Yoga's claim to antiquity - true or not? How ancient is modern posture based yoga? (Traditional vs western yoga)
So I used to think (based on what people told me) that yoga is a thousand years old spiritual tradition coming from Indian land, and that very recently (100-150 years???) the westerners got to know about it and started doing it. However, the westerners "appropriated" the original yoga, and added their own flavors into it, and ripped it away from its spiritual root. That the western yoga only (or mostly) focuses on the asana (exercise part), while leaving everything else behind.
However, reading up on it, I am getting a different scenario. Yes, it is true that yoga as a spiritual tradition is indeed thousands of years old, originating in Indian subcontinent. However the "traditional yoga" is very different to the yoga that is practiced today, not just in the west, but also in India. The traditional yoga was mostly a spiritual practice -- it had 8 limbs, each connected with leading a spiritual life. Asana was only 1 part of it. But also, the asana most likely referred to the cross-legged seated position, which would assist the body and mind to calm down, which was needed for intense and prolonged period of meditation (which was the main goal). The purpose of asana was to calm the body and mind to help assist with meditation. In fact, asana literally means "sit" in Sanskrit. The type of "exercise type asana" we see in modern day yoga was not a part of the thousand year old tradition. Some body contortions may have been there, but it was most likely not done in the flow/vinyasa type style it is practiced today.
So "modern day yoga-as-exercise" and "traditional yoga as a spiritual discipline" are very different things. Mark Singleton's Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice argues that modern postural yoga was influenced by British calisthenics and Swedish gymnastics. I've also come across similar accounts elsewhere.
Anyone knowledgeable on history and this issue, care to shed light on this?
