Yoga is like a giant tree with seven branches; each branch has its own unique character, but each is also part of the same tree. With so many different paths, you're sure to find one that 's right for your personality, lifestyle, and goals to fit your journey. A tree is strong and has roots deep in its foundation. Yoga is rooted deeply into its foundations of truth and structure of life. It has a great deal of knowledge within itself and allows us to be restored inside and out.
THESE ARE THE SEVEN PRINCIPAL BRANCHES OF YOGA:
*Bhaki (bhuk-tee) Yoga: The Yoga of devotion
*Hatha (haht-ha) Yoga: The Yoga of physical discipline
*Jnana (gyah-nah) Yoga: The Yoga of wisdom
*Karma (kahr-mah) Yoga: The Yoga of self-transcending action
*Mantra (mahn-trah) Yoga: The Yoga of potent sound
*Raja (rah-jah) Yoga: The Royal Yoga
*Guru (goo-roo) Yoga: The Yoga of dedication to a Yoga master
Bhakti Yoga: The Yoga of devotion
Bahkti Yoga practitioners believe that a supreme being (the Divine) transcends their lives, and they feel moved to connect or even completely merger with that supreme being through acts of devotion. Bhakti Yoga includes such practices as making flower offerings, singing hymns of praise, and thinking about the Divine (God).
Hatha Yoga: The Yoga of physical discipline
All branches of Yoga seek to achieve the same final goal and that is enlightenment. Hatha Yoga approaches this goal through the body rather than through the mind or the emotions. Hatha Yoga specialist believe that unless they properly purify and prepare their bodies, the higher stages of meditation and beyond are virtually impossible to achieve-such an attempt would be like trying to climb the highest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest. Hatha Yoga is very much more than posture practice, which is so popular today. Like every form of authentic Yoga, it's a spiritual path.
Jnana Yoga: The Yoga of wisdom
Jnana Yoga teaches the ideal of non division-that reality is singular, and your perception of countless distinct phenomena is a basic misconception. What about the seat that you're sitting on? Isn't that real? What about the light that strikes your retina? Isn't that real? Jnana Yoga masters answer to these questions by saying that all these things are real at your present level of consciousness, but they aren't ultimately real as separate or distinct things. Upon enlightenment, everything melts into one, and you become one with the immortal spirit.
Karma Yoga: The Yoga of self-transcending action
Karma Yoga's most important principle is to act unselfishly, without attachment, and with integrity. Karma Yoga specialist believe that all actions, whether bodily, vocal, or mental, have far-reaching consequences for which they must assume full responsibility.
Karma-literally means action
Mantra Yoga: The Yoga of potent sound
Mantra Yoga makes use of sound to harmonize the body and focus the mind. Mantras meaning a syllable, work or phrase. Traditionally, a person receives a mantra from the teacher in the context of a formal initiation and kept a secret. In the Western world teachers feel that this is not necessary. You can use any word such as: peace, love or happiness.
Raja Yoga: The Royal Yoga
Raja Yoga means "Royal Yoga" and is also known as Classical Yoga. Yoga students may refer to the eightfold path laid down in the Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali, the standard work of Raja Yoga.
The eight limbs of the prominent traditional approach, designed to lead to enlightenment or liberation, are as follows:
Yama (yah-mah): Moral discipline
Niyama (nee-yah-mah): Self-restraint, consisting of the five practices of purity, contentment, austerity, self-study, and devotion
Asana (ad-sah-nah): Posture, which serves two basic purposes: meditation and health
Pranayama (prah-nah-yah-mah): Breath control, which raises and balances your mental energy, boosting your health and mental concentration.
Pratyahara (prah-tyah-hah-rah): Sensory inhibition-preparing your mind for meditation
Dharana (dhah-rah-nah): Concentration-mental focus
Dhyana (dhee-yah-nah): Meditation
Samadhi (sah-mah-dhee): Ecstasy, or the experience in which you become inwardly one
Guru Yoga: The Yoga of dedication to a master
In Guru Yoga, your teacher is the main focus of spiritual practice. Such a teacher is expected to be enlightened or at least closet to being enlightened.
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