yoga A system of physical postures, stretching,
meditation, and regulated ways of breathing
according to the Hindu philosophy that an individ-
ual strive for unity with the Supreme Being, or
Universal Self. Yogic breathing and exercises have
been widely accepted into the Western mainstream
culture as healthful and healing practices. Yoga has
been shown to help lower blood pressure and heart
rate and suppress other bodily functions in order to
achieve a state of total relaxation. An instructor or
practitioner of yoga is called a yogi.
History of Yoga
The language of yoga is Sanskrit, considered the old-
est literary language of India and the basis of many
modern Indian languages such as Hindi and Urdu.
The name Sanskrit means refined or polished. Yoga
means “yoke, union,” or the verb to join. The com-
bination of breathing techniques, exercise, medita-
tion, and “right action” is taught to anyone seeking
to promote or restore health and perhaps adopt the
belief that this will help unite his or her soul with
God. It is believed that cleansing and strengthening
the body and focusing the mind enable the spirit to
connect with the divine. This connection is the
result of achieving full consciousness or self-realiza-
tion, also known as atman, and unity with brahman
(totality). However, yoga is not considered a creed;
nor does it oppose any religion. It is universal.
Meditation was the earliest form of yoga, and
Buddha is considered by some to be the first yogi.
Raja yoga, which specifically relates to quieting and
focusing the mind, was developed about 5,000
years ago by sages of India. Hatha is one of seven
limbs of Raja yoga, all of which are thought to be
necessary to unite the body, mind, and spirit.
Yoga is also associated with Eastern religions
such as Hinduism, which is one of many that
adopted the philosophy, but yoga predates Hin-
duism by many centuries. Ancient engraved seals
of deities striking yogic poses have been discovered
in the Indus Valley, one of the world’s first urban
civilizations, located in what is now Pakistan and
western India. These artifacts suggest that yoga
must have existed before 3000 B.C.
As Eastern philosophies have become integrated
into Western popular culture, so has yoga become
a common activity. It is likely that much of what
we know about athletics was derived from the
ancient practice known as Hatha (physical) yoga.
There is a wealth of information available about
the history of yoga described in ancient texts by
philosophers and the variety of styles of Hatha yoga
developed over the decades. Much of what we
know of yoga relies on Hatha to inspire a spiritual
interest in the subject, although yoga may be prac-
ticed solely for physical purposes such as stress
relief and relaxation. The relaxation pose, for
example, involves closing the eyes, breathing
deeply, and drawing the focus away from life’s
details. Perhaps this is why many believe yoga is
best approached not as a mere workout routine,
but as a journey to one’s whole, best self.
Patanjali
There is much debate about who is responsible for
the oldest documentation of yoga. According to
native Indic tradition, it was a grammarian known
as Patanjali. Other than his brief work, The Yoga
Sutras of Patanjali, dating back approximately 2,000
years, little more is known about his life. The text
does not credit Patanjali or anyone else as the
author. The first person to attribute this classical
work to him was Vacaspati Mishra, the 10th-cen-
tury author of the Tattva-Vaisharadi commentary
on the Sutra. Many consider the Sutra to be the
most important outline of the yogic path.
In 196 aphorisms contained in four chapters
written in Sanskrit, Yoga-Sutradescribes Raja yoga,
an eightfold path for overcoming the obstacles of
humankind’s spiritual evolution. There are eight
concepts, or “limbs,” as they are commonly known,
of Raja yoga: yama(moral discipline), niyama(reli-
gious discipline), asana (posture), pranayama
(breath), pratyahara(releasing the mind from the
senses), dharana(concentration), dhyana (medita-
tion), and samadhi(super-consciousness).
Patanjali believed that practicing these eight dis-
ciplines and sowing the seed of nonattachment in
one’s heart would allow a person to achieve the
ultimate freedom of spirit. He said, “Nonattachment
is that effect which comes to those who have given
up their thirst after objects either seen or heard.”
Many translations and commentaries of Patanjali’s
theories have been written over the centuries and
are available today.164 yoga