Buddha borrowed from the ascetic (shramana) tradition. One key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative absorption must be combined with liberating cognition. Meditative states alone are not an end, for according to the Buddha, even the highest meditative state is not liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place: a liberating cognition, based on the practice of mindful awareness. The Buddha also departed from earlier yogic thought in discarding the early Brahminic notion of liberation at death.While the Upanishads thought liberation to be a realization at death of a nondual meditative state where the ontological duality between subject and object was abolished, Buddha's theory of liberation depended upon this duality because liberation to him was an insight into the subject's experience.
The Pali canon contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate for the purposes of controlling hunger or the mind, depending on the passage. However there is no mention of the tongue being inserted into the nasopharynx as in true khecarī mudrā.
