Yoga tradition is always inspired by master who is called Guru. Guru is a sanskrit word for dispeller of darkness. Guru is the principle and energy source which brings light to the life of a disciple. Thousands of Yoga Gurus have guided and helped mankind since thousands of years. To recognize the work of every master with their contribution is difficult. But the ultimate Guru is the Parabrahman, the supreme consciousness or eternal consciousness. Various paths leading to the ultimate experience of supreme developed under the guidance and inspiration of many Yoga Gurus who raised their human consciousness to supreme level and helped mankind raise the level of awareness to bring light in their life.
Veda and Tantra became the basic philosophies and systems that gave rise to various schools of thoughts and traditions. Mainly these schools or Darshans include Samkhya, Vedanta, Advaita Vedanta, Vishishthadvaita, Yoga darshan, Buddhism, Jainism, Vaisheshik, Uttar mimamsa, Saivism, Shakta. Many types of Yoga came from this various paths, mainly Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga of Bhagvada Gita, Jnana Yoga, Ashtanga yoga, Hatha Yoga.
But recent history of Yoga traditions can be traced to Patanjali (500 BC), then Adi Shankaracharya (8th century AD), Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath (6 to 8 century AD). The Yoga movement was inspired and guided by many saints and sages during this time.