Early yoga - 1
Excerpts from the Katha Upanishad that describes what yoga is in the early days of the development of this physical, mental and spiritual practice.
Katha Upanishad 3.3 - 4
3 Know the self as a rider in a chariot,
and the body, as simply the chariot.
Know the intellect as the charioteer,
and the mind, as simply the reins.
4 The senses, they say, are the horses,
and the sense objects are the paths around them;
He who is linked to the body (atman), senses,
and mind, the wise proclaim as the one who enjoys.
Katha Upanishad 6.10 - 11
10 When the five perceptions are stilled,
together with the mind,
And not even reason bestirs itself;
they call it the highest state.
11 From distractions a man is then free,
for yoga is the coming-into-being,
as well as the ceasing-to-be.
Image from the Yogic Studies 101 course: An Introduction to the History and Philosophy of Yoga by Seth Powel
Translation by Patrick Olivelle
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/asianstudies/faculty/olivelle