How to Choose Your Yoga Type
Confused About so Many Different Types of Yoga? You are not sure which one is the right for you and which one to choose?… No worries, I got you. Just read on…
Often people are confused about yoga. In the sense that when they start they don’t realize that, there are so many different types of yoga. In fact, as yoga is a living, vibrant system, it is comprised of many branches and limbs. Each of these branches and limbs has its individual name, as well as its own subsystems with their unique names. It is for this reason that yoga can sometimes seem confusing in the beginning.
If you are truly determined to explore the full potential yoga, just like me, you will soon come to realize the vast diversity of these different types of yoga, — hatha yoga, power yoga, jnana yoga, raja yoga, kundalini yoga, tantric yoga, karma yoga, and the list goes on and on and on…
People often think when they start that yoga is just another gymnastic way of stretching and relaxing the body so we can develop lean hips and thin tights. But, as we deep enough we start to understand that as yoga has developed over a 5,000-year ago it has extended its reach into many cultures and belief systems. That can help us realize why there are so many different types of yoga. It is important to understand, however, that, all the branches and limbs of yoga developed only for one unique purpose: The goal of liberating the self through the union of body, mind, and soul or attaining God’s consciousness or Samadhi.
Virtually each yoga type represents the path to self-realization or responding to the eternal inquiry of men king since the beginning of times immemorial. In fact, at the end, if you practice enough yoga will leads you to the answers to all these eternal questions. “Who am I?”, “Why I am here?”, “What is life all about?”, “Why do we suffer?”, “Is there life after death?”, “Is there life in other planets?” “Is there a God?” “If there is a God Does He loves me?” Each of the major systems of yoga represents a particular approach to self-realization, understanding, and the final liberation of your soul. None of the systems is superior or inferior to any other. Each yoga system or approach merely emphasizes certain aspects of yoga as the path to higher awareness and liberation. These systems do not have to be viewed as mutually exclusive. They need one another. Each system offers valuable insight and completes and merges with each other leading you to the final goal of all existence: Infinite bliss.
By understanding what each system of yoga teaches and emphasizes you will be able to decide for yourself which elements are most appropriate to your exact needs, so you can advance spiritually and physically. As you and everybody else, is different and unique, knowing and understanding the different types of yoga, you can create a uniquely personal practice by drawing selectively from the best elements of yoga.
The Major Types of Yoga
So in order to achieve infinite bliss or Samadhi, we need to practice not only Hatha Yoga (or physical yoga) which is actually just a small part of Raja yoga and is so popular here in the west, but we need to understand and follow in our daily life the following major types of Yoga! I recommend to go and read all of them so you can understand yoga as a whole much better.
Gyana Yoga or Jnana Yoga– The Yoga of Wisdom and Discrimination
Bhakti Yoga – The Yoga of Love and Devotion