Learn About Yoga Exercises

Yoga Exercises – The Different Types

Yoga is defined as a form of different spiritual paths including beliefs and techniques that helps a person to achieve oneness of mind or with the universe. The West often uses yoga as a form of exercise, to either stay healthy or relieve some kind of stress. It also has supposed medicinal benefits. However the form that is practiced in the west is only one form. There are really four different types, and each type is a path that is believed to lead to spiritual enlightenment. It is up to each person to decide which path they will take, and how far along that path they will travel.

Hatha Yoga is the physical path. Originally it was designed to use physical stimulation so that a person could achieve their goal. Certain body gestures, breathing, postures and internal cleansing were used to help a person to achieve spiritual enlightenment. Today, in the west, the spiritual element of Hatha has been taken out of it. It is practiced and used primarily as a source of exercise. Certain people do use Hatha for their spiritual needs, but overall the majority of Western culture that practices it only uses it for the physical benefits.

Jnana Yoga is the most difficult path. It is called the path of wisdom. It uses mental techniques to transcend the physical plane so that a person can become one with not only themselves, but the universe as well. A basic breakdown of Jnana consists of constantly questions oneself and reflecting on aspects and techniques defined in the Four Pillars of Knowledge. Jnana is an intellectual path, which is what makes it so difficult. It can be stressful and hard to understand for most people. Raja is a similar path to Jnana, but uses the mind, body and spirit to achieve enlightenment.

Tantra Yoga is not exactly a popular form of enlightenment. Fundamentally it goes against everything the other four paths try to teach. It involves self-indulgence to an almost dangerous degree. A person achieves enlightenment through eating large amounts of meat, consuming alcohol and engaging in frequent sex. These techniques were used to achieve enlightenment. The primary focus is to reach a point of pure ecstasy through self-indulgence. It also uses techniques to lead a person along a spiritual path, but these are often not listed when trying to find information on it. While the Tantric path is looked down upon, it is still listed as a path to enlightenment.