The Classical Period is marked by another creation - the Yoga Sutra. Written by Patanjali around the second century, it was an attempt to define and standardize Classical Yoga. It is composed of 195 aphorisms or sutras (from the Sanskrit word which means thread) that expound upon the Raja Yoga and its underlying principle, Patanjali's Eightfold path of Yoga (also called Eight Limbs of Classical Yoga). These are:
1. Yama, which means social restraints or ethical values;
2. Niyama, which is personal observance of purity, tolerance, and study;
3. Asanas or physical exercises;
4. Pranayama, which means breath control or regulation;
5. Pratyahara or sense withdrawal in preparation for Meditation;
6. Dharana, which is about concentration;
7. Dhyana, which means Meditation;
8. Samadhi, which means ecstasy.
Patanjali believed that each individual is a composite of matter (prakriti) and spirit (purusha). He further believed that the two must be separated in order to cleanse the spirit - a stark contrast to Vedic and Pre-Classical Yoga that signify the union of body and spirit.
Patanjali's concept was dominant for some centuries that some Yogis focused exclusively on Meditation and neglected their Asanas. It was only later that the belief of the body as a temple was rekindled and attention to the importance of the Asana was revived. This time, Yogis attempted to use Yoga techniques to change the body and make it immortal.
Post-Classical Yoga
At this point, we see a proliferation of literature as well as the practice of Yoga. Post-classical Yoga differs from the first three since its focus is more on the present. It no longer strives to liberate a person from reality but rather teaches one to accept it and live at the moment.
Yoga was introduced in the West during the early 19th century. It was first studied as part of Eastern Philosophy and began as a movement for health and vegetarianism around the 1930's. By the 1960's, there was an influx of Indian teachers who expounded on Yoga. One of them was Maharishi Mahesh, the Yogi who popularized Transcendental Meditation. Another one is a prominent Yoga Guru Swami Sivananda. Sivananda was a doctor in Malaysia and he later opened schools in America and Europe. The most prominent of his works is his modified Five Principles of Yoga which are:
1. Savasana or proper relaxation;
2. Asanas or proper exercise;
3. Pranayama or proper breathing;
4. Proper diet;
5. Dhyana or positive thinking and Meditation
Sivananda wrote more than 200 books on Yoga and Philosophy and had many disciples who furthered Yoga. Some of them were Swami Satchitananda who introduced chanting and Yoga to Woodstock; Swami Sivananada Radha who explored the connection between psychology and Yoga, and Yogi Bhajan who started teaching Kundalini Yoga in the 70's.
Up to this day, Yoga continues to proliferate and spread its teachings, crossing the boundaries of culture and language.
A seal from the Indus Valley Civilization, showing a figure in meditation posture.
The first known written reference to yoga is in the Rig Veda, estimated by Western scholars to be at least 3,500 years old.[10] The Upanishads, (800-100 BCE), Bhagavad Gita (400-100 BCE), and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (200 BCE-300 CE) also discuss the concepts and teachings of yoga.
