Several seals discovered at Indus Valley Civilization sites depict figures in a yoga or meditation like posture. There is considerable evidence to support the idea that the images show “a form of ritual discipline, suggesting a precursor of yoga” according to archaeologist Gregory Possehl.

He points to sixteen other specific “yogi glyptics” in the corpus of Mature Harappan artifacts as pointing to Harappan devotion to “ritual discipline and concentration.” These images show that the yoga pose “may have been used by deities and humans alike.” Possehl suggests that yoga goes back to the Indus Valley Civilization.