A little history of yoga

Let’s talk about the history of yoga.

Yoga is a practice that has its roots in ancient India, and has developed over thousands of years whose existence has always been key to those who practiced it. The word “yoga” comes from the Sanskrit “yoga” comes from Sanskrit and means “union”, referring to the union of body, mind and spirit. The most important ancient texts of yoga are the Vedas, written in Sanskrit between 1700 and 1100 BC. Later texts such as the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras, further developed the philosophy and practices of yoga. Yoga has become increasingly popular in the West in recent decades as a form of physical exercise and meditation.

Types of branches and background of its history

Yoga has several branches, such as Hatha Yoga, which focuses on physical postures (asanas) and breathing, Raja Yoga, which focuses on meditation and mind control, and Bhakti Yoga, which focuses on devotion and spiritual connection.

Throughout history, yoga has been passed down from master to disciple and has been practiced in monasteries and ashrams in India. In the 19th century, yoga began to be introduced to the West by travelers and explorers interested in the culture and spirituality of India. In the 1920s, Indian yoga master Tirumalai Krishnamacharya began teaching yoga in Mysore, India, and trained several disciples who later became renowned teachers, such as Pattabhi Jois and B.K.S. Iyengar.

Today, yoga has become very popular worldwide as a form of physical exercise, meditation and holistic therapy to improve physical and mental health. There are a variety of yoga styles and schools available, each with different approaches and teachings…

Beliefs with yoga.

Yoga has its roots in Hindu philosophy and therefore shares some of the fundamental beliefs of this tradition. Some of these beliefs include:

Karma: the belief that a person’s actions and decisions in this life have an effect on their future lives.
Reincarnation: the belief that the human soul reincarnates in a new body after death.
Moksha: the ultimate goal of yoga, which is to attain spiritual liberation and union with the Absolute or Brahman.
Ahimsa: non-violence, a fundamental principle in yoga, promoting non-harm to living beings, including one’s own body and mind.
Brahmacharya: celibacy and sexual abstinence, this is considered to help conserve and control sexual energy for use in spiritual practice.

However, yoga has also separated from its original religious roots and has become more secularized in the West, with a focus on physical and mental health rather than spirituality. Many people practice yoga without following the traditional religious beliefs that have always existed, thus eliminating its originality to adapt it to the new era in a more advanced world with a different society than in the past.