Hindu tradition in general recognizes three main kinds of Yoga – Jnana yoga: the path of realization and wisdom, Bhakti yoga: the path of love and devotion to a personal God, and Karma yoga: the path of selfless action. Other classifications also exist.
Yoga Exercise Yoga Exercise Patanjali's Yoga is known as Raja–yoga or ‘Royal yoga’. Hatha yoga, which stresses physical control and postures, is widely practiced in the West. Kundalini yoga, especially associated with Tantra, is based on the physiology of the “Subtle body,” according to which seven major centers of psychic energy, called Chakras, are located along the spinal column, with the kundalini, or ‘Coiled–up’ energy in latent form, located at the base of the spine. When the kundalini is activated by yogic methods, it ascends the spine through the main subtle artery of the sushumna, ‘Opening up’ each chakra in turn. When the kundalini reaches the topmost chakra in the brain, samadhi is attained.
Yoga is usually practiced under the guidance of a guru, or spiritual guide. Contemporary systems of yoga, such as those of Sri Aurobindo Ghose and Sri Chinmoy Ghose, stress that spiritual realization can be attained without the withdrawal from the world characteristic of the older traditions.
Surya Namaskar
Surya Namaskar or Sun Salutations is a sequence of Yoga poses. When performed correctly, it aids great amount of Body, good amount of Mind, and optionally, some amount of Spiritual Well Being. This is a pictorial presentation on how to perform Surya Namaskar. Press the hands against each other tightly. The thumbs are together and are made to press into the chest.
Stages Of Yoga
The basic text of the Yoga philosophical school, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (2nd century B.C.), is a systematization of one of these older traditions. Patanjali divides the practice of yoga into eight stages: Yama, or restraint from vice, and Niyama, or observance of purity and virtue, is the moral foundation for practice and removal of the disturbance of uncontrolled desires.
Padmasana Padmasana
Asana, or posture, and Prana Yama, or breath control, calms the physical body, while Pratyahara, or withdrawal of the senses, detaches the mind from the external world. Internal control of consciousness is accomplished in the final three stages: Dharana, or concentration, Dhyana, or meditation, and Samadhi. It is through such practices that Yogis acquire miraculous powers, which must ultimately be renounced to attain the highest state.
In Samadhi the subject–object distinction and one’s sense of an ‘Individual self’ disappears in a state usually described as one of supreme peace, bliss, and illumination. A common feature of different traditions of yoga is one–pointed concentration on a chosen object, whether a part of the body, the breath, a mantra, a diagram, a deity, or an idea.
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