Episode: 79

History of asana & its evolution with Vikram Jeet Singh

As yoga teachers, most of us start our yoga journey with asana. But did you know that for centuries, yoga poses were not a part of yoga at all? Yoga poses dominate the modern landscape of yoga but it’s the tiniest part of all of yoga. In today’s episode, we explore the history of yoga & its evolution through time with Vikram Jeet Singh.

In this episode, we discuss the meaning of asana and its significance to yoga. Vikram builds a comprehensive timeline of asana through centuries. He has advice for you if you want to do yoga without focusing on its physical components. All these are very important knowledge for yoga teachers so listen in as we travel through time to understand the evolution of asana in yoga.

History of asana episode highlights:

  • The meaning of asana
  • Has asana always been a part of yoga?
  • How people practiced yoga in the past
  • The earliest reference to asana
  • When did asana start to make its way into yoga as we know it today?
  • The physical effects of practicing the asanas
  • The difference between the earliest asanas and modern-day yoga
  • Is it possible to do yoga without asana?
  • Vikram gives advice to people who want to learn the non-asana elements of yoga
  • Why are yoga poses named after animals?
  • When and how people started using props in yoga
  • Books to read if you want to learn about the evolution of the asanas
  • The external influences to asana

Resources and Links Mentioned:


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Featured Guests

Vikram Jeet Singh

Vikram took his first asana class at Modo Yoga in the fall of 2006 and right away fell in love with the practice. After regularly practicing for about a year and a half, he finished the 500 hour Modo Teacher Training in Kerala, India in March 2008. After teaching part-time for a few months, Vikram decided to switch careers and ultimately left his HR job to pursue a full-time teaching career. Vikram has taught at various Modo locations in the GTA since November 2008. Over the course of the years, he has accumulated over 11,000+ hours of teaching experience.


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