Nobody is sure about the origin of Yoga. Earlier historians believed that yoga came into existence 500 years back, during the time of Gautam Buddha.
This concept was refuted when excavations of the Indus valley civilization started and figurines resembling different yogic postures were found in soapstone seals. Rig Veda, which is popularly known as the first book of mankind mentions yogic meditation. Yajur Veda exhorts mankind to practice yoga for enhancing mental health, physical strength, and prosperity. In addition, yoga-related terms like pranayama and samadhi occur repeatedly in Bhagavad-Gita. Yoga was systematized by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras during the time frame between 300–200 B.C. According to him, yoga was the only way for the soul to know its true self.
The popularity of Yoga during the 19th Century
Yoga got its worldwide recognition when Swami Vivekananda spoke about the practice of Yoga in the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. He lectured about this ancient form of holistic healing in different parts of America and Europe and founded the Vedanta Society for propagating this practice. During the early 20th century a number of teachers from India migrated to Western countries to teach yoga. They authored numerous books, detailing the benefits yoga had on the human mind and body.