Pre-Hindu: Archaic Yoga (Indus Valley Civilization)
Before 4500 BCE
The earliest known human presence in India occurred circa 250,000 BCE. In very early pre-Vedic times Indian spirituality was primarily a shamanic practice.

Vedic Era
4500-1900/1500 BCE

Pre-Hindu/Archaic Yoga (Indus Valley Civilization) Before 4500 BCE
While most scholars long thought that the Vedas were written around 1500 BCE, Georg Fuerstein, Ph.D. and Dr. David Frawley date the first Vedas to circa 4500 BCE, with some may be dating earlier. During the Vedic Era, Brahmins, the highest ranking caste, were the custodians of the sacred traditions—they memorized the Vedas, and Brahmanas, and passed on the traditions orally for generations. The Brahmins were the keepers of sacred text and ritual and were the only ones allowed to conduct the elaborate rituals and sacrifices in the temple. You’d have to pay a pretty price to have the Brahmin Priest conduct a special ritual for you and your family.

Primary Vedic Texts (between 5000-4500 BCE):

• Rig Veda: Knowledge of Praise
• Sama Veda: Knowledge of Chants
• Yajur Veda: Knowledge of Sacrifice
• Atharva Veda: Knowledge of Atharvan

Brahmanas, Puranas, & Aranykas Texts (4500-2500 BCE)

• Brahmanas: commentaries on the Vedas
• Puranas: collections of stories about royalty and deities drawn from fact and legend. Documents the lineages of Kings & their royals.
• Aranyakas: Ritual texts for Brahmins who withdrew from the world to live in the forest and practice meditation and mystic rituals.

Pre-Classical Yoga: Upanishads
1900/1500 BCE-200 CE/AD

Between 1900 and 1500 BCE, the Saraswati River dried up, ending the Indus Valley Civilization and sending people east towards the Ganges River. During this time of social, cultural, and economic changes, many new philosophies emerged.

Primary Upanishads ideals:

• Vedanta: End of the Vedas. Birth of the asetic, and no longer needing Brahmin Priests to perform rituals. Primary Vedanta Texts include: Updanishads and Bhagavad Gita.
• Samkhya: The Epic Era: Primary texts include Ramayana and Mahabarata. Primary philosophical beliefs include a qualified non-dualism.
• Buddhism: Founded by Guatama the Buddha (563-483 BCE). Primary teachings include Dhamma (Dharma) Pada

Vedic Era
4500-1900/1500 BCE

Pre-Hindu/Archaic Yoga (Indus Valley Civilization) Before 4500 BCE
While most scholars long thought that the Vedas were written around 1500 BCE, Georg Fuerstein, Ph.D. and Dr. David Frawley date the first Vedas to circa 4500 BCE, with some may be dating earlier. During the Vedic Era, Brahmins, the highest ranking caste, were the custodians of the sacred traditions—they memorized the Vedas, and Brahmanas, and passed on the traditions orally for generations. The Brahmins were the keepers of sacred text and ritual and were the only ones allowed to conduct the elaborate rituals and sacrifices in the temple. You’d have to pay a pretty price to have the Brahmin Priest conduct a special ritual for you and your family.

Primary Vedic Texts (between 5000-4500 BCE):

• Rig Veda: Knowledge of Praise
• Sama Veda: Knowledge of Chants
• Yajur Veda: Knowledge of Sacrifice
• Atharva Veda: Knowledge of Atharvan

Brahmanas, Puranas, & Aranykas Texts (4500-2500 BCE)

• Brahmanas: commentaries on the Vedas
• Puranas: collections of stories about royalty and deities drawn from fact and legend. Documents the lineages of Kings & their royals.
• Aranyakas: Ritual texts for Brahmins who withdrew from the world to live in the forest and practice meditation and mystic rituals.

Pantanjali's Yoga Sutra-s and Classical Yoga
150-200 CE

The Yoga Sutra is a culmination of hundreds of years of development in “spiritual technology/practice.” It is long debated whether the sutra-s were written by one person named Patanjali, or by a group of people over a period of time. Consists of four books, 196 Sutra-s or aphorisms for practice. Set path for finding liberation through the 8 Limbs of Yoga, still referenced to this day.

Long stretch of time where may schools of yoga evolved and emerged from Vedanta and Buddhism.

Tantra (Circa 500 CE/AD): A religious movement originating in South Asia that focuses on non-dualism, Shiva/Shakti (or potential/manifested), and that while the world is real, it is also divine and is the path, not the obstacle to liberation, and that our souls are separated from the divine by our actions, knowledge, desire, time, and karma. Primary texts include: Agamas, Tantras, Puranas.

Hatha Yoga (Circa 1100 CE): Evolved from Tantra during the early Medieval period. Focuses on non-dualism, Shiva/Shakti, recognizing the divinity/light within self, and Jivamukit-achieving liberation in this lifetime, not waiting for death. Primary texts include: Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita, and Shiva Samhita.

Influential Indian Gurus, teachers, and living saints who popularized and influenced Modern Yoga.

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902): Devotee of the great saint Ramakrishna who spoke at the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago where he introduced Yoga to the west.

Swami Sivananda Maharaj of Rishikesh (1887-1963): Founder of Sivananda Yoga

Sri T.  Krishnamacharya (1893-1989): Huge influence on three large bodies of Yoga. Father and teacher to T.K.V Desikichar (Viniyoga), B.K.S. Iyengar (Iyengar style), and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (Ashtanga Yoga)

Paramahamsa Yogananda (1893-1952): Author of Autobiography of a Yogi and founder of Self Realization Fellowship.

Krishnamurti (1895-1986): Influential teacher and prolific author who traveled extensively in India, the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe.

Neem Karoli Baba (Late 19th Century-1973): Considered to be a living saint. Practiced yoga through music. Guru to many influential Western Yogis including Ram Dass, Krishna Das, and Jai Uttal.

Swami Satchidananda (1914-2003): Devotee of Swami Sivananda and founder of Integral Yoga and the Satchidananda Ashram in Yogaville, VA. He also gave the invocation at Woodstock.

Paramahamsa Satyanada Saraswati (1924-?): Devotee of  Swami Sivananda Saraswati Maharaj of Rishikesh and founder of the Bihar School of Yoga. Now lives as an ascetic life in India.

Swami Vishnu Devananda (1927-1993): Devotee of Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh who popularized Sivananda in the U.S.

Swami Muktananda (1908-1982): Founder of Siddha Yoga. Teachings are based on Kashmiri Shaivism and focuses primarily on meditation.

Swami Chidvilasananda (1955-?): Successor to Swami Muktananda and head of Siddha Yoga. Guru to John Friend who founded Anasura Yoga.

Current Yoga Teachers and Styles