A Short History of Yoga: From Patanjali to the United Nations

Yoga is an Indian tradition more than two thousand years old that began as a set of mental and ethical disciplines and only later added the physical postures most people now associate with it. In the last decade it has also become a diplomatic and cultural project: the United Nations adopted an International Day of Yoga in December 2014, and UNESCO listed yoga as intangible cultural heritage in 2016.

Where does yoga come from?

The word yoga appears in early Indian texts, including the Upanishads, where it describes disciplined control of the mind and senses. The Bhagavad Gita, a section of the epic Mahabharata, describes several paths often glossed as yoga: of action, of knowledge and of devotion. Some scholars link seals from the Indus Valley with early yogic figures, but that is debated, and we treat it as an open question.

What did Patanjali add?

The Yoga Sutras, attributed to Patanjali, set out a systematic path in short aphorisms. Scholars date the text to somewhere between the second century BCE and the fourth century CE and debate whether it had one author. Its best-known framework is the eight limbs: ethical restraints, personal observances, posture, breath control, withdrawal of the senses, concentration, meditation and absorption.

Posture is only one of the eight, and the text says little about it, advising a steady and comfortable seat for meditation. The elaborate postures of modern classes come mostly from later sources.

When did the physical practices develop?

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a text attributed to Svatmarama and dated to the fifteenth century, describes postures, breath control and cleansing techniques as tools for preparing the body. It is the best-known source of what is now called hatha yoga.

In the twentieth century, teachers in India combined hatha traditions with exercise, medicine and philosophy:

• The Yoga Institute in Mumbai was founded in 1918 by Shri Yogendra.
• Kaivalyadhama in Lonavala was founded in 1924 by Swami Kuvalayananda to study yoga scientifically.
• Tirumalai Krishnamacharya taught in Mysuru. His students included K. Pattabhi Jois, who developed Ashtanga, and B.K.S. Iyengar, who developed the method named for him. See yoga styles explained.
• Sivananda’s Divine Life Society was set up in Rishikesh in 1936, and the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger followed in 1964.

How did yoga reach the world?

Swami Vivekananda introduced Indian philosophy, including yoga, to a Western audience at the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi, published in 1946, reached a very wide readership. In 1968 the Beatles stayed at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram in Rishikesh, which brought attention to meditation. By the late twentieth century, yoga studios were a fixture in cities abroad, usually teaching a physical, exercise-oriented form of the practice.

Why did the UN adopt a Day of Yoga?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the day in his address to the UN General Assembly in September 2014. The Assembly adopted a resolution in December 2014 declaring 21 June the International Day of Yoga, with more than 170 countries listed as co-sponsors. Sources give slightly different figures for co-sponsors and the exact adoption date, so we use the rounded numbers.

The first International Day of Yoga on 21 June 2015 included a session at Rajpath in New Delhi, where 35,985 people took part, and the Guinness World Records recognised two records: the largest single-venue yoga lesson and the most nationalities in one. 84 nationalities took part. The previous single-venue record, set in Gwalior in 2005, was 29,973 participants, so the Rajpath figure was 20% higher.

What did UNESCO list?

In 2016, UNESCO inscribed yoga on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, at the committee’s session in Addis Ababa. UNESCO describes yoga as influencing health, education and the arts in India and as combining postures, meditation, controlled breathing and chanting.

What should a traveller take from this?

Three things.

1. Yoga is broader than the postures. A good retreat teaches breath, ethics and meditation along with asana.
2. Different places preserve different lines. Mysuru, Pune, Rishikesh, Munger and Lonavala each have institutions with their own methods. See our guides to Rishikesh and Mysuru.
3. Heritage listings and world records are not quality marks. They do not tell you whether a particular school is good. For that, use our checklist for choosing a yoga retreat.

Questions readers ask

Who wrote the Yoga Sutras?

The text is attributed to Patanjali, about whom little is known. Scholars date the Yoga Sutras to somewhere between the second century BCE and the fourth century CE and debate whether it was the work of one author.

Is yoga only physical postures?

No. In Patanjali's eight-limb path, posture (asana) is one limb among eight, alongside ethical rules, breath control, withdrawal of the senses, concentration, meditation and absorption. Modern postural yoga emphasises the physical side.

When is International Day of Yoga?

It is observed on 21 June each year. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in December 2014 proclaiming the day, after a proposal by India.

Why is yoga on the UNESCO list?

UNESCO inscribed yoga in 2016 on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, describing it as influencing health, education and the arts in India and combining postures, meditation, breath control and chanting.

Sources

• UNESCO, Yoga on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2016)
• Permanent Mission of India to the UN, General Assembly and the International Day of Yoga
• Guinness World Records, Prime Minister Modi helps India stretch its way to world records (2015)

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