The yogas are active spiritual paths, a way for people to achieve illumination by the Divine Spark within us all. The word yoga literally means “union” and is related to the English words "join" and "yoke". Through yoga, we “unwrap” the Divinity within, thereby allowing our true spiritual natures to shine forth ever brighter. There are numerous types of yoga; here is a short explanation of some of the main ones:
Jnana yoga is the yoga of wisdom and true knowledge.To know Brahman as one's individual Self is Jnana. It looks into the reality about who we are and what we are experiencing and the complete comprehension of this reality carries enlightenment. According to Shankara (c.788-820), everything is fundamentally one divine reality, and
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Refers to a set of physical exercises, that contain stretching and balancing, designed to align your skin, muscles, and bones. The postures are also designed to open the various channels of the body, especially the primary channel, the spine, so that energy can circulate freely.
The main Hindu beliefs are Brahman, Atman, Maya, Karma, Dharma, and Moksha. These primary concepts are still taught today.
The word Brahman means divine reality at the center of things. Brahman itself constitutes the basic building material of all reality, the font of all things. It is the long-lasting experience that all things are in some way holy because they originate from the same sacred fount. It is also the experience that all things are basically one. It says that every seemingly individual reality in the world is, in reality, a wave of the same sacred ocean of energy. There's three words that help define its nature: Brahman is Sat, reality itself; Chit, pure consciousness; and Ananda, bliss.
Atman is sometimes translated as "self", "soul", or "deepest self". Each individual has a soul and the soul presents its own uniqueness and personality. At the deepest level of what you are, there is a divine reality, a divine spirit, that everything shares. The Atman is equal with Brahman, it refers to the experience of the sacred within oneself. It could be said that in this world, a spiritual being, the Atman, has a human experience instead of a human being having a
Over time traditions came together to develop recognizable religious traditions which was eventually known as Hinduism. Hindu’s have many different practices such as Sanatana Dharma, Vedic worship, yoga and many other different rituals. Hindu’s also have many other beliefs and celebrations such as reincarnation, karma, prana, puja, samsara and many more. Hinduism is known for its beliefs, practices and gods and as the years pass by the religion still stands strong to what they believe.
The Hindus call their supreme reality “Brahman,” a God of infinite being, infinite awareness, and infinite bliss. “Utter reality, utter consciousness, and utterly beyond all possibility of frustration is the basic Hindu view of God” (Smith 1991). Hinduism sees their God as an archetype of supremacy with the noblest crown, a parent, loving, merciful, almighty, eternal salvation, and an understanding companion. There is also a distinction between personal (ramanuja) and transpersonal (shankara) notions of God in Hinduism; “God so conceived is called Saguna Brahman, or God-with-attributes or God-without-attributes, Nirguna Brahman” (Smith, 1991). Also, it is important to realize that God’s relation in Hinduism varies on symbolism and what is embraced: the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer who resolves all finite forms of life. They view the world as “God-dependent.” A personalist in Hinduism “will see little religious availability in the idea od a God who is so far removed from our predicaments as to be unaware of our very existence” (Smith, 1991). Were as a transpersonalist sees God serving as a master in their life to guide them through their struggles and becomes possessed by this
Yoga is a comprehensive system of mind/body techniques that is thousands of years old. Its techniques are designed to improve physical and mental health and well being, and include such practices as physical postures and stretching, breathing exercises (pranayama), focused concentration, meditation, visualization, and chanting (mantra) (Desikachar, 1999; van der Kolk, 2014).
This yoga is centered around total “devotion through love” to God. It stresses the expression of this devotion through actions such as dancing, singing, shouting, and the use of objects such candles and incense. In the Islam religion, all these aspects are depicted. Observance of just one service at a Mosque would prove this.
For many people with hectic, stressful lives, relaxation means zoning out in front of the TV at the end of the day or getting some extra sleep at the end of the weekend, but for a certain group of people relaxing does not include this. These people are called yogis; those who achieve relaxation through the art of meditation, breathing, stretching, and finding inner peace. In today’s fast paced society it is hard to find a way to fully relax because people are constantly being forced to push their minds and bodies to the limit, which can result in high levels of stress. Rather than fighting against life’s hardships, people who practice yoga value deep relaxation in order to be free of stress and live each day in peace and harmony
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It has billions of followers not only in India, but all over the world. Hindus have many beliefs and worship many deities. Brahma is said to be the Absolute god, the Universal Being, he is above all and deities are its many forms. There is considered to be a trinity in
Yoga is actually has 8 parts to it, with the physical aspect being just 1. These 8 parts, include yoga dos, yoga don'ts,
Being able to find Atman, this is not a person, but a level of deep consciousness that is within each of us.
To begin with Braham can’t exactly be defined. It is believed to be the truth and reality, Hindus believe that Brahman is the one supreme being; Brahman is absolute and formless and is the universe. Brahman is not a ‘God’ as such but is more like a spirit which is everywhere from India to your cutlery draw at home. Brahman is the unchanging reality among and beyond our world, it upholds and supports everything. Some Hindus relate this power to Atman (themselves) while others disagree.
What is the basic view of the divine in Jnana Yoga, what the goal of Jnana Yoga is, and what practices are used to achieve the goal of Jnana Yoga? Jnana Yoga is the first of four paths to the divine. Huston Smith writes that “while seeking knowledge to become closer to God, it is the hardest because humans will resist the loss of self.” This journey is especially difficult for that reason alone. If I were to ask someone to describe me and match that with what I think about myself, the description would be very different. It is human nature to think good of oneself and bad about other people. Hindu worshipers, aspiring spiritualists who want to use knowledge as a path to God,
Kundalini Yoga- This form of yoga was created to energize the body and calm the mind through movement. The chanting of various mantras, and breathing. The goal is to release the energy that kundalini which is stored at the base of the spine.
Yoga is a discipline both involving physical and mental control that originated in India. The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word, "yug", meaning union and it means the joining of the individual spirit with the universal spirit. The type of yoga known as Hatha Yoga, ("Ha"- sun, "tha"-moon) is what is most commonly practiced and this yoga involves the path of the mind and body and is the most physical. There are eight limbs or steps of Hatha Yoga, the first step being the five Yamas. There are five yamas and these concern your behavior to the world.
Yoga is a practical aid, not a religion. Yoga is an ancient art based on a harmonizing system of development for the body, mind, and spirit. The continued practice of yoga will lead you to a sense of peace and well-being, and also a feeling of being at one with their environment. This is a simple definition.
The benefits of Yoga are endless. It effects the human mind and body in a variety of ways. Roughly 15 million Americans practice yoga, annually there is an expected increase of twenty percent in participants in the United States ("Yoga Statistics"). While Yoga is often thought of as a practice that involves circus like poses and seemingly impossible flexibility; it not. Even bedridden patients can gain benefit from imagining themselves going through the poses and practicing breathing techniques that are appropriate to them (Dickenson 24-25). Yoga is not something that you do at the studio and leave behind. It becomes a way of life; leading to healthier habits, improving psychological health, and encouraging spiritual growth. An article on
My yoga journey started more than ten years ago with an intense and dedicated interest in learning yoga postures from Ashtanga, Hatha, Jivamukti, etc. In the beginning I practised most days of the week and imagined that I would never tire, in spite of long trips to the studio in the early hours of the morning. A pleasant reward was that my blood pressure dropped back to normal and I could stop taking medicines. So, from the start, I knew that yoga could provide health benefits as well as an enormous feeling of wellbeing. No matter how tired and fed-up one felt at the beginning of a session, the mental lift afterwards was deeply satisfying. Meditation, Savasana, or corpse posture, wound up every session so it also became clear that postures or asanas were only part of the remedy. Meditation and yoga practise from the very beginning fired my interest in searching for an inner consciousness. This is an easily misunderstood word and means many different things to many different people. Some will associate it with awareness, or mindfulness