yoga

Yoga is a wholistic spiritual approach to awareness of mind, body and soul. It is very open and accepting of ones own personality and encourages gaining further knowledge about ones self. It is much more than stretching and is not a religion.

There are many types of yoga, these include:

• Mantra Yoga - the repetition of sacred Sanskrit words
  
  
• Bhakti Yoga - developing the ability to experience the oneness of all
  experience
  
  
• Nada Yoga - meditation or realisation through sound
  
  
• Hatha Yoga - developing and detoxing the physical body and focusing the mind
  
  
• Raja Yoga - concentrates on refining human behaviour
  
  
• Karma Yoga - is about action to over come our conditioned negative responses.
  
  
• Jnana Yoga - turning intellectual knowledge into practical wisdom through meditation
  
  
• Kriya Yoga - is about embracing the activity of the mind instead of fighting it to gain realisation

Then there are the traditions (also could be called schools or linages) of yoga which take varying approaches using different combinations of the above, depending on what teachers of that school have been inspired by. The tradition I have been attracted to is that of Satyananda Yoga which has been inspired by Swami Sivananda, Swami Satyananda and Swami Niranjan.

The following is from the Satyananda website...

Satyananda Yoga is an internationally renowned system of yoga that is firmly grounded in tradition and adapted to suit the needs of contemporary living.

It also includes other branches and presents them in a unified package that is flexible enough to be applied according to individual needs. Satyananda Yoga is a systematic, step-by-step approach to yoga, that aims to integrate all aspects of our being.

Satyananda Yoga does not postulate any political or religious beliefs. It provides everybody, regardless of social background, with tools for health, peace of mind and an inspired vision for their lives. It also takes a broader outlook by teaching and encouraging yogic lifestyles, not only for renunciates but also for householders and lay practitioners.

video about yoga

This is an introdutcion about what yoga is including lifestyle, practices, kirtan, chanting. It features Dr Swami Shankardev Saraswati talk at mangrove mountain satyananda yoga reatreat centre near gosford, nsw, australia.

links to useful yoga websites

Satyananda Yoga Australia

Satyananda / Bihar Yoga India

Swami Niranjanananda - Wikipedia Article

Nada Yoga - The Yoga of Sound