History of Yoga, a Timeless Discipline

The Legend Behind The Birth of Yoga

The legend says that one day Shiva God decided to teach all the secrets of yoga to his wife Parvati. Close to them, however, there is a small fish that, without being noticed, listened carefully to all his wise words.When them realized the presence of the little intruder was too late and the little animal had already run out, bringing with him everything he had learned.

The little fish swam away experimenting with the sacred teachings he had acquired. As time passed, she went through the stages of the evolutionary path of yoga and eventually turned into a man.

And so the first yogin of history was born and thanks to it the science of yoga was known to human beings.

The Origins of Yoga

Most scholars agree that the first testimonies of yoga date back to 5000 BC. in India, because some of the yoga positions have been found on coins and tablets of that time

At that time all the teachings were exclusively handed down vocally from master to disciple until the first words about written works were found.

At that time yoga was understood as a set of meditative techniques with the aim of reaching the ultimate reality and controlling the senses.

The First Texts About Yoga

The first written tests can be found in Vedic scripts, namely the Upaniṣad, which are philosophical and mystical poems written in Sanskrit, exploring the nature of the human soul.

It is on these ancient texts, dating back to 3000 BC, that we can find the first lessons on yoga.

Also in the Bhagavad Gita we often find the word yoga, understood above all as a way of life that drives towards liberation.

Even Buddha
Buddha himself learned yoga from two masters of his time, and ancient Buddhist texts have many similarities to Patanjali's work (the coder of classical yoga) so much that one can assume the existence of common sources.

Even Jaenist texts, like the Buddhist ones, express concepts close to those of the Bhagavad-gita and both contributed remarkably to the development of yoga.

While Buddhists added to yoga many meditation techniques, the Jainists emphasized the aspect of education and attitudes and control to exercise on individual behavior.