Are There Var­i­ous Types of Yoga? You Bet!

Yes, there are sev­eral types of yoga. Chances are, you are like most peo­ple — only famil­iar with one or two of them. Actu­ally, there are a sev­eral dif­fer­ent forms of yoga; they share many com­mon ele­ments, but each has its own focus. For some, they focus more on the pos­tures and breath­ing exer­cises. For oth­ers, the focus is on the spirituality.

Each of them have their own path, includ­ing their beliefs, prac­tices, and rit­u­als. The “low­est” type of yoga is “Hatha,” which focuses on the phys­i­cal pos­tures and breath­ing exer­cises, and the “high­est” type of yoga, known as “Raja”, or “union by men­tal mas­tery.” There are also some newer” hybrid types of yoga. (Exam­ples of these are “power yoga” and “acu-yoga”.) Some teach­ers also cre­ate their own vari­a­tions.
Let’s take a look at a few of the types of yoga.

Hatha Yoga – Or, Yeah, This Is the Yoga I Was Think­ing Of!

Hatha Yoga is “the yoga of vital­ity” and con­sid­ered to be “The Foun­da­tion” upon which all yoga is based. It is a prepa­ra­tion for the higher forms of yoga. “Ha” means “sun”, “tha” means “moon,” so Hatha means “sun moon”, refer­ring to the pos­i­tive and the neg­a­tive cur­rents within the body. These cur­rents need to be bal­anced and mas­tered, so that the “prana” or vital force can be reg­u­lated, the mind can be cleared, and states of super­con­scious can be experienced.

Bhakti Yoga – Why Is It Con­sid­ered the Yoga of Love?

In Bhakti Yoga, love and devo­tion is the impor­tant thing that is empha­sized. Some Bhakti do not teach the posi­tions and con­trolled med­i­ta­tion. Instead they stress love of God, love of God in man, and to sur­ren­der to the will of God. Some peo­ple enjoy this type of devo­tion and love of God and “God-as-the-world.” Some use exter­nal aids to per­form Bhakti Yoga, as there is no set way.

These exter­nal aids can be pic­tures of saints, chant­ing or singing, using a mantra or a cer­e­mony that is devised to help cre­ate a mood of med­i­ta­tion. Some sing the names of God, or pray. These can help ele­vate con­scious­ness and clear the mind, or give the envi­ron­ment energy. Bhakti Yoga is yoga that can be prac­ticed in our daily life, by think­ing of whether we are being lov­ing, com­pas­sion­ate and fair to others.

Karma Yoga – “The Yoga of Self­less Action”

Karma Yoga is a self­less yoga, like what was prac­ticed by Mahatma Gandhi. It is about “work­ing in har­mony with the Power that runs the uni­verse.” If the expe­ri­ences we desire and are pos­si­ble in this nat­ural world, we attract it to our­selves or will be sub­con­sciously pushed toward it.

Mantra Yoga – Being One in Voice

Mantra Yoga includes the rep­e­ti­tion of cer­tain sounds, chants, or mantras. The yogi repeats the mantra con­tin­u­ally, some­times for weeks, months, or years. Some cer­tain syl­la­bles they believe have heal­ing potential.

Other Types Of Yoga – You Mean There Are More?

Yes, there are more types of yoga! These include: Jnana Yoga – the Yoga of Knowl­edge, Raja Yoga – the High­est Form of Yoga, and Laya, Tantra, or Kun­dalini Yoga – which is the yoga that uti­lizes the energy within sexuality.

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