Yoga traditions

“Go on doing your duties without expectations,
this impartial attitude towards the duties of life is Yoga.”

The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit “yuj”, which means union. The practice of yoga in all its aspects (physical, mental and spiritual) aims to unite the Self (you! your very self, the original form of you!) with the Supreme Soul or Cosmic Consciousness (Paramatman, the thin matter that pervade everything and everyone in the universe). Which, by the way, are the same thing.

It is called Yogi a practitioner that has reached this state of union and lives in it, feeling happy, conscious, peaceful, in perfect harmony of body, mind and spirit. Such a person has learnt the art of right living and has made it a part of himself or herself.

The true practice of yoga requires a certain grade discipline in both body and mind, since one of the foundation of yoga is self – control: first of the body, then of the thought.
Yoga is not a religion, it is more a lifestyle.

If you are not a religious people, if you practice yoga you can achieve the state of unity: it all depends on you, meaning that it depends from your state of perception and consciuosness. 

If you are a religious person, you can practice yoga and dedicate your practice to your god/gods.
And here we can see one of the meanings of yoga: everyone is accepted. Yoga is for everyone.

The practice of yoga can help to keep the body in healthy condition, to develop the intellect and to improve mental capacity. It can also help correcting disorders in the body and can alleviate depression and anxiety.
Practicing yoga should adapt to the person as much as possible: there are variation for every asana, pranayama can be practiced slowly and adapting to the breath, meditation can be practiced sitting on a chair or a ball if one cannot assume a crossed legged position. I will never stress enough the principle that the practice adapts to you as much as you adapt to the practice.

The four main spiritual paths to reach the state of union we call yoga are:

Karma yoga, the path of selfless service. It means take care of each other, without looking for a reward. As an example: when you where a child you probably where asked from your grannies to clean (the car, the garden, the bookshelf…) receiving money for the work done. Now answer: did you do it for your grannies or did you do it for the money you would eventually receive back? In the first case it would be karma yoga; in the latter, obviously not. It is like when you share the house with other persons; maybe you left in the morning with thousands of dishes to wash in the sink and as you come back, you find everything in perfect order, all washed and put in its place and you wonder “who did that??”. Well, the person who did everything has done his/her karma yoga…unless he/she shows out saying “I did it!! Now thank me!”. It is the exercise of the WILL.

Bhakti yoga, the path of devotion. Devotion to the Lord, to the universal consciousness..it involves the chanting or recitation of mantras, which are usually dedicated to divinities and gurus. It is a purifying practice that can be done also by people that cannot move (elderly people, on wheelchairs and so on). It is the exercise of the EMOTIONS.

Raja yoga, the path of self – restraint. It is a system described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and is based on the total control on Chitta, stillness of mind, achieved by the practice of certain physical and mental exercises. Itis the exercise of the BODY with the pourpose of reaching a higher state of MIND.

Jnana yoga, the path of wisdom. It involves meditation. Whenever you are caught in a certain situation or have a question (on life, or spirituality) you cannot find an answer for, meditate on it. At some point, your inner self will find the solutiom. A fundamental of yoga, which distinguish it from religion, is that you don’t have to forcedly believe in anything you are told, rather, you should analyze it yourself, make your own idea, but most importantly you should meditate on it and at the end, decide by yourself.

The practice of meditation will bring you joy, peacefulness and contentment and should be done everyday, increasing the length of the practice with time. It will eventually lead you to a much more developed state of awareness.

Action, intelligence and spirit should work together in harmony. When your body (action), mind (intelligence) and spirit (the soul) are in balance, you achieve a blissful state of mind.

Yoga is a very ancient practice that was once kept secret, not written nor exposed to public. The knowledge passed from teacher to student by word of mouth. The first books to talk about yoga were the ancient Tantras and then the Vedas; they are very hermetic and difficult books, as most of the meaning is concealed (as the truth is in this reality - covered by the veil of Maya).

With the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, dated more than 2000 years ago, we have a clearer, definitive and comprehensive guide on yoga. These sutras defined the eightfold path and practicing Patanjali, Raja or Asthanga yoga means to follow this eightfold path; this eightfold path does not necessarily belong to any particular yoga practice but is rather an integral part of all yoga styles as it gives insights on ethics, asanas, pranayama and meditation. It is the basics of most of all of the "styles" of yoga we know now. The Patanjali yoga sutras are a guide to bring stillness to the ripples of the mind.

In the sixth century BC, the influence of Buddha brought to the practice of yoga the ideals of meditation, ethics and morality. The philosophy was brought to the west in late 1800 and became what we now know as yoga - for many it just means a beautiful body shape obtained by exercise and I am surprised by how many people associate yoga (an especially tantra) with sex.

Yoga should be studied and practiced in its true form. Uncover the veil of Maya and you will find the meaningfulness of your practice. And maybe more.