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| Around the time
of Christ's birth, Yoga entered its Classical Stage.  This
is defined, by the Yoga Sutras, as a series of short verses compiled by
a sage named Patanjali. In the Yoga Sutras the ideas of Yoga were systemized
in a form that was truly coherent. This text is considered one of the most
studied Yoga texts.
After the turn of the millennium, the spread of Yoga in its different
forms gave rise to the need for standardization. Thus in the second century
B.C., Patanjali composed a seminal text, Yoga-Sutra and defined Classical
Yoga. The 195 aphorisms or sutras that comprise the Yoga Sutra, expound
upon Raja-Yoga (the eightfold Yoga path). The Yoga Sutra is meant to be
memorized as a means of internalizing its wisdom. The real ground breaking
characteristic of Yoga-Sutra however, is its precept of philosophical
dualism.
The Eight Limbs of Classical Yoga are: - yamas, or restraint,
- niyamas,
or observance of purity, tolerance and study,
- Asana, or Physical Exercises,
- Pranayam or breath control,
- pratyahara, or preparation for Meditation
- dharana, or concentration,
- dhyana or Meditation and
- samadhi or
absorption in the sublime.
Patanjali advocates studying the sacred scriptures
as part of the Yoga practice, which becomes Classical Yoga's distinct feature.
Patanjali remains a mysterious figure as nothing definitive is known
about him. George Feuerstein points out in The Yoga Tradition that it
is reasonable to assume that Patanjali was a Yoga master and he probably
headed a Yoga school of some kind.
Patanjali believed that separation of the matter (prakriti) and spirit
(purusha) was necessary to cleanse the spirit to absolute purity. This
is in stark contrast to Pre-classical and Vedic Yoga, which adopts the
unification of the body and the spirit. The teachings of Patanjali represent
a departure from traditional non-dualistic Yoga and laid the groundwork
for Postclassical Yoga. For centuries after Patanjali, the dualism of
Yoga was predominant. Yogis focused almost exclusively on Meditation and
neglected the Asanas. They were attempting to exit the mortal coil and
merge with the ultimate reality through contemplation. But with the advent
of alchemy, a precursor to chemistry, the Yoga masters rekindled their
belief in the body as a temple. Contemporary thought shifted to health,
longevity and maintenance. As such, the Yoga masters attempted to demonstrate
that new Yoga techniques fundamentally alters the body's biochemistry
and makes it immortal. This led back to the Pre-classical and Vedic Yoga
belief about the primacy of the Asana and to the beginning of Postclassical
Yoga.
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