20 Yoga Facts – The History of Yoga

  1. Yoga started in India around 3000 B.C.
  2. The Yoga Sutras of Maharishi Patanjali teaches how to practice yoga.
  3. Lord Shiva is considered to be the first teacher of yoga or Adiyogi.
  4. The oldest text about yoga, the Rig Veda, is dated 4,000 B.C.E.
  5. It is in the late 19th century that yoga was first introduced in the United States.
  6. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) is known for introducing yoga to the West by addressing to the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893.
  7. Traditionally, yoga was practiced on grass known as kusha grass or on an animal skin rug.
  8. Angela Farmer, the mother of today’s yoga mats, practiced yoga on carpet padding.
  9. Traditionally, yoga was practiced by men.
  10. Women who practice yoga today have to thank teacher Krishnamacharya who reluctantly permitted Indra Devi to join practice.
  11. Modern dance and American yoga share their origins.
  12. Yoga blocks were introduced as props in the 1970’s by BKS Iyengar.
  13. The first high-quality study on yoga was published in The Lancet journal in 1975.
  14. George Harrison, from the Beatles, promoted yoga to the West.
  15. The actress Eva Gabor was a student of Indra Devi, herself a disciple of Krishnamacharya.
  16. In 1998, Madonna sings “Shanti/Ashtangi”. The lyrics of the song include the mantra Om shanti.
  17. International Yoga Day, celebrated annually on June 21, was first proposed by Prime Minister Narenda Modi.
  18. The yoga wheel was created in 2014 by Dov Vargas and Raquel Vamos.
  19. In 2015, College Humor featured a sarcastic sketch in which a fictitious Gandhi follows a yoga class.
  20. In 2016, UNESCO listed yoga as an intangible cultural heritage.

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References

Yogasix. https://yogasix.com/history-of-yoga/

Yoga Journal. https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/philosophy/yoga-sutras

Asana. International yoga journal. https://www.asanajournal.com/shiva-first-siddhar-yogi/

Yogapedia. https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/5342/rig-veda

Mark Singleton. Yoga Journal. 2011. Available at : https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/yoga-s-greater-truth

Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2019. Available at : https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vivekananda

Ashlee Davis. Yoga Journal. 2015. https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/40-years-yoga-gear

Matthew Remski. Yoga Journal. 2017. https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/10-things-didnt-know-yoga-history

Fernando Pagés Ruiz. Yoga Journal. 2007. https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/krishnamacharya-s-legacy

City Academy. https://www.city-academy.com/news/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-contemporary-dance/

Chandra Patel and W.R.S. North. Randomised controlled trial of yoga and bio-feedback in management of hypertension. The Lancet. 1975. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(75)90002-1/fulltext

Joshua M. Green. 2016. Yoga Journal. https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/beatle-george-harrison-hare-krishna

Kendra Sand. YogiApproved. No date. https://www.yogiapproved.com/yoga/classic-yoga-babes/

Shannon Sexton and Katherine Rae. 2012. Yoga Journal. https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/sounds-divine

The Economic Times. 2019. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/yoga-day-pm-leads-celebrations-in-ranchi-thousands-in-india-and-world-roll-out-their-mats/articleshow/69894034.cms?from=mdr

Dharma Yoga Wheel. http://www.dharmayogawheel.com/about-us.html

College Humor. http://www.collegehumor.com/video/7007564/if-ghandi-took-a-yoga-class

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). No date. https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/yoga-01163

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