Yoga is So Much More than Stretching

Namaste,
I have enjoyed sharing here recently the richness of yoga. If you have been following along, you know that there are many practical ways to incorporate yoga’s gems into your daily life. If you would like to move to the Himalayas and live in a cave to do your practice, you can. You can also choose to pursue your worldly career, raise a family, and engage your community. The ancient Rig Veda states, “That which is, is one; sages call it by many names.” Mahatma Gandhi paraphrased this to “Truth is one, paths are many.” This aphorism points not only to the reality that one universal light shines through all religions, but that yoga encompasses many different ways to find your way to the Divine.
The art and science of yoga reaches far beyond the impressions most Westerners have of it being a series of bendy, physical exercises. Yoga is a systematic body of knowledge and practice that teaches integrated living, while living our highest good, following our deepest joy.
While yoga spans spiritual study, herbal medicine, astrology and more, what we mostly know of it in the Western world is one small branch, called Hatha Yoga, which concentrates on the health and purity of the body. Whether you are doing Kripalu, Ashtanga, Hot Yoga, Power Yoga, Kundalini, or any other kind of yoga in a local yoga studio, you are likely doing some form of Hatha Yoga.
Beyond Hatha Yoga, the various forms of yoga beyond physical asana that I list below may help you glimpse the wisdom and breadth of this ancient and extraordinary life science:
Jnana Yoga is the yoga of knowledge, in which one uses the mind to inquire into its own nature and discern what is real. Those who tend to be cerebral will likely gravitate to this path, appreciating the subtlety of thought and enjoying self-inquiry. The Bhagavad Gita scripture notes, however, that Jnana Yoga is the most difficult path, requiring great strength of will and a grounding in Karma, Bhakti and Raja Yoga.
Bhakti Yoga is the yoga of devotion, in which the yogi is in constant, passionate and reverential remembrance of the divine. On this path, the aspirant sees and serves the sacred in all things. It is the path of unconditional love and includes chanting or singing the praises of the divine. Bhakti is said to be like a tree whose fruits are at its base as well as at its top, because it is easy to experience its sweetness even in early stages on the path.
Mantra Yoga, also known as Japa Yoga, is the repetition of a syllable or group of syllables given to a student by a realized master. The enlightened teacher will have penetrating insight into the individual student’s unique developmental needs. As such, he will imbibe the mantra specifically for the devotee. Mantras have both literal meanings and energetic connotations through the power of sound. Usually in the sacred language of Sanskrit, which is vibrational in nature, mantras provide purification and transformation as they are recited. Imbued with resonant power, mantras empty the mind, while restructuring the aspirant’s entire body-being, to deepen a connection with the divine.
Raja Yoga, literally the yoga of the king, is not simply a practice for royals but a recognition of a potential within us to be far more than our limited ego-mind. Raja Yoga is also associated with the eight-limbed path known as Ashtanga. Ashtanga in this context is a comprehensive system for spiritual growth consisting of restraints, observances, postures, pranayama, withdrawal of the senses, concentration, meditation, and oneness. In its classical sense, as per the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Ashtanga would incorporate all asana practice, from the vigorous to the gentle.
Karma Yoga is the yoga of action. This practice, articulated in the Hindu text the Bhagavad Gita, teaches action without attachment to the fruits of one’s work. Disinterested in personal accolade, the karma yogi acts selflessly in service to the greater whole. This form of action helps to end the cycle of karma, while action with attachment tends to perpetuate it. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna extols Karma Yoga as one of the quickest ways to self realization.
Kriya Yoga in the classical sense is a system codified in Sutra 1 of Book 2 of the Yoga Sutras. It has three aspects: tapas (physical and breathing exercises and austerities that help to remove blocks of all kinds), svadhyaya (self-inquiry), and isvarapranidhana (total willingness to surrender one’s life to the divine).
Nada Yoga is the practice of realizing the divine through sound, while recognizing that the universe itself arises from sound. A Nada yogi understands that the purity of the soul desires to express, speak or sing. This stirs the mind. The mind activates the body in turn, to create sound. The aim of Nada yoga is to realize the essence that shines behind sound. In this tradition, music is seen as a spiritual practice. It is a way for the practitioner to experience the light of pure consciousness that is both contained in, and expressed through, sonic information.
Hatha, Kundalini and Tantra Yoga focus on the physical body as a vehicle for realizing the Self. All consider that there are nadis (energy channels) in the body through which prana (life-force) travels, most importantly three primary channels that run along the spine: the central channel known as the sushumna, and the ida and pingala that cross back and forth around the spinal column.
Hatha Yoga’s focus is on asana, which literally translates to the place where you sit and the posture in which you sit. Asana practice is physical exercise as a means to purify the subtle channels of energy that exist through the body-being. These channels determine disease or health, in mind, body and spirit. Purifying these channels allows for a life of unending bliss. It is understood that the ego and one’s attachments are in the way of this fountain of joy, and as such, clog the ability to tap into true abundance.
Kundalini Yoga is included here with Hatha and Tantra, as all of these practices focus on the purification of energy within the spine so that one may merge with the divine.
Kundalini Yoga, in its classic sense, is also known as laya yoga, the yoga of dissolving the individual into the cosmic. It was influenced by Tantra as well as Shaktism, branches of Hinduism that revere the divine feminine energy as primordial. Kundalini Yoga refers to the kundalini energy, a divine energy that is said to be coiled latent at the base of the spine. It is to be awakened through regular practice of meditation, pranayama, mantra and asana. In the modern sense, Kundalini Yoga is a synthesis of several yoga traditions, including Hatha Yoga techniques, the Kriya Yoga of Patanjali and tantric visualizations and meditations.
Unlike any other path, Tantra Yoga insists that spirit and matter are aspects of one whole. While some yogic traditions encourage students to seek liberation from the body and the world, Tantra sees liberation within the world. For the tantric, the world is an expression of divine play of which one is an integral part. The body is a microcosm of the universe. As such, it is a powerful vehicle for liberation, an alchemical crucible in which spiritual transformation can occur. Tantra is sometimes misunderstood to be about sex. However, Tantra as a whole does not support the actual practice of sexual rituals. Only one offshoot of Tantra does, The Left Hand Path, a branch not generally condoned by Tantrism due to its inherent danger of becoming deluded by wanting.
Hatha Yoga, considered an aspect of Tantra, was developed to help support the body’s potential so it could meet the challenges of, and change in concurrence with, spiritual transformation. Spiritual bliss is seen not as a purely mental state, but something that involves the whole body-being. The Hatha yogi therefore undergoes a physiological transmutation from a body of flesh to a body of light, that is both metaphorically and actually baked in the heat of transformation. In this process the yogi is ultimately freed from all notions of separation or desire.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, considered the most popular manual for this path, clearly states: “All means of Hatha are for perfection in Raja-Yoga.” (IV.102) This reminds us that the goal is not the beautification of the body, but the experience of grace through it as an interconnected medium within the whole. Since Hatha Yoga is a body-based practice, its shadow is in becoming overly attached to the physical form and undermining the practice’s very purpose: to transmute dense body matter into the light of eternal grace.
YEM: Yoga as Energy Medicine, the style which I founded and teach, fits most comfortably within the Hatha, Kundalini, Tantric traditions. Not another form of Hatha Yoga like Kripalu or Iyengar, YEM highlights the subtle energy practice that exists within all forms of Hatha yoga. encourages you to move into deep awareness of the vital life-force that is in constant motion throughout your body-being. By contacting this life-force, you can develop a conscious relationship with it so that your yoga pose, and ultimately your life, flower from within and become powerfully effortless.
EXERCISE
No matter where you are or what stage you are at on the spiritual path, you can always do karma yoga. I love the words of Sri Mata Amritanandamayi who says, “‘Does God exist or not?’ is not the relevant question at this time. Ask yourself, ‘Is there suffering in the world or not?’ and ‘How can I remove that suffering — both mine and that of others? What can I do to put an end to it?’”
If you have not already, please take a quick moment to sign and share the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary petition at Parvati.org to support the protection of a crucial ecosystem for the wellbeing of all beings and our entire planet.
Then, look for opportunities to be of service, such as in a hospital or soup kitchen. To be among people who are suffering can be potent spiritual medicine that lessens attachment to the small, egoic self. Whatever your situation, there are people in this world who do not have your health, wealth or comfort. Spend time with them, without any agenda but to serve as best you can.
I would love to hear how this exercise goes for you. Please get in touch in the comments below!
Love yourself.
Love others.
Love our world.
We are one Earth family.
Namaste,
Parvati
