History is not always what we think
If you asked someone today where yoga comes from, the standard answer usually points to a single, monolithic ancient tradition. But in fact, there is a fascinating historical reality: yoga was never the exclusive property of one single religion or lineage.
For over a millennium across South Asia, yoga functioned much like an open-source technology. Early Jains and Buddhists developed systematic breathwork and meditation practices right alongside early Hindu ascetics. By the 8th century, Jain scholars like Haribhadra Suri were incorporating Patañjali’s eight-limbed structure directly into Jain philosophy. Later, during the rise of Hatha yoga, physical postures and energy work crossed lines so fluidly that even medieval Sufi mystics translated Sanskrit yoga manuals like The Pool of Nectar into Persian, adopting yogic pranayama into their own devotional practices.
Instead of a fixed doctrine tied to one group, yoga has always been a dynamic, adaptable framework of practices designed for human development. Understanding this cross-cultural history makes modern practice feel less like a departure from tradition, and more like a continuation of its long history of thoughtful adaptation.
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