THE TREE OF YOGA

Yoga is frequently likened to a tree. Akin to a tree, it is a living, vibrant system, comprised of many branches and limbs. Akin to a tree, it sprouts new growths as it develops and evolves over time. Each of these branches and limbs has its individual name, as well as its own subsystems with their unique names. It is for this reason that yoga can sometimes seem confusing. Anyone interested in yoga soon comes to realize the myriad diversity of these systems of yoga—hatha yoga, power yoga, kundalini yoga, tantric yoga, and Iyengar yoga are just a few of the more frequently encountered terms. Understanding that yoga has developed over a 5,000-year period and has extended its reach into many cultures and belief systems can help explain why there are so many approaches to yoga. It is important to realize, however, that as a tree, all the branches and limbs of yoga developed from one initial seed: the goal of liberating the self through the union of body, mind, and soul.

Virtually each system of yoga represents a path of inquiry that unfolded from a single starting point: responding to the question, “Who am I?” Each of the systems of yoga represents a particular approach to realizing self-understanding and liberation. None of the systems is superior or inferior to any other. Each system or approach merely emphasizes certain aspects of yoga as the path to liberation. These systems do not have to be viewed as mutually exclusive. Each system offers valuable insight.We have arrived at an exciting time in the development of yoga. As practiced in India for millennia, yoga has frequently entailed detailed study of a particular path of yoga under the tutelage of a venerated teacher, or guru. As the tree of yoga is becoming embraced in the West, it, in turn, is being influenced by and benefiting from the uniquely individual and creative input from the haracteristically Western style of thinking. By understanding what each system of yoga teaches and emphasizes, each individual can decide for himself which elements are most appropriate to his needs. He can then create a uniquely personal practice by drawing selectively from the best elements of yoga.Those men who prefer a more methodical,organized approach are also free to follow the teachings of a particular school or teacher in the time-honored tradition of guru study. Your practice of yoga will be your own personal decision. The following outline of the major branches and limbs of yoga will help demystify the many diverse names you may have heard for systems of yoga. It will help you to get a bird’s eye view of the overall organizational system of yoga without becoming overwhelmed in the intricacies of the details of each. You can then choose, through the remaining chapters in this book, to learn more about a particular style of yoga or practice. Throughout this book,you will also find a wealth of resource information to help you learn more about a particular approach to yoga you might like to explore further.

The Branches of Yoga

While yoga is a diverse system of practice comprised of many approaches to self realization,

many authorities on yoga concur that there are four major branches of yoga that

over time have served as a point of origin for developing a practice of yoga. In addition to

these four branches, there are several other systems of yoga that have gained widespread

interest and attention in building a yoga practice. These might be considered offshoots, or

mini-branches, of the main four branches of yoga. The following descriptions will help you

understand the four main branches of yoga, with some of their most important offshoots.

The Four Major Branches of Yoga

As most commonly presented, the four major branches of yoga are bhakti yoga, jnana

yoga, karma yoga, and raja yoga. Understanding the nature of each can help you incorporate

yoga into your life in the most meaningful way.

Bhakti Yoga: The Yoga of Devotion

Bhakti literally means “devotion” in Sanskrit. Bhakti yoga is known as the yoga of

devotion. Following the path of bhakti yoga requires one to surrender oneself completely to

a force or power greater than oneself. That power might be a deity, saint, revered teacher, or

a quality, such as love. Through the force of opening one’s heart with undivided love and

devotion to this higher force, one enters the grace of self-realization. Faith, grace, and love

are the hallmarks of bhakti yoga. Mahatama Ghandi and the Dalai Lama, with their open

hearts and unswerving devotion to serve, are excellent examples of a bhakta, the term that

describes a practitioner of bhakti yoga.

Jnana Yoga: The Yoga of Knowledge

Jnana literally means “wisdom” or “knowledge” in Sanskrit. Jnana yoga is known as the

yoga of wisdom. Of all the branches of yoga, this path requires the greatest concentration of

mental activity. Jnanins (“knowers”), or practitioners of jnana yoga, seek enlightenment

The Tree of Yoga

through the power of mental discrimination and inquiry—learning to differentiate the real

from the unreal, and the limited personal self from the unlimited infinite self that is the

source of all being. Meditation is the most powerful tool used in the practice of jnana yoga.

Karma Yoga: The Yoga of Action

Karma literally means “action” or “cause” in Sanskrit. Karma yoga is known as the yoga

of action. Following the path of karma yoga involves seeking liberation through one’s actions

in the world. Devoting selfless service to others and practicing one’s tasks in life—

professional, familial, and otherwise—with perfect awareness and mindfulness without regard

for success or failure permits the practitioner of karma yoga to achieve enlightenment and

self-liberation. Through karma yoga, even simple and routine tasks such as driving a car or

mowing the lawn can be acts of yoga practice if they are offered selflessly and to benefit

others in an act of service. Many people associate yoga with asceticism and withdrawal from

the external world and the company of others. Karma yoga offers those who are interested

in pursuing its path a way of practicing yoga actively in the world.

Raja Yoga: The Royal Yoga

Raja means “royal” in Sanskrit. Raja yoga is known as the royal road to yoga, or the

yoga of enlightenment. Of all the branches of yoga, raja yoga is probably the best-known

approach to yoga in the West. The practitioner of raja yoga follows a carefully prescribed

path composed of eight practices, or limbs, known as ashtanga (“eight limbs”), to achieve

self-realization. These limbs include many of the best-known and most frequently engaged

yoga practices, including physical postures, breath control, and concentration. (These practices

will be described in much greater detail in the chapters that follow.) Raja yoga is

sometimes referred to as classical yoga because the practices that comprise it are detailed in

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, one of the earliest extant texts on the practice of yoga.

The four major branches of yoga form the overall umbrella under which all other yoga

practices are subdivided. Each branch, however, need not be considered mutually exclusive.

Some practices, such as meditation, are common to more than one branch of yoga. A

follower of yoga can also engage in practices from more than one branch—a man can open

the heart through bhakti yoga, engage the world mindfully and dutifully through karma

yoga, seek mental discernment through jnana yoga, and engage in the liberating practices

of raja yoga all at the same time. In fact, a devotee who follows the teachings of all the

branches of yoga will find in yoga a nearly perfect system leading to right living, thinking,

and self-realization.

The Eight Limbs of Yoga

Raja yoga is frequently described as the scientific path to yoga. This is because it lays

out in a very clear, simple, and systematic way a series of steps that a practitioner of yoga

can follow to achieve enlightenment. These steps, which are detailed in Patanjali’s Yoga

Sutras, form a sort of ladder, each practice building sequentially on the practice that precedes

it. The eight limbs, or rungs, of raja yoga, presented from the first to the eighth are as