In the ruins of the big cities of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, excavators found depictions engraved on soapstone seals that strongly resemble yogi-like figures. This was in fact the largest civilization in early antiquity. But then, in the early 1920s, archeologists surprised the world with the discovery of the so-called Indus civilization-a culture that we now know extended over an area of roughly 300,000 square miles (the size of Texas and Ohio combined). Until recently, many Western scholars thought that Yoga originated much later, maybe around 500 B.C.E., which is the time of Gautama the Buddha, the illustrious founder of Buddhism. We do know, though, that it originated in India 5,000 or more years ago. If you are not a history buff, well, perhaps we can tempt you to suspend your preferences for a few minutes and read on anyway.ĭespite more than a century of research, we still don’t know much about the earliest beginnings of Yoga. We put you in touch with the leading edge of knowledge in this area. Many of the facts and ideas presented here have not yet found their way into the textbooks or even into most Yoga books. If you are fond of history, you’ll enjoy what follows. “To be ignorant of what happened before one was born,” said Cicero pointedly in his Orator, “is to remain ever a child.” History provides context and meaning, and Yoga is no exception to this rule. If you want to know where something is going, it is good to know where it came from. This is another way in which Yoga’s balanced approach shows itself.

Study is in fact an important aspect of many branches and schools of Yoga. In Yoga, theory and practice, as well as left brain and right brain, go hand in hand so to speak.

Hatha yoga book from early 1970's