STUDIO SAT NAM

STUDIO SAT NAM KUNDALINI YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

HISTORY OF YOGA

DEFINITION OF YOGA [YOH-GUH]

THE UNITING OF BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT.YOGA (SANSKRIT: योग ) ARE THE PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND SPIRITUAL PRACTICES OR DISCIPLINES WHICH AIM AT TRANSFORMING BODY AND MIND. THE TERM DENOTES A VARIETY OF SCHOOLS, PRACTICES AND GOALS

YOGA TRANSLATES FROM SANSKRIT INTO “YOKE” OR “UNION

IS YOGA A RELIGION?YOGA IS NOT A RELIGION. IT HAS NO CREED OR FIXED SET OF BELIEFS, NOR IS THERE A GODLIKE FIGURE. THE CORE OF YOGA’S PHILOSOPHY IS THAT EVERYTHING IS SUPPLIED FROM WITHIN THE INDIVIDUAL.

THE COMMON BELIEF THAT YOGA DERIVES FROM HINDUISM IS A MISCONCEPTION. YOGA PREDATES HINDUISM BY MANY CENTURIES.

ANCIENT SEALS UNEARTHED IN THE INDUS VALLEY PROVIDE CLEAR EVIDENCE OF WIDESPREAD YOGA PRACTICE EARLIER THAN 3,000 B.C.E. THE TECHNIQUES OF YOGA HAVE BEEN ADOPTED BY HINDUISM AS WELL AS BY OTHER WORLD RELIGIONS.

YOGA IS A SYSTEM OF TECHNIQUES THAT CAN BE USED FOR A NUMBER OF GOALS, FROM SIMPLY MANAGING STRESS BETTER, LEARNING TO RELAX, AND INCREASING LIMBERNESS ALL THE WAY TO BECOMING MORE SELF-AWARE AND ACQUIRING THE DEEPEST KNOWLEDGE OF ONE’S OWN SELF.

THE PRACTICE OF YOGA WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH ANY RELIGION AND MAY ACTUALLY ENHANCE CONNECTION TO SPIRIT AND UNDERSTANDING OF OURSELVES.

LANGUAGE OF YOGASANSKRIT IS THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGE OF INDIA AND THE LITURGICAL LANGUAGE OF HINDUISM, BUDDHISM AND JAINISM

SANSKRIT IS ONE OF THE 22 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES OF INDIA

GURMUKHI IS THE MOST COMMON SCRIPT USED FOR WRITING THE PUNJABI LANGUAGE IN INDIA GURMUKHI WAS STANDARDISED BY THE SECOND SIKH GURU, GURU ANGAD, IN THE 16TH CENTURY.

THE SIRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB IS WRITTEN IN GURMUKHI

BRIEF HISTORYYOGA BEGAN 5,000 YEARS AGO IN INDIA AS A PRACTICE FOR YOUNG MEN IN TRAINING. THE POSTURES STRENGTHENED THEIR BODIES SO THAT THEY COULD SIT FOR HOURS AT A TIME IN MEDITATION.

THE POSTURES HARMONISED THE ENERGY IN THEIR BODIES SO THAT THEIR MINDS COULD REST IN THE PRESENT MOMENT WITH COMPLETE AWARENESS. WOMEN STAYED WITH THE FAMILY AND PRACTISED TRADITIONAL INDIAN DANCES.

BRIEF HISTORY CONTINUED…

TODAY, WITH CURRENT WORK AND FAMILY DEMANDS, YOGA HAS BECOME A TOOL TO MANAGE STRESS AND TRANSFORM THE BODY. YOGA IS POSITIONED NOW MORE TOWARDS BUILDING PHYSICAL OR CORE STRENGTH FOR PROPER POSTURE AND LEARNING TO DE-STRESS FROM THE FAST PACE OF LIFE.

THE ORIGIN OF YOGAVEDIC EPOCH 1800-1000 BC (VEDAS)

PRE-CLASSICAL (BRAHMANIC) EPOCH 1000 BC – 800 BC (UPANISHADS)

UPANISHADIC EPOCH 800 BC – 500 BC (UPANISHADS, BHAGAVAD GITA)

GITA EPOCH 500 BC – AD 200 (BHAGAVAD GITA)

CLASSICAL EPOCH AD 200 – AD 800 (PATANJALI)

POST-CLASSICAL (PURANIC) EPOCH AD 800 – AD 1469

BHAKTI EPOCH AD 1469 – AD 1708 (SIKHISM)

MODERN EPOCH AD 1708 - ONWARDS

THE UPANISHADSTHE UPANISHADS ARE LATE VEDIC SANSKRIT TEXTS OF RELIGIOUS TEACHING AND IDEAS STILL REVERED IN HINDUISM. THEY ARE THE MOST RECENT PART OF THE OLDEST SCRIPTURES OF HINDUISM, THE VEDAS, THAT DEAL WITH MEDITATION, PHILOSOPHY, AND ONTOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE; OTHER PARTS OF THE VEDAS DEAL WITH MANTRAS, BENEDICTIONS, RITUALS, CEREMONIES, AND SACRIFICES. AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT LITERATURE IN THE HISTORY OF INDIAN RELIGIONS AND CULTURE, THE UPANISHADS PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRITUAL IDEAS IN ANCIENT INDIA, MARKING A TRANSITION FROM VEDIC RITUALISM TO NEW IDEAS AND INSTITUTIONS. OF ALL VEDIC LITERATURE, THE UPANISHADS ALONE ARE WIDELY KNOWN, AND THEIR CENTRAL IDEAS ARE AT THE SPIRITUAL CORE OF HINDUISM. VYASA, THE SAGE WHO, ACCORDING TO TRADITION,

COMPOSED THE UPANISHADS.

THE BHAGAVAD GITATHE BHAGAVAD GITA, OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE GITA, IS A 700-VERSE HINDU SCRIPTURE THAT IS PART OF THE EPIC MAHABHARATA (CHAPTERS 23–40 OF BHISHMA PARVA), COMMONLY DATED TO THE SECOND CENTURY BCE.

THE GITA IS SET IN A NARRATIVE FRAMEWORK OF A DIALOGUE BETWEEN PANDAVA PRINCE ARJUNA AND HIS GUIDE AND CHARIOTEER KRISHNA. AT THE START OF THE DHARMA YUDHHA (RIGHTEOUS WAR) BETWEEN PANDAVAS AND KAURAVAS, ARJUNA IS FILLED WITH MORAL DILEMMA AND DESPAIR ABOUT THE VIOLENCE AND DEATH THE WAR WILL CAUSE IN THE BATTLE AGAINST HIS OWN KIN. HE WONDERS IF HE SHOULD RENOUNCE AND SEEKS KRISHNA'S COUNSEL, WHOSE ANSWERS AND DISCOURSE CONSTITUTE THE BHAGAVAD GITA.

NUMEROUS COMMENTARIES HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ON THE BHAGAVAD GITA WITH WIDELY DIFFERING VIEWS ON THE ESSENTIALS. ACCORDING TO SOME, BHAGAVAD GITA IS WRITTEN BY LORD GANESHA WHICH WAS TOLD TO HIM BY VYASA.

BHAGAVAD GITA’S REVELATION

PATANJALI

PATANJALI WAS A SCHOLAR OR SAGE WHO SET DOWN THE MOST PREVALENT YOGA THEORIES AND PRACTICES OF HIS TIME IN A BOOK HE CALLED YOGA SUTRAS (“YOGA APHORISMS”) - 1ST OR 2ND CENTURY B.C. OR AS LATE AS THE 5TH CENTURY A.D. THE SYSTEM THAT HE WROTE ABOUT IS KNOWN AS “ASHTANGA YOGA,” OR THE EIGHT LIMBS OF YOGA. YAMA, MEANING “RESTRAINT” — REFRAINING FROM VIOLENCE, LYING, STEALING, HOARDING; NIYAMA, MEANING “OBSERVANCE” — PURITY, CONTENTMENT, TOLERANCE, STUDY, AND REMEMBRANCE; ASANA, PHYSICAL EXERCISES; PRANAYAMA, BREATHING TECHNIQUES; PRATYAHARA, PREPARATION FOR MEDITATION, DESCRIBED AS “WITHDRAWAL OF THE MIND FROM THE SENSES”; DHARANA, CONCENTRATION, BEING ABLE TO HOLD THE MIND ON ONE OBJECT FOR A SPECIFIED TIME; DHYANA, MEDITATION, THE ABILITY TO FOCUS ON ONE THING (OR NOTHING) INDEFINITELY; SAMADHI, ABSORPTION, OR REALIZATION OF THE ESSENTIAL NATURE OF THE SELF. MODERN WESTERN YOGA CLASSES GENERALLY FOCUS ON THE 3RD, 4TH, AND 5TH STEPS.

THE YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI THE YOGA SŪTRAS OF PATAÑJALI ARE A COLLECTION OF 196 SANSKRIT SUTRAS (APHORISMS) ON THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF YOGA. THE YOGA SUTRAS WERE COMPILED SOMETIME BETWEEN 500 BCE AND 400 CE BY THE SAGE PATANJALI IN INDIA WHO SYNTHESIZED AND ORGANIZED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT YOGA FROM MUCH OLDER TRADITIONS. THE YOGA SŪTRAS OF PATAÑJALI WAS THE MOST TRANSLATED ANCIENT INDIAN TEXT IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA, HAVING BEEN TRANSLATED INTO ABOUT FORTY INDIAN LANGUAGES AND TWO NON-INDIAN LANGUAGES: OLD JAVANESE AND ARABIC. THE TEXT FELL INTO RELATIVE OBSCURITY FOR NEARLY 700 YEARS FROM THE 12TH TO 19TH CENTURY, AND MADE A COMEBACK IN LATE 19TH CENTURY DUE TO THE EFFORTS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AND OTHERS. IT GAINED PROMINENCE AGAIN AS A COMEBACK CLASSIC IN THE 20TH CENTURY. PATAÑJALI STATUE (TRADITIONAL FORM INDICATING

KUNDALINI OR INCARNATION OF SHESHA)

HISTORICAL TIMELINE 400 CE - CLASSICAL YOGA – PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS 1800 - MODERN WESTERN INFLUENCES IN INDIA BRITISH COLONIAL INDIA, CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES, THE HARMONIUM IS CRAFTED 1850 - FATHERS OF MODERN YOGA

RAMMOHAN ROY, DEBENDRANATH TAGORE, KESHUBCHANDRA SEN, SW. VIVEKANADA, REPACKAGED EUROPEAN INFLUENCE, MERGED CHRISTINA + HINDU

1900 - SW. VIVEKANANDA TOURS US AND ENGLAND 1893 - SPEAKS AT PARLIAMENT OF RELIGION IN CHICAGO POPULARISED PATANJALI’S SUTRAS AS ESOTERIC MEDITATION PRACTICE 1902 - SW. RAMA TIRTHA ARRIVES IN US ESTABLISHES RETREAT CENTRE AT MOUNT SHASTA, CA 1919 - YOGENDRA MASTAMANI ARRIVES IN NY, US TEACHES HATHA YOGA 1920 - PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA ARRIVES IN BOSTON, US “AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI” 1925 - THE SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP, LA, US 1930’S - JIDDU KRISHNAMURTI (JNANA-YOGA) 1940’S - INDRA DEVI “FIRST LADY OF YOGA” OPENS A YOGA STUDIO IN HOLLYWOOD IN 1947 – TEACHES THE “STARS” OF THE DAY

SW. VIVEKANANDA - 1893

HTTP://YOUTU.BE/LXUZKOIT5AM

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA; 12 JANUARY 1863 – 4 JULY 1902), BORN NARENDRANATH DATTA, WAS AN INDIAN HINDU MONK. HE WAS A CHIEF DISCIPLE OF THE 19TH-CENTURY INDIAN MYSTIC RAMAKRISHNA. HE WAS A KEY FIGURE IN THE INTRODUCTION OF THE INDIAN PHILOSOPHIES OF VEDANTA AND YOGA TO THE WESTERN WORLD, AND IS CREDITED WITH RAISING INTERFAITH AWARENESS, BRINGING HINDUISM TO THE STATUS OF A MAJOR WORLD RELIGION DURING THE LATE 19TH CENTURY. HE WAS A MAJOR FORCE IN THE REVIVAL OF HINDUISM IN INDIA, AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE CONCEPT OF INDIAN NATIONALISM AS A TOOL TO FIGHT AGAINST THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN COLONIAL INDIA. VIVEKANANDA FOUNDED THE RAMAKRISHNA MATH AND THE RAMAKRISHNA MISSION. HE IS PERHAPS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS SPEECH WHICH BEGAN WITH THE WORDS - "SISTERS AND BROTHERS OF AMERICA …," IN WHICH HE INTRODUCED HINDUISM AT THE PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS IN CHICAGO IN 1893.

HISTORICAL TIMELINE CONT. 1950’S - SELVARAJAN YESUDIAN BOOK “SPORT AND YOGA” TRANSLATED INTO 14 LANGUAGES 1960’S – MAHARISHI MAHESH YOGI & THE BEATLES 1961 – RICHARD HITTLEMAN TV PROGRAM & BOOK “THE 28 DAY YOGA PLAN”

1960-1970 – SWANI SIVANANDA OPENS SCHOOLS IN EUROPE & US FROM SW. SIVANANDA COMES SW VISHUDEVANANDA, SW. SATCHITANANDA AND SW. SIVANANDA RADHA, SW. SATYANANDA, SW. CHIDANANADA

1965 – SHRILA PRABHUPADA ARRIVES IN NY FOUNDS THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS

1965 - AMRIT DESAI FOUNDS YOGA SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA (KRIPALU) 1969 – BHAJAN ARRIVES IN NA TO TEACH KUNDALINI YOGA, 3HO 1970-79 – LILIAS FOLAN PBS TV SERIES “YOGA &YOU” 1970’S – PATANJALI’S SUTRAS GIVEN ICONIC STATUS IN WEST 1970’S – BHAGAVAN RAJNEESH (OSHO) 1970’S – SRI KRISHNAMACHARYA – VINIYOGA/HATHA SON TKV DESIKACHAR, BKS IYENGAR WAS DESIKACHAR’S UNCLE, PATTABHI JOIS, INDRA DEVI STUDIED WITH KRISHNAMACHARYA TODAY – YOGA + MEDITATION POPULARITY IN VARIETY OF FORMS

IN CLOSING

THE TRADITION OF YOGA HAS ALWAYS BEEN PASSED ON INDIVIDUALLY FROM TEACHER TO STUDENT THROUGH ORAL TEACHING AND PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION.

THE FORMAL TECHNIQUES THAT ARE NOW KNOWN AS YOGA ARE, THEREFORE, BASED ON THE COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCES OF MANY INDIVIDUALS OVER MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS. THE PARTICULAR MANNER IN WHICH THE TECHNIQUES ARE TAUGHT AND PRACTICED TODAY DEPENDS ON THE APPROACH PASSED DOWN IN THE LINE OF TEACHERS SUPPORTING THE INDIVIDUAL PRACTITIONER.