What is Yoga

Have you started practicing yoga and would like to know a little bit more about it?

Here it goes.

Yoga is a method to unite the individual self with the Divine, Cosmic or Universal Spirit. Yoga works on the body, mind and spirit through proper exercise, proper breathing, proper relaxation, proper diet and positive thinking and meditation. (Light on the Yoga Stras of Patanjali, B.K.S. Iyengard)

Yoga is more than physical exercise. It incorporates relaxation, breathing and energy components, awareness of the self, physically, metally and spiruality.

Yoga is also considered a science, art, philosophy and physical system with the goal to achieve Samadhi and union with the Divine though its practices.

The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit “Yuj” which means to yoke, join or unite (unite body, mind and soul).

The modern day yoga date from 1700 to present day. As India was invaded by the British Empire, it’s philosophies, ideals, beliefs and religions were revealed to the West and that’s how the Hatha yoga came to be known and its teachings expanded around the world.

Because of the trouble in sitting in meditation for long periods and the energetic way of the Western word, the Hatha based yoga turned into the more adequate perspective of what yoga is today.

Some popular lineages of modern day yoga are Iyengar yoga, Ashtanga vinyasa, Satyananda, and Yin yoga.

There are four paths in the yoga practice and they are as follow:

Karma yoga – the path of selfless service to others through action, the giving of your time and skill to help others without wanting or expecting reward. You should attempt to see the divine in all living beings. If you stay at an ashram for example, as a guest, you are required to dedicate a small amount of your time to the upkeep and running of the ashram.

Bhakti yoga – the yoga of devotion to the Divine, regular prayers, singing, chanting, Japa and celebrations are all Bhakti yoga.

Jnana yoga – is the path of wisdom and intellect through the study of ancient texts, philosophical discussion, intellectual debate and introspection. The person needs to be firmly grounded in the other three disciplines before attempting it.

Raja yoga – is the scientific, step by step approach towards Samadhi. This path contains the first three previous yoga plus Hatha yoga which incorporates the physical aspect of yoga which is more popular nowadays (examples of well known Hatha yoga practices are Iyengar, Ashtanga and Sivananda).

Postures, breathing techniques, purification techniques, mantra and meditation are all parts of modern day Hatha yoga practices.