You’re wrong. All this time you’ve thought Yoga was just about Down Dogs, chanting, pretzel-like poses, and having your soul sucked out through your ears (see De-Mystifying Yoga, Part 1). In truth, the complete practice of Yoga is so much more…and less.
First, there are types of yoga and, within the types, there are styles of yoga. Still confused? I’ll put it in laymen’s terms: Think of the full spectrum of Yoga being your computer desktop, the different types of yoga being your Programs, and the styles of yoga being the files you use inside those Programs. Hatha, the first type of yoga we’re going to discuss would be a program like your Microsoft Word or Excel. Hatha gets the most attention because it’s the one that is the most practiced and practical for people today. For Americans anyway. We love the physical stuff. Sitting still for more than five minutes--except in front of screen or monitor--is about as challenging as balancing an egg on your head. Hatha yoga lets us do what we love--move.
Never done Hatha yoga? Never fear. You’ve probably been practicing one of the other types of yoga and you never even knew it! Types like Jnana, Raja, Bhakti, and Karma.
The one you're probably the most familiar with is Karma Yoga. It’s the concept of “you reap what you sow" or “what goes around comes around”. In other words, if you “pay it forward” by giving the vagrant cleaning your windshield a dollar, letting the frantic mother of the screaming kid jump ahead of you in line at the grocery store, or unstopping the sink of your 90-year-old neighbor, eventually it will come back to you. So play nice.
Jnana Yoga is the practice of gaining knowledge and wisdom. So any high school or college students out there, or any of us who actually take the time to read a book--or read my blog--are practicing Jnana Yoga. Congratulations!
Meditation is at the heart of Raja Yoga. If you pray, sit on the beach and ponder the meaning of life, gaze across the Grand Canyon and wonder at your insignificance, or stare into space will your teacher or boss drones on and on, you are practicing Raja yoga.
You practice Bhakti Yoga every time you kiss your kids goodnight, forgive a friend for hurting your feelings, or smile and wave when another driver cuts you off in rush hour traffic. Bhakti yoga is simply the practice of unconditional love.
There you go. You’ve been practicing Yoga for years and never even knew it. Now we just have to get you on a mat doing the Hatha type and you can call yourself a true Yogi or Yogini (a female yogi).
Tomorrow we delve into the styles of Yoga.
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