Guest guest Posted August 13, 2002 Report Share Posted August 13, 2002 Sat Nam all! I have a simple question, that probably requires a more complex answer. I've been doing a lot of reading on yoga in general and spirituality. I've finished Christ the Yogi and Autobiography of a Yogi (I thought both were excellent books). I'm going to be reading The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali next. But I'm not quite clear on some things. I know there are different 'styles' of yoga (bhakti, hatha, kundalini, etc). What are the differences of each? In other words, I understand that bhakti yoga is focused on devotion/service to others. I THINK hatha yoga is more focused on the physical body (but don't quote me). I understand kundalini. But I don't know how Tantra or Kriya or the other yoga styles differ from each other. From what I've seen, at least some of them are complimentary to one another. I say this because I know that Brad and some others say that the do some hatha once awhile. Could someone please educate me? Thanks! Christa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 13, 2002 Report Share Posted August 13, 2002 Sat Nam! Here is a brief (very brief) outline of various types of yoga as I have been taught... The 4 main paths of Yoga/how to achieve union with God Bhakti yoga: path of devotion and love. lots of chanting! total surrender to God Karma yoga: yoga through selfless service and right action Hatha yoga: the physical purification of the body and mind so the soul becomes free Jnana yoga: the path of wisdom, inquiry leads to knowing God (neti, neti=not this, not that) And Raja yoga: the royal path of yoga which combines all of the above as outlined in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali I have also heard from some Ashtangis that Patanjali outlined 16 paths of Yoga including the main 4 above. Here are some others I can remember off the top of my head: Laya Yoga: works with energy, united own energy with God's/the Absolute; sometimes considered Kundalini Yoga Nada Yoga: yoga of sound; deep listening Shat Yoga: the cleansing practices/kriyas -- can be found recorded in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika Mantra Yoga or Japa Yoga: repetition of mantra (sometimes part of Nada yoga as well) Tantra Yoga: various practices, most of which center around using the body as a map of the cosmos and invoking union through mudra, mantra, breath, and placement of the hands on various parts of the body Yantra Yoga: visualization, meditation on mandala or mudra More: Kundalini Yoga is considered the mother of all yogas. Gurmukh says it is the umbrella under which all other yogas stand. And of course there are many many different practices/styles of Hatha Yoga. Some people will classify Pranayama as its "own" yoga as well, others will place it with Hatha or just a part of Patanjali's Raja yoga path, one of the 8 limbs. Okay! That's all I can come up with right now! ONG NAMO GURUDEV NAMO elle/ranjit kaur _______________ Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 14, 2002 Report Share Posted August 14, 2002 Who wrote Christ the Yogi and who publishes is? Thank you. Samantha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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