History of Yoga

This section is just to prove that we're not making it all up! Click on the image to see an enlarged version.

Yoga is an ancient knowledge and is not related to celebrities jumping around in leotards.This painting is nearly 200 years old and, believe me, much older pictures exist!

The seven chakras can clearly be seen (as also an enourmous moustache!).

Notice that the hat is not a hat at all but a chakra with 1000 petals, that's the sahasrara chakra (sahasra means 1000 in sanskrit).

Moustaches are not compulsory to achieve Self Realisation!

It's unusual to see the Yogi in this painting with his arms in the air, but interestingly Sri Mataji also asks people to put their arms in the air after experiencing Yoga for the first time (see picture).

This is in order to feel the Cool Breeze that comes into the hands after Self Realisation.

This next image shows a similar thing, it's from Rajasthan around the same period, notice that each chakra has a Hindu God associated with it.

Sri Ganesh, with the elephant head, is at the root of the human body seated upon the red flower that is growing from the Earth.