Yoga, a time-honored practice, dates back to 5000 B.C., an era before it was written. Until the advent of the Rigveda, this period of more than 3,000 years is known as the pre-classical period of yoga. During this period, yoga underwent a gradual transformation from primitive philosophical ideas into spiritual practices.
Although there is a lack of written records of this history, we can get a glimpse of it from the documents and traditions of later generations. During this period, yogis explored the inner world through meditation, meditation and asceticism, seeking spiritual liberation and sublimation. These practices gradually became the core of yoga and laid a solid foundation for the later yoga system.
Meditation, as the foundation of yoga practice, aims to achieve inner peace and balance by adjusting the breath, relaxing the body, and calming the mind. Meditation is a deep exploration of self-awareness and the true meaning of the universe through focused thinking and introspection. Asceticism is a way to exercise the will and purify the soul by enduring physical and mental suffering. These practices complement each other and together form the center of yoga practice.
In this pre-classical period, yoga practitioners continued to explore and practice, accumulating rich experience and wisdom for the development of yoga. Although the history of this period is scarcely documented, we can imagine that the challenges and gains experienced by those practitioners in meditation, meditation and ascetic practice laid a solid foundation for the subsequent development of yoga.
The pre-classical period of yoga was a time of exploration and practice. During this period, yoga evolved from a primitive philosophical idea into a method of spiritual practice, in which meditation, meditation and asceticism became the center of yoga practice. The experience and wisdom of this period provided a steady stream of motivation and inspiration for the subsequent development of yoga.