YOGA FOR BUSY PEOPLE (1/5)
1. Yoga is a discipline aimed at directing individual consciousness towards a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility.
2. There are six different types of yoga - Rajah, Hatha, Karma, Gnana, Bhakti, and Mantra - which are all pathways to the same goal but lay stress on different methods of reaching it.
3. Rajah yog emphasises mind training but it also calls for bodily exercise; Hatha yog concentrates on a thorough training of the body but it also trains the mind at the same time; Karma yog works through action in this world without concern for the worldly fruits of action, the motive being duty or service to humanity; Gnana yoga emphasises knowledge and true discrimination; Bhakti yog emphasises devotion to a spiritual leader; and Mantra yog emphasises the science of sound vibrations.
4. Hatha yoga is the most widely practised yoga today, where the exercises are smooth and graceful, there is balance and rhythm between tension and relaxation, they do not drain energy but release energy to revitalise the body, and do not aim to build big muscles.
5. Some of the practical objectives of Hatha yoga are -
i) improving physical health to reach a state of perfection
ii) regenerating body tissue to retard ageing process
iii) revitalising body by continually tapping inner reservoir of energy
iv) teaching correct breathing and true relaxation
v) integrating the forces of body and mind to develop one's inner strength.