| The history of yoga is based during the epoch of the | | | | that the yoga poses may have been used by both |
| Indus Valley civilization. The yoga exercises and | | | | humans and their deities. Some type of link between |
| philosophies are practiced by the Indus to instigate | | | | the Indus Valley seals and later yoga and meditation |
| spiritual growth and awareness. The yogis promote | | | | practices is backed by many other researchers. |
| inner unification with the finite jiva or transitory self and | | | | These archeological discoveries allow people to |
| with the infinite Brahman or eternal self. Brahman is a | | | | cogitate with some good reason that an ample range |
| name used by the Hindus to mean 'God.' | | | | of yoga activities was already accepted by the |
| Yogis usually believe that God co-exists with all of | | | | pre-Aryan India people. A seal recently revealed in the |
| reality, manifesting itself to all living things that breathe | | | | Cholistan desert evidently depicts a "yogi". The puzzling |
| life, from humans to flora and fauna. This belief is called | | | | Indus Valley seal images display figures in a position |
| pantheism which is the view that everything is God. | | | | known in hatha yoga as Mulabhandasana. The most |
| Yoga views man's problem and suffering in terms of | | | | commonly known of these images was named the |
| ignorance. Human beings simply bound themselves to | | | | Pashupati seal by John Marshall who uncovered the |
| materialistic things and forgetting to serve God, the | | | | artifact and who believed that it represented a |
| source of all things. That's why humans need | | | | "proto-Shiva" figure. |
| enlightenment or an experience of union with God. | | | | The genesis of the 200-scriptured Upanishads |
| Earliest archaeological evidence indicated Yoga's | | | | describes the inner vision of reality ensuing from |
| existence and can be found in engraved stone seals | | | | Brahman devotion. The Upanishads further elucidate |
| which illustrate figures of yoga positions. The stone | | | | the teachings of the Vedas. Yoga also shares some |
| seals depict yoga's existence dating around 3000 B.C. | | | | attributes not only with Hinduism but also with |
| However, archaeologists and scholars, have reasons | | | | Buddhism as well. Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of |
| to suppose that yoga existed long before that and | | | | Buddhism, studied yoga and obtained enlightenment at |
| traced its origins in Stone Age Shamanism. Both | | | | the age of 35. |
| shamanism and yoga have comparable characteristics | | | | Later, around 500 B.C., the Bhagavad-Gita or Lord's |
| predominantly in their efforts to polish the human | | | | Song was created and this is currently the oldest |
| condition at that time. Both methods aspire to treat | | | | known yoga scripture. The Yoga Sutra, composed of |
| community members and the practitioners act as chief | | | | 195 aphorisms or sutras, was written by Patanjali |
| religious mediators or gurus. | | | | around the second century attempting to classify and |
| A number of steatite seals were unearthed at Indus | | | | even out yoga at that time. Then, yoga was |
| Valley Civilization sites describing figures in a certain | | | | introduced in the West during the early 19th century. It |
| yoga position. These meditation-like postures are | | | | was first studied as part of Hindu Philosophy and |
| forms of ritual discipline, signifying an originator of yoga. | | | | began as a system for health and vegetarianism. |
| There are particular figures that were discovered in | | | | During the 1960's, Hindu gurus gave further details |
| the core of Mature Harappan relics that indicate | | | | about the system of yoga and its philosophies. |
| Harappan devotion to ritual discipline and focus and | | | | |