[Yoga For Life] Types of Yoga
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Yoga For Life
Dec 1, 2008, 8:02:06 PM12/1/08
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The many different types of yoga can be confusing. Each style or "branch" speaks to different issues, and is designed with specific methods in mind. Here, we discuss the many styles of Yoga.
Hatha yoga is one of six branches; the others include raja, karma, bhakti, jnana, and tantra yoga. Hatha is a combination of the two Sanskrit terms "ha" meaning sun and "tha" meaning moon. It is the precursor to Raja Yoga, and is considered a preparatory stage of physical purification leading to higher form of yoga meditation. Hatha Yoga is a holistic discipline and includes moral disciples, physical poses called asanas, different purification rituals breathing practices and meditation. In the West, Hatha yoga is mainly used for physical purposes.
Raja Yoga
Raja means "royal," and meditation is the focal point. This approach involves strict adherence to the eight "limbs" of yoga as put forth by Patanajli in the Yoga Sutras. Raja Yoga follow this order: ethical standards, or yama; self-discipline, or niyama; posture, or asana; breath extension or control, or pranayama; sensory withdrawal, or pratyahara; concentration, or dharana; meditation, or dhyana; and ecstasy or final liberation, called samadhi. Raja yoga is typically followed by religious orders and spiritual communities.
Karma Yoga
Karma yoga, or the path of service, proclaims that none of us can escape this path. The principle of karma yoga is that what we experience today is created by our actions in the past. It is believed that all of our present efforts become a way to consciously create a future that frees us from being bound by negativity and selfishness.
Karma yoga is not a physical effort, but is a lifestyle. When we do service in benefit of others, we are practicing karma yoga. Community volunteering, joining the Peace Corps, or any activity in service to others is considered to be karma yoga.
Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti yoga is the path of devotion, and is considered to be the yoga of the heart. Seeing the divine in all of creation, bhakti yoga is a positive way to channel your emotions. Through bhakti yoga, we are given an opportunity to cultivate acceptance and tolerance for everyone we come into contact with.
Jnana Yoga
Jnana yoga is the yoga of the mind and wisdom, and is the path of the sage or scholar. This branch requires development of the intellect through the study of the scriptures and texts of the yogic tradition. Jnana is considered the most difficult of the branches, but at the same time the most direct. It involves serious study and will appeal to those who are more intellectually inclined.
Tantra Yoga
Tantra yoga, the sixth branch, is the pathway of ritual, which includes consecrated sexuality. To be "consecrated" means to make sacred, or to set apart as something holy.
In tantric practice we seek the Divine in everything we do. A reverential attitude is cultivated, encouraging a ritualistic approach to life. Although tantra has become associated exclusively with sexual ritual, most tantric schools actually recommend a celibate lifestyle.
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Posted By Yoga For Life to Yoga For Life at 11/30/2008 05:18:00 PM
Hatha yoga is one of six branches; the others include raja, karma, bhakti, jnana, and tantra yoga. Hatha is a combination of the two Sanskrit terms "ha" meaning sun and "tha" meaning moon. It is the precursor to Raja Yoga, and is considered a preparatory stage of physical purification leading to higher form of yoga meditation. Hatha Yoga is a holistic discipline and includes moral disciples, physical poses called asanas, different purification rituals breathing practices and meditation. In the West, Hatha yoga is mainly used for physical purposes.
Raja Yoga
Raja means "royal," and meditation is the focal point. This approach involves strict adherence to the eight "limbs" of yoga as put forth by Patanajli in the Yoga Sutras. Raja Yoga follow this order: ethical standards, or yama; self-discipline, or niyama; posture, or asana; breath extension or control, or pranayama; sensory withdrawal, or pratyahara; concentration, or dharana; meditation, or dhyana; and ecstasy or final liberation, called samadhi. Raja yoga is typically followed by religious orders and spiritual communities.
Karma Yoga
Karma yoga, or the path of service, proclaims that none of us can escape this path. The principle of karma yoga is that what we experience today is created by our actions in the past. It is believed that all of our present efforts become a way to consciously create a future that frees us from being bound by negativity and selfishness.
Karma yoga is not a physical effort, but is a lifestyle. When we do service in benefit of others, we are practicing karma yoga. Community volunteering, joining the Peace Corps, or any activity in service to others is considered to be karma yoga.
Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti yoga is the path of devotion, and is considered to be the yoga of the heart. Seeing the divine in all of creation, bhakti yoga is a positive way to channel your emotions. Through bhakti yoga, we are given an opportunity to cultivate acceptance and tolerance for everyone we come into contact with.
Jnana Yoga
Jnana yoga is the yoga of the mind and wisdom, and is the path of the sage or scholar. This branch requires development of the intellect through the study of the scriptures and texts of the yogic tradition. Jnana is considered the most difficult of the branches, but at the same time the most direct. It involves serious study and will appeal to those who are more intellectually inclined.
Tantra Yoga
Tantra yoga, the sixth branch, is the pathway of ritual, which includes consecrated sexuality. To be "consecrated" means to make sacred, or to set apart as something holy.
In tantric practice we seek the Divine in everything we do. A reverential attitude is cultivated, encouraging a ritualistic approach to life. Although tantra has become associated exclusively with sexual ritual, most tantric schools actually recommend a celibate lifestyle.
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Posted By Yoga For Life to Yoga For Life at 11/30/2008 05:18:00 PM
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