Yoga

In essence, Yoga is a set of practices which are consciously done to attain physical and mental disciplines. It invigorates you physically and mentally, raises your level of endurance and strikes a balance between your body and mind.

There are five major branches of Yoga, namely, Raj Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Hatha Yoga.

Raj Yoga focuses on maintaining a harmonious balance between the body and the mind. To attain tranquility and pursue the deeper aspects of yoga, we have to purify our body through self-discipline, rid it of various addictions and integrate it with the mind.

The origin of Karma Yoga dates back to 800 BC. It teaches us to perform actions in union with God, free ourselves from all attachments and maintaining equanimity both in the moments of success and failures. It speaks of serving humanity without any sense of ego. If we perform an action without expecting its fruits, or rather if we dedicate all fruits to God, our action will be a blissful experience. Karma Yoga dates back to 800 BC.

Jnana Yoga concentrates on ‘jnana’ or knowledge. A man can attain knowledge by passing through seven phases such as, study, self-realization, protecting the mind from worldly desire, developing indifference to material objects, developing non-attachment to the world, attaining bliss and the knowledge of truth. Once we fully realize the truth, we attain enlightenment.

However, Jnana Yoga is not an end in itself. It can be suitably combined with other yogic paths such as Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga to get better result in our quest for a spiritual goal.

The origin of Bhakti Yoga dates back to the fifth century BC. It focuses on devotion to and love of God, rather than on the practices of traditional yoga like asana, pranayama or mudra. Bhakti can be cultivated in nine ways - Sravana (Hearing about God), Kirtana (singing the glory of God), Smarana (remembering God’s name), Archana (worshipping God), Vandana (prostration), Dasva (cultivating the attitude of a servant), Sakhya (cultivating the attitude of a friend), Atmanivedana (surrender of the self).

Bhakti Yoga can be truly practiced in our daily life. Singing or chanting the name of God purifies the mind. Love and devotion make us compassionate towards others and free us from the vices like hate, dislike, envy and fear.

Hata Yoga focuses on the purification of the physical body through which we can purify the mind and vital energy. Hatha Yoga emphasizes the importance of asana, controlled breathing and calming of the mind through relaxation and meditation in attaining the balance between the mind and the body. The objective of Hatha Yoga is to make the body sound so the mind can undertake the spiritual journey. However, a lot of people practice Hatha Yoga for its therapeutic value in keeping a number of ailments away.

The benefits of Yoga are numerous. Apart from helping us attain higher spiritual goals, it also frees us from the stress of daily life, adds to our physical stamina, helps to control our impulse, increases power of concentration, increases our level of tolerance, brings mental peace and instills a sense of internal harmony.