Ayur - Yoga
 Yoga
is a vast collection of spiritual techniques and practices all
aimed at integrating mind, body and spirit and achieving a state
of enlightenment or oneness with the universe. What is normally
thought of as "yoga" in the West is
really Hatha Yoga, one of the many paths of yoga.
These different paths of yoga are very simple
to approach.
Yoga,
being a total integrated system, studies man in his wholeness -
body, mind and spirit and is integrated to certain principles, ideas,
values, attitudes and a way of life for personal and social benefits.
Yoga is not a religion but a spiritual practice or Sadhana,
which does not require any specific belief system to participate.
In
the philosophy of Yoga, all matter in the universe
arises from the fundamental substrate called Prakriti. From this
ethereal Prakriti the three primary gunas (qualities) emerge creating
the essential aspects of all nature—energy, matter and consciousness.
These three gunas are tamas (darkness), rajas (activity), and sattva
(beingness).
What
we commonly call yoga in the west is technically
Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga (ha="sun"
tha="moon") attains the union of mind-body-spirit though
a practice of asana (yoga postures), pranayama
(yoga breathing), mudra (body gestures) and shatkarma
(internal cleansings). These body centered practices are used to
purify the body.
The
body centered practices in yoga is also used to
cultivate prana and activate kundalini, the subtle energies of the
body. Modern Hatha Yoga does not emphasize many
of these esoteric practices and focuses primarily on the yoga
postures. The science of yoga has developed several
techniques which all points to the unification of the mind-body-spirit.
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There are different types
of yoga like
Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Hatha
Yoga, Tantric Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Raja Yoga |
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| Karma Yoga |
: |
the way of right action, serving
without the motivation of obtaining the results of labor. |
| Bhakti Yoga |
: |
the way of devotion, devotion to a supreme
being absorbing the emotions and self in pure love. |
| Jnana Yoga |
: |
the way of knowledge, studying god and learning
to discriminate between illusion and the reality. |
| Hatha Yoga |
: |
the physical path, using the body through
asana and pranayama to control the mind and senses. |
| Tantric Yoga |
: |
the feminine path, worshiping the goddess
energy and seeing the body as the temple of divine. |
| Kundalini Yoga |
: |
the path of energy, arousing the energy stored
in the chakras through breathing and movement. |
| Raja Yoga |
: |
the path of meditation, controlling the mind
from wandering and obtaining mastery over thought. |
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The main philosophy
of Yoga
Mind, body and spirit are all
one and cannot be clearly separated. |
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