Yoga

Where Did Ashtanga Yoga Poses Come From?

It is thought all branches of yoga originated in India, since “yoga” is a Hindi word that roughly translates as “union” in English.  Although yoga is often taught with texts of sacred books and with helping the entire person (including their spiritual parts), it is not a religion, nor do any ashtanga yoga poses hold any sacred significance.  It is unknown which branch of yoga is considered the original branch – quite likely, no such branch exists.

The Founding Yogi

Ashtanga yoga positions, the speed performed and the breathing necessary to do them all came together in the teachings of renowned yogi Sri Krishnamacharya (1888 – 1989).  He claims to have found an ancient system of yoga with detailed ashtanga yoga poses on an old text made of palm leaves.  This book conveniently no longer exists, having been eaten by ants.

However strange the origins, the fact remains that ashtanga yoga poses are practiced around the world by people who do unquestionably get benefits from them.  Some teachers of ashtanga yoga poses are a little embarrassed at the myths about the palm-leaf book, but whether that story is true or not does not affect how helpful the exercises are.  You don’t even need to be religious in order to practice ashtanga yoga poses.

Observations Of Nature

It seems the origins of ashtanga yoga poses themselves can often be found in their names, which tend to reflect a natural object or animal.  The names seem to come from observations of nature.  Many martial arts poses are also based on animals or natural objects and are given names to help the students remember them.

For example, dogs do a play-bow with their rumps in the air and their heads in between their forelegs.  There is an ashtanga yoga pose that mimics this, with the person’s rump in the air and the hand spread out on the ground before them called “downward facing dog“.  Because of the nature of ashtanga yoga poses, you must get a doctor’s approval before starting an ashtanga yoga class.  Some of these ashtanga yoga poses names are changing in order to reflect modern life.

It is thought that ashtanga yoga poses were the first branch of yoga to emphasize a series of spectacular poses, rather than engage in seated poses or breathing exercises that older forms of yoga had.  A lot of this is speculation, since so much of yoga history has been lost.  However, the future of yoga looks very good indeed.