A Very Brief History of Yoga

Viewed from one perspective, yoga is an ancient Indian discipline. It dates back at least 2000 years, possibly 4000 or more, predating the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Yoga was not limited to orthodox Hinduism; it was also part of Buddhist and Jain traditions, and even explicitly atheistic philosophies. However, yoga as usually taught in classes in studios and gyms today (even in India) bears little resemblance to its largely spiritual origins. It is a distinctly 20th century development.

What is “yoga”? There is no single satisfactory definition. The Sanskrit word yoga is ancestral to the English yoke, taken to mean a “yoking together” or uniting our physical, mental, and spiritual selves. How this is accomplished and what are its consequences vary widely across its many historical strands. Many of these strands were woven together roughly 2000 years ago in “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.”

The sage Patanjali defined yoga as the cessation (nirodhah) of actions (vrtti) of the mind (citta). (Exact translations vary.) He postulated eight “limbs” (Ashtanga) of yoga to accomplish this. Two limbs are the “do’s and don’ts” of good behavior (niyamas and yamas, respectively), and one is breath control (pranayama). Four are mental exercises: withdrawal of the senses from external objects, focusing attention on a single object, contemplation of the nature of an object, and merging of

consciousness with an object of meditation.

And then there’s asana. In modern yoga lingo, asana is “postural yoga,” the various poses we practice in yoga classes—Tree, Mountain, Downward-facing Dog, etc. But to Patanjali, asana just meant “seat.” He was concerned with how we should sit. The Sutras, which many revere as the core teachings of yoga, have absolutely nothing to do with the many asanas that are the staple of modern yoga practice. Indeed, while a few different sitting positions are discussed in older texts, standing poses do not really appear in “yoga” until the beginning of the 20th century!

There were also not “yoga classes” per se. Instruction was individualized. If a young male sought enlightenment, he could study with a guru. He might become the guru’s indentured servant. Or, if wealthy, the terms were undoubtedly negotiable. Some women (depending on the era) practiced yoga, though there was always concern that they might “contaminate” male students. It is unlikely that any gurus were female.

In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, yoga as a physical practice was largely derided in India as perverse and even heretical to orthodox Hinduism. Yogis were on the fringe of society. However, toward the end of the 19th century, Western-inspired gymnastics classes were very popular. By the early 20th century India struggled to regain a sense of national pride after three centuries of British colonialism. Indian men, who were often viewed as weak and degenerate by the oppressors, were encouraged to become more “manly” through strenuous physical exercise. Thus, challenging poses—asanas as we know them—and exercise routines like “sun salutations” were incorporated into Hatha Yoga. (Hatha = “force,” referring to physical practice.)

T. Krishnamacharya (1888 – 1989), “the father of modern yoga,” was of particular importance in this blending of yoga with gymnastics. He also had the insight that many more people could benefit from yoga if taught in a class setting. Most important, he believed that everyone, not just Indians (and not just males), should benefit from this new kind of yoga. With a missionary zeal, he encouraged his students to spread the practice throughout the world. His most famous protégés include his son T. K. V. Desikachar (“Viniyoga”). B. K. S. Iyengar (“Iyengar Yoga”), K. Pattabhi Jois (“Ashtanga Yoga”), and…Indra Devi.

Yoga—without asanas—had already been introduced to the United States by Swami Vivekananda at the end of the 19th century. In 1918, Shri Yogendra founded The Yoga Institute, the oldest organized yoga center in the world, in Mumbai (“Bombay”). A year later, he opened a branch in New York City. But, Indra Devi (1899 – 2002) is most responsible for making yoga popular in the United States, especially among women.

Born Eugenie Peterson in Latvia, Indra Devi became a film star in India in her twenties under her stage name. In 1938, she became the first foreign woman to study yoga under Krishnamacharya. A year later, she was teaching the first yoga classes ever in China. Devi moved to the United States in 1948 and opened a yoga studio in Hollywood. She began teaching celebrities of the time, including Eva Gabor, Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, Robert Ryan, Yul Brynner, and the violinist Yehudi Menuhin. The publicity enabled Devi to publish books and articles touting yoga for stress relief, and (most successfully) the key to prolonging women’s health and beauty.

Thanks to marketing, the proportion of women in yoga increased steadily. Yoga Journal reports that 80% of its readership was female in 1997; by 2003, it was 89%. In my opinion, Yoga Journal is one of the best sources of information about yoga practice for women OR men. But, the advertising is almost exclusively targeted to women—an ironic contrast to the re-invention of yoga in India a century ago as a “manly” pursuit!

Interest in more spiritual aspects of yoga surged briefly after 1968, when the Beatles traveled to Rishikesh to study Transcendental Meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. As a result, the Indian government began actively promoting “yoga tourism,” and many schools opened to cater to the expectations of American and European visitors.

Yoga has sometimes been cited as an example of “the pizza effect,” in which something is borrowed from a country or culture, radically altered elsewhere, and then re-introduced to its place of origin. (The “pizza” you now buy in Italy is in fact an American concoction.)

There are strands of yoga today that do not stem directly from Krishnamacharya (or even Patanjali’s Sutras). Nonetheless, modern practice has little resemblance to its ancient spiritual roots. Nothing precludes people from exploring yoga more deeply—a little wisdom from anywhere is a good thing. But, yoga classes that do not accommodate the public’s perception of yoga are not likely to be financially sustainable!

Lastly, we should remember that modern yoga, as most of us practice or teach it, is still benevolent. Contemporary medical research unequivocally supports many benefits of our postures, breathing exercises, and meditation. Ultimately, that is what really counts, whether we call it “yoga” or “pizza.”

This is the first of a planned series of yoga-related essays by Tram Neill, Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York, Albany, Research Fellow at St. Cloud State University, and instructor at Shanti Yoga Center, St. Cloud, MN. (c) 2021