Welcome to the Sacred Spiral introduction to Yoga
Over the duration of the course you will learn What Yoga really is as opposed to all the many modern-day interpretations. We give you a good general view, including origins and history, lifestyle, living a ‘spiritual’ life, introduction to Meditation, Contemplation, physical work, Relaxation and breathing exercises. We also look briefly into the many different approaches and styles of Yoga currently active. I trust you will benefit greatly and enjoy the course and be motivated to take up a practice for yourself. What is Yoga? “Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind”. - Patanjali “While the process of yoga may seem complicated, the central theme is one of removing, transcending or setting aside the obstacles, veils or false identities . . . eventually coming to rest in our true nature”- Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati The famous quote in the header from Patanjali’s Yoga sutras gives us almost all we really need to know – stilling the fluctuations of the mind. The first chapter of the Yoga sutras, in particular the first four sutras, give Patanjalis description of what yoga is, elaborating on the first sentence quoted above. Swami Jnaneshvara’s statement indicates that most us have a lot of contemplation and meditation work to do on our-selves! The subject of Yoga can often seem so vast, sprawling and at times seemingly contradictory. Furthermore, in the blink of an eye, unless we are Sanskrit scholars, we can quickly drown in the plethora of foreign terms and concepts the subject of Yoga is riddled with. The history of Yoga has passed through a number of phases that can be traced back to the earliest times of the Vedas (oldest extant sacred texts/knowledge) and the ancient civilisations of the Indus valley in India. (± 5000 – 7000 years) It should be noted that Patanjali was relatively recent at around 200 BCE. Although the whole base concept of Yoga is embedded in the Hindu religion, it is, as a philosophy, essentially a-religious, meaning it stands alone and can be applied by anyone within any creed, culture, sect, religion and so on. Nonetheless, culture and religion play a huge role in just about any society and so, much Hindu ‘colouring’ is frequently present within the greater field of Yoga. Onnthe other hand, especially currently in western countries, ‘Yoga’ has come to mean nothing more than a trendy physical fitness program. Yoga in its most basic Sanskrit translation means ‘union’, ‘to yoke together’. So what is it that needs to be yoked together? The classic answer is our individual self, Jivatman, (personal experience of ourselves) with a greater universal self, known as Atman, the seed of which lies within our own hearts. This is understood to be a process whereby we eventually bring into line and ‘merge’ our consciousness with universal consciousness. There are two central approaches to Yoga - dualist and non-dualist schools of thought. Although it appears to be so, these two streams of thought do not actually oppose each other. One way to think of them is as two different angles of view of the same topic. Swami Jnaneshvara has some excellent advice on this subject: “The Dualist approach to Yoga gives us detailed instructions on how to clear away our clutter so we can find the door. Non-dualist philosophy gives us a sound contemplative base for a deeper understanding of the nature of the door and what lies beyond” One useful definition from Psychology gives us a further handle on non-dualism: “a state of consciousness in which there is no distinction between the subject’s sense of self and the contents of the subject’s awareness”. Spiritual commentator David Loy tells us: “when one realises that the nature of our mind and the Universe are non-dual, one is enlightened” Dualist Yoga philosophy is generally based in Patanjali and his famous ‘Yoga Sutras’, and so the whole Astanga system can be seen as a Dualist Yoga form. Non-dualism has broader roots and is expounded in the ancient system of knowledge – Vedanta, a sister stream of knowledge as old as yoga and with the same Vedic roots. Dualist philosophy starts from the premise that there is an inherent split between object and observer, (without that split intellectual reasoning would be impossible) and our efforts need to be directed to regaining oneness. This is really a matter of understanding the relative nature of perception. The last three limbs of Patanjalis Astanga system are Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (union). When practiced correctly Dharana gives rise to Dhyana and Dhyana gives rise to Samadhi. These three arms then, are simply different grades of one and the same thing. The combined action of the three limbs is called Samyama. Concentration is an effort by the practitioner to gain one pointed focus (ekagrata). The mind is quiet and stable without flitting from topic to topic. Meditation is a deepening and sustaining of concentration for an extended period. Meditation comes to include an awareness of a triune of conditions. We are aware of the object of our focus (pratyata), the process of perceiving (pragna) and ourselves as the perceiver. These three elements are initially seen to be separate but as our Meditation deepens, this sense of separateness dissolves and unity is achieved in the final stage – Samadhi. Samyama is used as a tool to realise the true nature of self. As a process it is turned inwards towards our deeper layers of awareness like shining a torch. Insight and knowledge arise as a result. Samyama then is seen as the ultimate tool with which to achieve Yoga. When Yoga is understood this way, it becomes clear how it can be said that, say for example a great concert pianist is in a state of Samadhi while in the depths of a performance. To him or her, the music, the player, the instrument and the audience, are all absorbed in a condition of consciousness that can rightfully be termed Samadhi. Perceptive boundaries and time seem to have no more relevance. Individual thought and sense of self are all temporarily merged in the greater experience. Maha Samadhi is the conscious departure at passing over of a realised Yogi. Sahaj Samadhi is the continuous, effortless, transcendent state of a Yogi living from silence (Kaivalya). There are many other forms of Samadhi as well. Some schools list as many as 18 different Samadhis. So is Samadhi Yoga? When Samyama is used as a tool pointed at Atman, and when the fruit of that effort arises in Samadhi, then that state of consciousness is Yoga. Patanjali sites a further condition in chapter 4 of his Yoga sutras – Kaivalya pada, final liberation. In Kaivalya, the self-realised Yogi enters into what could be termed a permanent condition of Samadhi and thereby the cycle of reincarnation is said to cease – hence final liberation. A synonym for the term Kaivalya is Moksha (liberation). In a fascinating statement, Patanjali says that once the Yogi comes to know (through Samyama) that the Purusha, the supreme entity (within us all), is different from our intellect, then yogic self-inquiry comes to an end! This threshold of experience is Kaivalya. Further, Patanjali maintains that the primary goal of being human is to aim for Kaivalya through Samadhi and to attain liberation he should undertake the investigation of selfexistence. Perhaps no discussion of what Yoga is, even a brief one such as this, should exclude the fabled ‘siddhis’. The siddhis are so-called extra-sensory phenomena such as clairvoyance, out of body travel, healing ability and many other sorts of miraculous abilities. The siddhis are said to be a trap if we are not careful. Patanjali, as well as all other great spiritual figures, warn against taking up Yoga practice with the goal of attaining the siddhis in mind. This state of intention leads us astray into compelling pathways that usually feed a sense of personal ego and do not eventually arrive at a true state of Yoga which transcends the small personal self. Extra sensory perceptions and abilities are a by-product of concentration and meditation training and to ever find the gift of these qualities without a solid base of wisdom and maturity within our-selves is to usually find great spiritual difficulty instead. To sum up, it can be said that ‘Yoga’ is that state of awareness where a practitioner has used the state of Samadhi in terms of Atman (universal self) and Jivatman (personal self) to choose to align with universal awareness instead of the personal self. It goes without saying that intellectually knowing this is not what is meant. As the old adage goes: knowing the recipe of a good soup is incomparable to actually drinking, tasting and experiencing the delicious soup. In its broader sense, its many further branches, forms and facets, dual and non-dual approaches, techniques and wise injunctions, the field of Yoga gives us information and a chance at practical knowledge of the entire path of self-realisation and how to proceed on it. Yoga in the modern context So far I have introduced what is the heart Yoga, namely the knowledge of how to use the technique of Samyama to attain self-realisation. In the next section I want to clear up some of the confusion that arises from the many styles, forms, aspects and schools in current circulation. Although from a macro perspective, Yoga is simply one thing, namely a philosophy and technique to get to the core of the mystery of being human, within this field there are many approaches to this goal and at times, seemingly opposing interpretations on how to go about reaching it. Main Approaches Some of the common approaches include: Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Laya Yoga, Karma Yoga and Kundalini Yoga. We will look at each in turn in a little more detail. Raja Yoga. Raja means ‘royal’ in Sanskrit and thus ‘royal union’. Raja Yoga, also known as ‘classical Yoga’ (Astanga Yoga) is principally concerned with the techniques of Meditation (Dhyana), specifically to gain insight into the nature of reality and to finally achieve liberation (moksha) The definitive description of Raja Yoga is usually attributed to Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. Interestingly however, Patanjali does not actually use the term Raja but rather ‘Kriya’. This can be confusing especially since Kriya is usually taken to mean 'cleansing techniques and practices'. To clear up this point we can think of Raja as referring to the mind, and so the yoga of controlling the mind through meditation. Patanjalis first sutra states that “yoga limits the oscillations of the mind” and so we see he is actually referring to Raja Yoga. By using the term Kriya, Patanjali is referring to ‘cleansing’ or clearing away the obstacles to self-realisation. A further point that should be noted is that the ‘Hatha Yoga Pradipika’ of Svatmarama, one of the cornerstone texts of Hatha Yoga, uses the term Raja in a number of places. No issue will arise if we remember Yoga is really just one subject with a number of different approaches. Hatha Yoga. The word Hatha comprises the two syllables Ha and Tha, meaning sun and moon. This is read as the two polarities, male and female. Thus Yoga is the yoga of balancing and unifying of masculine and feminine energy within our body, soul and spirit. The purpose of this balancing is to reach a specific state of awareness - the sight of the soul, the unity of Jivatman and Atman Another interpretation of Hatha is to force or push against the grain. The implication here is that great effort is needed (often translated as asceticism) to attain Yoga (self-realisation) The core practice of Hatha yoga is sometimes interpreted as Mudras (seals) and Bhandas (locks), Shatkarmas and Shatkriya (internal cleansing techniques) along with Pranayama (breath control) and Asana (posture) Others have interpreted the core practice of Hatha as Asana with little more than a passing acknowledgment to the greater Yoga context. These schools usually say that all the Yoga principles can be applied to asana practice and the body as temple of our soul becomes the vehicle. My sense is that should we as practitioners wish to attain a genuine Yoga state of awareness, we need to be using the tool of Samyama pointed to Atman. The other practices and methodologies support this endeavour and roles should not be switched around. Asana, Diet, Meditation, Pranayam, Kriya, Kundalini, Laya and Bhakti as well as all other techniques, are those supporting approaches. To take any of these in themselves as being Yoga is a mistake. Terminology can be very confusing, so this point can never be emphasised enough. Jnana Yoga. This is the Yoga of knowledge and wisdom. Not surprisingly, the emphasis here is on withdrawing the mind (Pratyahara) and emotions from what is perceived to be illusion and so bringing oneself into alignment with the ultimate spirit - Atman. It is within Jnana yoga that the famous saying neti-neti is found – not this not that. The idea here is epitomised in Buddhist Vipasana technique, where, in Meditation, if a perception arises based in the senses, one remarks to oneself neti-neti. Bhakti Yoga. This is the Yoga of devotion. The so-called easy path of Yoga for the common person since it does not involve difficult techniques and practices. The Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Puranas are important scriptures that expound on Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti signifies an attitude of devotion to a personalised god that is akin to human relationships. Bhakti includes elements such as listening to scriptural stories of Krishna, praise and ecstatic singing, rendering service, worshiping an image, paying dues, friendship and surrender of the self. The boundaries between Hindu religion, Indian culture and Yoga philosophy may become a little blurred when considering Bhakti Yoga. Laya Yoga is the Yoga of ‘absorption’. Classically, all practices and techniques aim to merge into the heart (Anahata Chakra). Laya Yoga involves Hatha yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Raja Yoga. Karma Yoga, based mainly in the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga of action, is primarily concerned with cause and effect and the neutralising of karmic tendency. This quote on Karma Yoga from Wikipedia gives us a great summary: “. . .{Karma Yoga} is described as a way of acting, thinking and willing, by which one orients oneself towards realisation, by acting in accordance with one’s duty (Dharma) without consideration of personal self-centred desires, likes and dislikes. One acts without being attached to the fruits of ones deeds”. Kundalini Yoga is concerned with the raising of the so-called serpent energy, the primal energy of creation, within the body. Kundalini includes Asana, active and passive Kriyas, Pranayama, Meditations and more. Swami Sivananda has said that Kundalini Yoga is practiced to attain bliss, opening the heart, developing power, serving others, gaining self-realisation and ultimately liberation by merging our awareness in god-consciousness. Yogi Bhajan is probably the most popular modern day exponent with his modern school of ’Kundalini Yoga’ Schools and Styles Currently, literally thousands of Yoga schools have sprung into existence worldwide to cater to the burgeoning popularity. Given the inherently broad diversity of the subject, this plethora of organisations, many affiliated to larger bodies for political and economic leverage, vary in approach in equally as much range and diversity. Another direct result of 'modern Yoga' in western society, is the ranking idea of the top ten or so Yoga schools. Typically judged by popularity, they have something of a monopoly in the world of Yoga. While there are a multitude of schools, a number of differing ‘styles’ have also evolved, and so any given school will usually adopt one main style that it then represents. We can very roughly divide up the styles (and therefore the schools) into those that are socalled Asana based and those that are Meditation based. There are also schools that focus predominantly on Mantra and philosophy. The Asana based styles are probably the most popular with the ‘exercise’ element being most understandable to the average western psyche. These styles have in the main grown out of what can be loosely termed ‘Hatha Yoga’ Interestingly enough one of the central ancient sacred texts of Hatha, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika of Svatmaram, although mentioning 84 Asanas, lists a mere 15 as being of importance, and mainly focuses on Meditation techniques to balance the Ida, Pingala and Sushumna nadis (central energy channels) in the body. A Quick Guide to popular styles Hatha Yoga: poses are held longer and while sun salutations and activated sequences may be included, generally not a Vinyasa style (flow yoga sequences). Some more orthodox schools focus mainly on Mudra, Bandha, Kriya and Pranayama. Mani Finger was a great exponent of Hatha. B.K.S Iyengar took Hatha a step further in terms of Asana and lists over 200 Asanas, many extremely difficult to perform, in his book ‘Light on Yoga’. Astanga Vinyasa Pattabhi Jois, who studied with the same teacher as Iyengar, is probably originally responsible for the currently popular ‘Flow’ (Vinyasa) style – breath and movement synchronisation. This method sequences a set of given Asanas into a ‘flow’. The postures are not held for a long duration as in Iyengar, but once again some sets require considerable Yogic body conditioning to achieve and therefore make the practice rigorous. Bikram Yoga, developed by Bikram Choudhury, is a Vinyasa style Yoga that further employs the concept of a heated room (37 - 39°) supposedly to assist in achieving the Asana more easily while promoting de-tox in the body sauna style. Perhaps it should be considered here that while natural temperature and humidity in many parts of India may be high, this is not the day to day norm in many other parts of the world. Hot Yoga is an offshoot of Bikram but not affiliated. Sivananda Yoga developed by Swami Sivanada is a balanced form of Yoga comprising Asana, Pranyama, Diet and positive thinking. Integral Yoga Introduced by Swami Satchitananda is similar to Sivananda but includes Mantra chanting and Meditation. Kundalini Yoga is Sheik Yogi Bhajans re-invention and revolves around co-ordinating breath and movement, Asana and chanting throughout the class. The stated goal as the name suggest is to raise Kundalini in the practitioner’s physical/etheric body. We could probably reduce the Asana based styles to three main elements: Long holds with deep stretches and deepening breath control (Hatha) Faster paced Asana sequences – Vinyasa Heated rooms – usually Vinyasa approach Other noteworthy styles include: Viniyoga Jivamukhti Yoga – David Life & Sharon Gannon Bihar centre Restorative Yoga – Judith Lasater Yin Yoga – Paul Grilley Power Yoga – Baron Baptiste Anusara – John Friend Sacred Spiral Yoga – Paul Carlos Many more styles exist. Assignment Re-write a summary of this module in your own words, reproducing its two parts – What is Yoga? And ‘Schools and Styles of Yoga’. Be brief and don’t worry too much to accurately memorize Sanskrit words and phrases, but do aim as if you had to explain the concepts and info to a friend or acquaintance. Remember this information is for yourself and so for your own interest and expansion of knowledge.
Over the duration of the course you will learn What Yoga really is as opposed to all the many modern-day interpretations. We give you a good general view, including origins and history, lifestyle, living a ‘spiritual’ life, introduction to Meditation, Contemplation, physical work, Relaxation and breathing exercises. We also look briefly into the many different approaches and styles of Yoga currently active. I trust you will benefit greatly and enjoy the course and be motivated to take up a practice for yourself. What is Yoga? “Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind”. - Patanjali “While the process of yoga may seem complicated, the central theme is one of removing, transcending or setting aside the obstacles, veils or false identities . . . eventually coming to rest in our true nature”- Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati The famous quote in the header from Patanjali’s Yoga sutras gives us almost all we really need to know – stilling the fluctuations of the mind. The first chapter of the Yoga sutras, in particular the first four sutras, give Patanjalis description of what yoga is, elaborating on the first sentence quoted above. Swami Jnaneshvara’s statement indicates that most us have a lot of contemplation and meditation work to do on our-selves! The subject of Yoga can often seem so vast, sprawling and at times seemingly contradictory. Furthermore, in the blink of an eye, unless we are Sanskrit scholars, we can quickly drown in the plethora of foreign terms and concepts the subject of Yoga is riddled with. The history of Yoga has passed through a number of phases that can be traced back to the earliest times of the Vedas (oldest extant sacred texts/knowledge) and the ancient civilisations of the Indus valley in India. (± 5000 – 7000 years) It should be noted that Patanjali was relatively recent at around 200 BCE. Although the whole base concept of Yoga is embedded in the Hindu religion, it is, as a philosophy, essentially a-religious, meaning it stands alone and can be applied by anyone within any creed, culture, sect, religion and so on. Nonetheless, culture and religion play a huge role in just about any society and so, much Hindu ‘colouring’ is frequently present within the greater field of Yoga. Onnthe other hand, especially currently in western countries, ‘Yoga’ has come to mean nothing more than a trendy physical fitness program. Yoga in its most basic Sanskrit translation means ‘union’, ‘to yoke together’. So what is it that needs to be yoked together? The classic answer is our individual self, Jivatman, (personal experience of ourselves) with a greater universal self, known as Atman, the seed of which lies within our own hearts. This is understood to be a process whereby we eventually bring into line and ‘merge’ our consciousness with universal consciousness. There are two central approaches to Yoga - dualist and non-dualist schools of thought. Although it appears to be so, these two streams of thought do not actually oppose each other. One way to think of them is as two different angles of view of the same topic. Swami Jnaneshvara has some excellent advice on this subject: “The Dualist approach to Yoga gives us detailed instructions on how to clear away our clutter so we can find the door. Non-dualist philosophy gives us a sound contemplative base for a deeper understanding of the nature of the door and what lies beyond” One useful definition from Psychology gives us a further handle on non-dualism: “a state of consciousness in which there is no distinction between the subject’s sense of self and the contents of the subject’s awareness”. Spiritual commentator David Loy tells us: “when one realises that the nature of our mind and the Universe are non-dual, one is enlightened” Dualist Yoga philosophy is generally based in Patanjali and his famous ‘Yoga Sutras’, and so the whole Astanga system can be seen as a Dualist Yoga form. Non-dualism has broader roots and is expounded in the ancient system of knowledge – Vedanta, a sister stream of knowledge as old as yoga and with the same Vedic roots. Dualist philosophy starts from the premise that there is an inherent split between object and observer, (without that split intellectual reasoning would be impossible) and our efforts need to be directed to regaining oneness. This is really a matter of understanding the relative nature of perception. The last three limbs of Patanjalis Astanga system are Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (union). When practiced correctly Dharana gives rise to Dhyana and Dhyana gives rise to Samadhi. These three arms then, are simply different grades of one and the same thing. The combined action of the three limbs is called Samyama. Concentration is an effort by the practitioner to gain one pointed focus (ekagrata). The mind is quiet and stable without flitting from topic to topic. Meditation is a deepening and sustaining of concentration for an extended period. Meditation comes to include an awareness of a triune of conditions. We are aware of the object of our focus (pratyata), the process of perceiving (pragna) and ourselves as the perceiver. These three elements are initially seen to be separate but as our Meditation deepens, this sense of separateness dissolves and unity is achieved in the final stage – Samadhi. Samyama is used as a tool to realise the true nature of self. As a process it is turned inwards towards our deeper layers of awareness like shining a torch. Insight and knowledge arise as a result. Samyama then is seen as the ultimate tool with which to achieve Yoga. When Yoga is understood this way, it becomes clear how it can be said that, say for example a great concert pianist is in a state of Samadhi while in the depths of a performance. To him or her, the music, the player, the instrument and the audience, are all absorbed in a condition of consciousness that can rightfully be termed Samadhi. Perceptive boundaries and time seem to have no more relevance. Individual thought and sense of self are all temporarily merged in the greater experience. Maha Samadhi is the conscious departure at passing over of a realised Yogi. Sahaj Samadhi is the continuous, effortless, transcendent state of a Yogi living from silence (Kaivalya). There are many other forms of Samadhi as well. Some schools list as many as 18 different Samadhis. So is Samadhi Yoga? When Samyama is used as a tool pointed at Atman, and when the fruit of that effort arises in Samadhi, then that state of consciousness is Yoga. Patanjali sites a further condition in chapter 4 of his Yoga sutras – Kaivalya pada, final liberation. In Kaivalya, the self-realised Yogi enters into what could be termed a permanent condition of Samadhi and thereby the cycle of reincarnation is said to cease – hence final liberation. A synonym for the term Kaivalya is Moksha (liberation). In a fascinating statement, Patanjali says that once the Yogi comes to know (through Samyama) that the Purusha, the supreme entity (within us all), is different from our intellect, then yogic self-inquiry comes to an end! This threshold of experience is Kaivalya. Further, Patanjali maintains that the primary goal of being human is to aim for Kaivalya through Samadhi and to attain liberation he should undertake the investigation of selfexistence. Perhaps no discussion of what Yoga is, even a brief one such as this, should exclude the fabled ‘siddhis’. The siddhis are so-called extra-sensory phenomena such as clairvoyance, out of body travel, healing ability and many other sorts of miraculous abilities. The siddhis are said to be a trap if we are not careful. Patanjali, as well as all other great spiritual figures, warn against taking up Yoga practice with the goal of attaining the siddhis in mind. This state of intention leads us astray into compelling pathways that usually feed a sense of personal ego and do not eventually arrive at a true state of Yoga which transcends the small personal self. Extra sensory perceptions and abilities are a by-product of concentration and meditation training and to ever find the gift of these qualities without a solid base of wisdom and maturity within our-selves is to usually find great spiritual difficulty instead. To sum up, it can be said that ‘Yoga’ is that state of awareness where a practitioner has used the state of Samadhi in terms of Atman (universal self) and Jivatman (personal self) to choose to align with universal awareness instead of the personal self. It goes without saying that intellectually knowing this is not what is meant. As the old adage goes: knowing the recipe of a good soup is incomparable to actually drinking, tasting and experiencing the delicious soup. In its broader sense, its many further branches, forms and facets, dual and non-dual approaches, techniques and wise injunctions, the field of Yoga gives us information and a chance at practical knowledge of the entire path of self-realisation and how to proceed on it. Yoga in the modern context So far I have introduced what is the heart Yoga, namely the knowledge of how to use the technique of Samyama to attain self-realisation. In the next section I want to clear up some of the confusion that arises from the many styles, forms, aspects and schools in current circulation. Although from a macro perspective, Yoga is simply one thing, namely a philosophy and technique to get to the core of the mystery of being human, within this field there are many approaches to this goal and at times, seemingly opposing interpretations on how to go about reaching it. Main Approaches Some of the common approaches include: Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Laya Yoga, Karma Yoga and Kundalini Yoga. We will look at each in turn in a little more detail. Raja Yoga. Raja means ‘royal’ in Sanskrit and thus ‘royal union’. Raja Yoga, also known as ‘classical Yoga’ (Astanga Yoga) is principally concerned with the techniques of Meditation (Dhyana), specifically to gain insight into the nature of reality and to finally achieve liberation (moksha) The definitive description of Raja Yoga is usually attributed to Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. Interestingly however, Patanjali does not actually use the term Raja but rather ‘Kriya’. This can be confusing especially since Kriya is usually taken to mean 'cleansing techniques and practices'. To clear up this point we can think of Raja as referring to the mind, and so the yoga of controlling the mind through meditation. Patanjalis first sutra states that “yoga limits the oscillations of the mind” and so we see he is actually referring to Raja Yoga. By using the term Kriya, Patanjali is referring to ‘cleansing’ or clearing away the obstacles to self-realisation. A further point that should be noted is that the ‘Hatha Yoga Pradipika’ of Svatmarama, one of the cornerstone texts of Hatha Yoga, uses the term Raja in a number of places. No issue will arise if we remember Yoga is really just one subject with a number of different approaches. Hatha Yoga. The word Hatha comprises the two syllables Ha and Tha, meaning sun and moon. This is read as the two polarities, male and female. Thus Yoga is the yoga of balancing and unifying of masculine and feminine energy within our body, soul and spirit. The purpose of this balancing is to reach a specific state of awareness - the sight of the soul, the unity of Jivatman and Atman Another interpretation of Hatha is to force or push against the grain. The implication here is that great effort is needed (often translated as asceticism) to attain Yoga (self-realisation) The core practice of Hatha yoga is sometimes interpreted as Mudras (seals) and Bhandas (locks), Shatkarmas and Shatkriya (internal cleansing techniques) along with Pranayama (breath control) and Asana (posture) Others have interpreted the core practice of Hatha as Asana with little more than a passing acknowledgment to the greater Yoga context. These schools usually say that all the Yoga principles can be applied to asana practice and the body as temple of our soul becomes the vehicle. My sense is that should we as practitioners wish to attain a genuine Yoga state of awareness, we need to be using the tool of Samyama pointed to Atman. The other practices and methodologies support this endeavour and roles should not be switched around. Asana, Diet, Meditation, Pranayam, Kriya, Kundalini, Laya and Bhakti as well as all other techniques, are those supporting approaches. To take any of these in themselves as being Yoga is a mistake. Terminology can be very confusing, so this point can never be emphasised enough. Jnana Yoga. This is the Yoga of knowledge and wisdom. Not surprisingly, the emphasis here is on withdrawing the mind (Pratyahara) and emotions from what is perceived to be illusion and so bringing oneself into alignment with the ultimate spirit - Atman. It is within Jnana yoga that the famous saying neti-neti is found – not this not that. The idea here is epitomised in Buddhist Vipasana technique, where, in Meditation, if a perception arises based in the senses, one remarks to oneself neti-neti. Bhakti Yoga. This is the Yoga of devotion. The so-called easy path of Yoga for the common person since it does not involve difficult techniques and practices. The Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Puranas are important scriptures that expound on Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti signifies an attitude of devotion to a personalised god that is akin to human relationships. Bhakti includes elements such as listening to scriptural stories of Krishna, praise and ecstatic singing, rendering service, worshiping an image, paying dues, friendship and surrender of the self. The boundaries between Hindu religion, Indian culture and Yoga philosophy may become a little blurred when considering Bhakti Yoga. Laya Yoga is the Yoga of ‘absorption’. Classically, all practices and techniques aim to merge into the heart (Anahata Chakra). Laya Yoga involves Hatha yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Raja Yoga. Karma Yoga, based mainly in the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga of action, is primarily concerned with cause and effect and the neutralising of karmic tendency. This quote on Karma Yoga from Wikipedia gives us a great summary: “. . .{Karma Yoga} is described as a way of acting, thinking and willing, by which one orients oneself towards realisation, by acting in accordance with one’s duty (Dharma) without consideration of personal self-centred desires, likes and dislikes. One acts without being attached to the fruits of ones deeds”. Kundalini Yoga is concerned with the raising of the so-called serpent energy, the primal energy of creation, within the body. Kundalini includes Asana, active and passive Kriyas, Pranayama, Meditations and more. Swami Sivananda has said that Kundalini Yoga is practiced to attain bliss, opening the heart, developing power, serving others, gaining self-realisation and ultimately liberation by merging our awareness in god-consciousness. Yogi Bhajan is probably the most popular modern day exponent with his modern school of ’Kundalini Yoga’ Schools and Styles Currently, literally thousands of Yoga schools have sprung into existence worldwide to cater to the burgeoning popularity. Given the inherently broad diversity of the subject, this plethora of organisations, many affiliated to larger bodies for political and economic leverage, vary in approach in equally as much range and diversity. Another direct result of 'modern Yoga' in western society, is the ranking idea of the top ten or so Yoga schools. Typically judged by popularity, they have something of a monopoly in the world of Yoga. While there are a multitude of schools, a number of differing ‘styles’ have also evolved, and so any given school will usually adopt one main style that it then represents. We can very roughly divide up the styles (and therefore the schools) into those that are socalled Asana based and those that are Meditation based. There are also schools that focus predominantly on Mantra and philosophy. The Asana based styles are probably the most popular with the ‘exercise’ element being most understandable to the average western psyche. These styles have in the main grown out of what can be loosely termed ‘Hatha Yoga’ Interestingly enough one of the central ancient sacred texts of Hatha, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika of Svatmaram, although mentioning 84 Asanas, lists a mere 15 as being of importance, and mainly focuses on Meditation techniques to balance the Ida, Pingala and Sushumna nadis (central energy channels) in the body. A Quick Guide to popular styles Hatha Yoga: poses are held longer and while sun salutations and activated sequences may be included, generally not a Vinyasa style (flow yoga sequences). Some more orthodox schools focus mainly on Mudra, Bandha, Kriya and Pranayama. Mani Finger was a great exponent of Hatha. B.K.S Iyengar took Hatha a step further in terms of Asana and lists over 200 Asanas, many extremely difficult to perform, in his book ‘Light on Yoga’. Astanga Vinyasa Pattabhi Jois, who studied with the same teacher as Iyengar, is probably originally responsible for the currently popular ‘Flow’ (Vinyasa) style – breath and movement synchronisation. This method sequences a set of given Asanas into a ‘flow’. The postures are not held for a long duration as in Iyengar, but once again some sets require considerable Yogic body conditioning to achieve and therefore make the practice rigorous. Bikram Yoga, developed by Bikram Choudhury, is a Vinyasa style Yoga that further employs the concept of a heated room (37 - 39°) supposedly to assist in achieving the Asana more easily while promoting de-tox in the body sauna style. Perhaps it should be considered here that while natural temperature and humidity in many parts of India may be high, this is not the day to day norm in many other parts of the world. Hot Yoga is an offshoot of Bikram but not affiliated. Sivananda Yoga developed by Swami Sivanada is a balanced form of Yoga comprising Asana, Pranyama, Diet and positive thinking. Integral Yoga Introduced by Swami Satchitananda is similar to Sivananda but includes Mantra chanting and Meditation. Kundalini Yoga is Sheik Yogi Bhajans re-invention and revolves around co-ordinating breath and movement, Asana and chanting throughout the class. The stated goal as the name suggest is to raise Kundalini in the practitioner’s physical/etheric body. We could probably reduce the Asana based styles to three main elements: Long holds with deep stretches and deepening breath control (Hatha) Faster paced Asana sequences – Vinyasa Heated rooms – usually Vinyasa approach Other noteworthy styles include: Viniyoga Jivamukhti Yoga – David Life & Sharon Gannon Bihar centre Restorative Yoga – Judith Lasater Yin Yoga – Paul Grilley Power Yoga – Baron Baptiste Anusara – John Friend Sacred Spiral Yoga – Paul Carlos Many more styles exist. Assignment Re-write a summary of this module in your own words, reproducing its two parts – What is Yoga? And ‘Schools and Styles of Yoga’. Be brief and don’t worry too much to accurately memorize Sanskrit words and phrases, but do aim as if you had to explain the concepts and info to a friend or acquaintance. Remember this information is for yourself and so for your own interest and expansion of knowledge.