Yoga and its wide spectrum

The term yoga is generally used in the west to denote hatha-yoga practices of asanas (postures), sometimes including pranayama (breathing exercises) and dhyana (meditation). Yoga has been much propagated as a stress buster and technique for relaxation, while it is so much more.

The original word
The word yoga itself derives from Sanskrit (root yuj) meaning union or to join. The correct pronunciation is Yõge as in a long o and a complete g, and not Yogah, as commonly done. In the west it is often taken to mean a union between the body and the mind; while it originally signifies the union between the individual self Atman with the universal soul Paramatma or Bramhan, although different terminologies may be used in different texts.

Yoga and Indian philosophy
Yoga is one of the six schools of ancient Indian Hindu philosophy. The other five Darshanas, as they are called, are Samkhya, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa or Vedanta. Yoga has arisen from the epistemology of the Samkhya philosophy, but is more practice oriented. Its primary text is regarded as the Bhagavad Gita (equivalent of the bible for Hindus, though the Hindus have many more sacred texts).

The other major texts establishing the basis for yoga are Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Upanishads, Hatha Yoga Pradapika and many others specifying criteria for mastering a given technique.

Universality of the goals of yoga
While the history of yoga strongly connects it to Hinduism its essence can be found in the spiritual/esoteric practices of all religions and of those who do not consider themselves as being religious. The goal of yoga, enlightenment or liberation (moksha) from the cycle of birth-death-rebirth (samsara) comes from the Hindu tradition. Other goals have been claimed by other cultures, as for example, an increase in wisdom, insight and compassion.

For an average person, who considers him/herself as being far from enlightenment, yoga can offer a way of increasing one’s spiritual awareness, emotional well-being, mental clarity and of course physical health. Given that our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual selves are one integrated whole – ourselves and not disparate beings, it should not be a surprise. An integration of the different aspects of being or a search for the meaning of the self is again a western interpretation of the goal.

Broadly the Yoga system lays down elaborate prescriptions for gradually gaining physical, emotional and mental control and mastery over the "personal self", until one's consciousness has intensified sufficiently to allow for the awareness of one's real/true self (the individual soul, or Atman), as distinct from one's feelings, thoughts and actions. Realization of the goal of Yoga is known variously known as moksha, nirvana, and Samadhi, all speak to the realization of the Atman as being nothing other than the infinite and supreme Brahman.

The four primary divisions of yoga
There are four main branches as specified in the Bhagavad Gita and of late there is a multiplicity of combinations thereof. The four main systems are

1. Karma yoga as the path of selfless work or action in the world
2. Jnana or Buddhi yoga as the path of discernment, knowledge and intellectual endeavour
3. Bhakti yoga as the path of love, devotion or surrender
4. Raja or Dhyana yoga as an eight limbed path of discipline emphasizing meditation.

The eight subdivisions of raja yoga include
1. Yama the five abstentions of violence, untruth, theft, illicit sex and possessiveness.
2. Niyama of the five observances of purity, contentment, austerities, study and surrender to God.
3. Asana means ‘seat’ and originally refered only to seated postures but have come to include the whole gamut.
4. Pranayama the control of vital breath through various breathing exercises
5. Pratyahara a reversal of the sense organs by turning them inwards rather than outwards
6. Dharana concentration or fixing the attention on a single object
7. Dhyana meditation
8. Samadhi super conscious state or trance

Thus we see that asana, which is what Hatha Yoga primarily concerns itself with, is but a small fragment of the enormous content of Yoga.

The multiple divisions of current yoga
Nowadays, one finds several types of yoga depending on the interpretation of the teacher and their lineage as also on the specific techniques being used. They include mantra yoga where sound affirmations or chanting is used, kundalini yoga focusing on the chakras and the energy coiled in them, tantra yoga focusing on the union of masculine and feminine energies, kriya yoga as given by Mahavatar Babaji ~~ Paramhansa Yogananda, integral yoga a combination of the four main schools as given by Sri Aurobindo, nitya yoga, maha yoga, purna yoga, natya yoga, anahata yoga, tibetan yoga, sahaja yoga etc etc. It is an almost never ending list. Also there are countless links to the terms I mentioned here so I choose to give none!