Varieties of yoga - a description and differences. Kriya Yoga. Bhakti Yoga

One of the cornerstone of man's spiritual needs is to understand the meaning of his existence and the existence of the world. In youth, this process occurs with a burning interest in the surrounding space, the relationships between people, finding oneself, breaking templates. The majority of people, having experienced "childish questions" of comprehending being, are engaged in current affairs, they are building life in the plane "here and now". But for irrepressible personalities the importance of basic questions does not fade with the years. In search of answers, many people turn to ancient practice - yoga.

Unknown sources

The origin of yoga is so ancient that no one can determine the period of its inception to date. For a long time it was believed that its appearance coincides in time with the writing by the philosopher Patanjali of the text "Yoga Sutras," roughly this was in the II century BC. Not so long ago I had to part with this postulate.

Excavations carried out on the territory of Hindustan in the locations of ancient cities, whose age is about 4 thousand years, made it possible to discover ancient drawings on which people are depicted in different poses of yoga. So the origin of the teaching was moved in time for an indefinite period. This fact confirms that yoga is the most ancient philosophical and religious conception of mankind.

What is yoga?

Yoga is a concept so multidimensional that its definitions are as much as teachers. In the general concept, it is defined as the path to the goal, where the goal is to connect with the Creator (the Supreme Reason, God, samadhi, etc.). Teachers appeared at different periods of history, who introduced their own vision of practice and achieved great successes on the way. So there were varieties of yoga. Their number helps each newcomer to find his own way of mastering philosophy, to go through the stages of spiritual growth, to gain physical health and respect for himself and the world.

There are many kinds of yoga, and new species appear, but all of them pursue one goal. To understand which of the practices suits a particular person, it is worth to visit different directions and listen carefully to your feelings. For some people, hatha yoga is the best option, where the harmonization of consciousness takes place through the body. Those who have developed imagination, it will be more useful to have a variety with an intensive course of visualizations or singing of mantras. Teachers and instructors of yoga claim that the main thing on the road to perfection is practice and a bit of theory.

Breathing Yoga

The breathing yoga surprisingly calms the mind, clarifies consciousness, stabilizes the general condition. In the human body there are more than four thousand energy channels. Purify and harmonize the flow of energy through the body in the shortest time helps the complex pranayama - breathing exercises. In addition, correctly performed exercises cure almost all diseases of internal organs, endocrine and hormonal systems. The condition for obtaining the effect is the guidance of an experienced instructor, carefully selected set of exercises, taking into account the individual characteristics of the organism. To harm yoga can be as much as uncontrolled taking of medications.

You can start exercises at any age, with any physical condition, but you need to know your contraindications. For example, for people who have heart problems, pranayama is strictly forbidden with a delay in breathing. One of the relaxing, liberating consciousness, soothing respiratory practices, available to everyone, is the initial course of nidra-yoga. In the course of lessons a person learns to breathe full yogic breathing, including the entire volume of the lungs, gets the skills of concentration, meditation with simultaneous relaxation of the whole organism. Breathing yoga has helped many to get rid of the bad habit of smoking and in record time to get rid of accumulated toxins.

Yoga of liberation

Jivamukti yoga is a new direction that originated in the West. Spouses David Life and Sharon Ganon, after a long journey through India and training in the ashrams of the leading yogis of our time, opened their own yoga direction, adapted for people of the Western mentality. The first schools were opened in 1989, first in New York, and after - throughout America.

The Jivamukti Yoga has five principles, the mastering and fulfillment of which helps to get liberation from the wheel of regeneration, from the deeds committed in previous incarnations. Philosophy helps the practitioner to embark on the path of goodness, love, which contributes to the improvement of karma in the present and, as a result, helps achieve enlightenment bypassing the succession of subsequent incarnations.

In the course of classes, students of a new type of yoga practice asanas, sing mantras, make pranayama. Also lectures on yoga philosophy are taught, meditation classes are conducted, spiritual music is listened to. This direction is the first in the history of Western yoga, which pays attention not so much to the body as to the world view, spiritual practices, it is more concerned with the soul, not with health.

In this version of yoga there are five fundamental principles:

• Ahimsa. Non-violence, harm to yourself, the surrounding world, other people and animals. The principle of nonviolence.
• Bhakti. The realization that the root cause of life is God \ Self-realization \ Samadhi. It is comprehended through chanting of mantras, prayers, practice of asanas for setting up a physical body.
• Dhyana. Concentration \ contemplation \ meditation is the way of connecting with the universe.
• Nada. Development of sound perception through focusing on listening to music, silence, voice.
• Shastra. Studying the theory and philosophy of yoga through literature, Sanskrit singing, mastering knowledge, skills.

The Way of Religious Yoga

Bhakti-yoga is one of the oldest practices. The Hindu tradition considers that this path leads the yogi to enlightenment most quickly and effectively, this is the direct path to God. The word "bhakti" in Sanskrit means "love, devotion." To the gymnastics the doctrine has no relation, this religious current is based on the service of the adept of the Deity.

The basis of practice is the singing of the maha-mantra, a full circle is the repetition of prayer 108 times. Control is carried out with the help of beads of 109 beads, where the bead connecting circle indicates the beginning of the prayer circle. It is enough for beginners to create a prayer of one circle in the morning hours. For yogis that go into practice, meditation must become permanent.

Bhakti Yoga does not require special physical effort, mastering asanas and compulsory practice. Here, another approach is the willingness to serve God faithfully, to fulfill all the basic commandments, such as ahimsa, the study of religious literature, observance of the Vedic rules in everyday life, and the maintenance of health through Ayurveda. At first glance, the path seems simple, but if you carefully analyze the causes of your actions, attitudes to particular events, the habits of modern life, then this path is through overcoming human vices, even if they seem inconspicuous.

Action and veneration

Kriya Yoga helps a person who has embarked on the path of perfection to achieve the realization of spiritual potential by harmonizing internal energies. To achieve the main goal, practical methods are used, consisting of 144 types of activity (kriyas), grouped into five branches:

• Kriya-Hatha Yoga. Includes the practice of asanas, consisting of 18 positions performed in pairs, mudra (hand movement), bandh (muscle locks located in the areas of the main chakras).
• Kriya-kundalini-pranayama. The technique of awakening the flow of energy through the seven chakras of man.
• Kriya-dhyana-yoga. The technique of meditation, cleansing consciousness, increasing concentration, concentration, awakening of super-abilities.
• Kriya-mantra-yoga. The inner singing of mantras, which awakens intuition, intelligence, facilitates the opening of the chakras.
• Kriya-bhakti-yoga. Activities aimed at serving and honoring God.

Kriya Yoga reveals and perfects all five aspects of the human being: the physical, the mental, the intellectual, the vital, the spiritual.

Path of the Masters

Surat-shabd-yoga is one of the most ancient practices. There are two main translations of the name from Sanskrit: "yoga of light-sound flow / vibrations" or "path of masters". There are a lot of rumors and legends about this practice. In direct access there are no practical instructions as to what happens. In ancient books, there are only hints of the existence of this type of yoga.

The basic knowledge was transmitted from the teacher to the student verbally and secretly. It is well known that the main kind of practice in this kind of yoga is inner meditation. In many sacred ancient books one can find an analog of the phrase "In the beginning there was the Word", on these sounds the concentration of the practitioner takes place. Scientists have not so long ago proved that in the universe there is a certain sound, expanding into infinity.

In Surat-Shabtd Yoga, concentration on internal vibrations of light and sound occurs, no external stimuli or concentrators are required for practice. This suggests that this kind of yoga is more suitable for people who have reached certain levels of skill. For this variety of occupations, according to experts, Mandatory presence of the Teacher, dedicated to esoteric knowledge, is required.

The path of knowledge

Jnana yoga, or zhznjana-yoga, is described in ancient books and belongs to the classical types of spiritual practices. The main way to comprehend the truth is the education of the mind, the destruction of the three-dimensional illusions of the existing world through meditations, the study of ancient books, the teachings of enlightened teachers.

This kind of yoga teaches us to comprehend the world through observation, reflection and to check one truth of the other, and also gives an understanding that the truth is only that which the individual has realized himself. Jnana Yoga teaches the adept to doubt the visible world, in his own observations and conclusions, fosters the desire to compare every step and every knowledge with the fundamental principles of the universe.

freedom of choice

Yoga is the way to a lifetime. The road is mastered only by the one who follows it, and what way to comprehend the truth can be solved only by starting to practice. Do not forget that Orthodoxy, the traditional spiritual practice for Russia, allows you to achieve no less successes in the quest to know the world and its structure.