The word 'Yoga' comes from a Sanskrit root 'Yuj' which means 'to join'. In its spiritual sense, it is the process by which the identity of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul is realized by the Yogi. The human soul is brought into conscious communion with the Divine Reality. Just as camphor melts and becomes one with fire; just as a drop of water when it is thrown into the ocean, becomes one with the ocean; the individual soul, when it is purified, when it is freed from lust, greed, hatred and egoism, when it becomes pure (Sattvic), becomes one with the Supreme Soul. The science that teaches the way of acquiring this occult knowledge is called 'Yoga Sastra'.Yoga is a system of integral education, education not only of the body and the mind or the intellect, but also of the inner spirit. Yoga shows you the right method of rising from evil to good, and from goodness to holiness and then to eternal divine splendour. Yoga is the art of right living. The Yogi who has learned the art of right living is happy, harmonious, peaceful and free from tension.

The word Yoga is also applicable in a secondary sense to all those factors and practices that are conducive to the final achievement or fulfillment of Yoga, and as such indirectly lead to final freedom or perfection. Similarly, though the one who has reached the final Asamprajnata Samadhi or union with Reality is called a Yogi, one who is attempting to get perfection in Yoga is also called a Yogi.

Yoga is that state of Absolute Peace wherein there is neither imagination nor thought. Yoga is control of mind and its modifications. Yoga teaches us how to control the modifications of the mind and attain liberation. It teaches us how to transmute the unregenerate nature and attain the state of Divinity. It is the complete suppression of the tendency of the mind to transform itself into objects, thoughts, etc. Yoga kills all sorts of pain, misery and tribulation. It gives you freedom from the round of births and deaths, with its concomitant evils of disease, old age, etc., and bestows upon you all the Divine Powers and final liberation through super-intuitional knowledge.

Equanimity is Yoga. Serenity is Yoga. Skill in actions is Yoga. Anything by which the best and the highest in life can be attained is also Yoga. Yoga is thus all-embracing, all-inclusive and universal in its application leading to all-round development of body, mind and soul.

Yoga is primarily a way of life, not something which is divorced from life. Yoga is not forsaking of action, but is efficient performance in the right spirit. Yoga is not running away from home and human habitation, but a process of moulding one's attitude to home and society with a new understanding. Yoga is not a turning away from life; it is spiritualization of life.

Yoga is universal:The practice of Yoga is not opposed to any religion.Yoga is not a religion, but an aid to the practice of the basic spiritual truths in all religions. Yoga can be practised by a Christian or a Muslim, a Parsee, a Buddhist, a Sufi or an atheist.

OM:

Brahman or the Supreme Being is the highest of all.Om is His name. So,Om is to be adored.
Om is everything. Om is the symbol of Brahman. It is the word of power. It is the sacred monosyllable. It is the essence of the Vedas. It is the boat to take you to the other chore of earlessness and immortality.
That place where all speech stops, all thoughts cease, where the function of the intellect and all organs stop, is Om. The goal or word which all Vedas praise, which all scriptures proclaim and wishing for which the aspirants lead the life of Brahmacharya is Om. Om is verily the highest. It is The best support. It is the highest Truth. He who knows Om is worshipped in the world of Brahman.He obtains verily whatever he desires.
Om is formed by adoring the letters A,Uand M. ‘A’ represents the beginning of the range of sound. ‘U’ represents the middle. ‘M’ represents the end. Thus Om covers the whole range of sound and words.
Chanting of Om, Japa or silent repetition of Om, singing of Om, meditation on Om, purify the mind, remove the tossing of the mind, destroy the evil of ignorance and help the aspirant to merge in Brahman or the Supreme Self. Om is the bow, mind is the arrow, Brahman or the Supreme Self is its aim.Know this one syllable only. You will know everything. You will attain the highest knowledge.

Sit in Padma ( visit poses page) , Siddha or any comfortable pose. Concentrate on the spot midway between the two eyebrows (Trikuta). Meditate on the significance of the following formulae with Bhava or feeling. Repeat them mentally also:

SAT-CHIT-ANANDA-SVARUPOHAM
I amSat-Chit-Ananda Svarupa OmOmOm
Aham Brahmasmi—I am Brahman OmOmOm
I amAll-pervading consciousness OmOmOm
I amSakshi (silent witness) OmOmOm
Soham, Sivoham: I amHe, I amSiva OmOmOm
I amdistinct from body and mind OmOmOm
I amImmortal. All-pervading Soul OmOmOm

You will soon realise your identity with the Supreme Self and shine in your pristine Brahmic glory.

KARMA YOGA:

Karma Yoga is selfless service unto humanity. “Your duty is to work incessantly but not to expect the fruits thereof.” This is the central teaching of the Gita.
Repeat your Ishtamantra mentally even when you work in office. God is the Inner Ruler. He directs the body, mind and senses to work. Become an instrument in the hands of the Lord. Do not expect thanks or appreciation for your work. Do actions as your duty and offer them and their fruits to the Lord. You will be freed from the bonds of Karma. It is not the Karma but the selfish motive hat binds the man.
Never, never say, “I have helped that man.” Feel and think, “That man gave me an opportunity to serve. This piece of service has helped me to purify my mind. I am extremely grateful to him.” If you see a poor man clad in rags standing in front of your door, feel that the Lord Is before you in the form of a poor man. Serve him with Narayana Bhava.
Never grumble when you do service to others. Take delight in service. Watch for opportunities, to serve. Never miss even a single opportunity. Work is worship of the Lord.
A Karma Yogi should have an amiable, loving, social nature. He should have sympathy, adaptability, self-restraint, tolerance, love and mercy. He should adjust himself to the ways and habits of others. He should be able to bear insult, harsh words, criticism, pleasure and pain, heat and cold.
You can do selfless service according to your ability and station in life. An advocate can plead for poor people without accepting fees.Adoctor can treat the poor free of charge.Ateacher or professor can give free tution to poor boys. He can supply them books for study.
Have a medicine-chest of 12 tissue remedies or some allopathic medicines or homoeopathic medicines. Serve the poor and sick with Atma Bhava. Give one-tenth of your income in charity.
This is the highest Yoga.
Do not make any difference between menial and respectable work. If any one is suffering from acute-pain in any part of the body, at once shampoo the affected part very gently. Feel that you are serving the Lord in the body of the patient. Repeat your Ishtamantra also. If you see a man or animal bleeding on the roadside, never hesitate to tear your upper cloth or shirt and use it for bandaging, in the absence of any other means of bandage. Do not bargain with the poor porters at the railway station. Be liberal and generous. Keep always some small coins in your pocket and distribute them to the poor and the decrepit.Karma Yoga prepares the mind for the reception of light and knowledge. It expands the heart and breaks all barriers that stand in the way of oneness or unity. Karma Yoga is an effective Sadhana for Chitta Suddhi or purity of heart. Therefore, do selfless service constantly.

HATHA YOGA:

Hatha Yoga relates to the restraint of breath (Pranayama), Asanas, Bandhas and Mudras.
‘Ha’ and ‘tha’ mean the union of the sun and the moon, union of Prana and Apana Vayus. ‘Hatha’ means any tenacious practice till the object or end is achieved. Trataka, standing on one leg, (a kind of Tapas) and similar poses are all Hatha Yoga practices. Hatha Yoga is inseparable from Raja Yoga. Raja Yoga begins where Hatha Yoga ends. Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga are interdependent.
Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga are the necessary counterparts of each other. No one can become a perfect Yogi without a knowledge and practice of both the Yogas. Hatha Yoga prepares the student to take up Raja Yoga.
A Hatha Yogi starts his Sadhana with body and Prana; a Raja Yogi starts his Sadhana with his mind; a Jnana Yogi starts his Sadhana with Buddhi or intellect .
A Hatha Yogi gets Siddhis (psychic powers) by uniting Prana and Apana and by taking the united Prana-Apana through the six Chakras (centres of spiritual energy) to Sahasrara at the crown of the head.A Raja Yogi gets Siddhis by Samyama, i.e., combined practice of Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi at one time. A Jnana Yogi exhibits Siddhis through pure will or Sat-Sankalpa. A Bhakta gets Siddhis through self-surrender and the consequent descent of grace. Kriyas, viz., Neti, Dhauti,Nauli, Basti, Tratak and Kapalabhati belong to Hatha Yoga. All need not practise these Kriyas.
Those who have got much phlegm in the body should practise these Kriyas. Learn these under an expert Hatha Yogi. Hatha Yoga is not the goal. It is only a means to an end. Take to Raja Yoga after possessing good health.

RAJA YOGA:ASHTANGA YOGA

Raja Yoga is an exact science. It aims at controlling all thought-waves or mental modifications. It concerns with the mind, its purification and control. Hence it is called Raja Yoga,i.e., king of all Yogas. It is otherwise known as Ashtanga Yoga i.e., Yoga with eight limbs.
The eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are: Yama (self-restraint), Niyama (religious observances), Asana (posture), Pranayama (restraint of breath), Pratyahara (abstraction of senses),Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (super-conscious state). Yama is practice of Ahimsa (non-injury), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (celibacy) and Aparigraha (non-covetousness) in thought, word and deed. This is the foundation ofYoga. Niyama is observance of the five canons viz., Saucha (internal and external purity), Santosha
(contentment), Tapas (austerity). Svadhyaya (study of religious books and repetition of Mantras) and Ishvara-Pranidhana (worship of God and self-surrender). Cultivate Maitri (friendship with equals), Karuna (mercy towards inferiors), Mudita (complaisancy towards superiors), Upeksha (indifference towards wicked people). You can eradicate jealousy and hatred and attain peace of mind. Ascend the ladder of Yoga patiently through its different rungs and attain the highest summit of the ladder, i.e., Asamprajnata Samadhi, wherein all Samskaras (impressions) which bring about successive births are absolutely fried up.
If you really aspire to unfold the lurking divinity within, if you really want to get rid of the meshes of this Samsara, you must know the technique of thought-control which is embodied in the system of Raja Yoga. You must know the ways of right living, right thinking, right speaking and right acting. You must practise the five rules of Yama or right conduct or Sadachara. You must know how to withdraw the mind from external objects and fix it on one point. You must know the right method of concentration and meditation. Then alone you can be really happy. Then and then alone, you will have power, independence and suzerainty. Then and then alone, you will attain immortality,freedom and perfection. A knowledge of the ways and habits of the mind, its operations, the laws of the mind and the methods of mind-control and mental discipline is very necessary if you want to enjoy real happiness and peace of an unruffled and abiding nature.
Practise Raja Yoga, control the thoughts, discipline the mind, meditate regularly and attain independence,immortality,freedom and perfection.

NADA YOGA:

Sit in Padmasana or Siddhasana or Sukhasana. close the ears with the thumbs. This is Shanmukhi Mudra or Vaishnavi Mudra. Hear the music of Anahata sounds. You will have wonderful concentration.
Do Japa (Ajapa Japa) of Soham with breath or Japa of any Mantra. Practise Pranayama for one or two months. You will hear the ten sounds clearly and enjoy the music of the soul. The sound that you hear will make you deaf to all external sounds.
Abandon all worldly thoughts. Control your passion. Become indifferent to all objects.
Practise Yama (self-restraint), or Sadachara (right conduct). Concentrate your attention on the sound which annihilates the mind.
The sound serves the purpose of a sharp goad to control the elephant-mind which roams in the pleasure garden of sensual objects. It serves the purpose of a snare for binding the deer—-Chitta.
Just as the bee which drinks the honey does not care for the odour, so the mind which is absorbed in sound does not long for sensual objects.
The first sound is Chini, the second is Chinichini. The third is the sound of a bell. The fourth is like that of a conch. The fifth is like that of a lute. The sixth is like that of a cymbal. The seventh is like that of a flute. The eighth is like that of a drum. The ninth is like that of a Mridanga. The tenth is like that of thunder. Hear the internal sound through the right ear. Change your concentration from the gross sound to the subtle. The mind will soon be absorbed in the sound.
You will get knowledge of hidden things in the seventh. In the eighth stage you will hear Paravak. In the ninth you will develop divine eye. In the tenth you will attain ParaBrahman.
The sound entraps the mind. The mind becomes one with the sound as milk with water. It becomes absorbed in Brahman or the Absolute. You will then attain the seat of Eternal Bliss.

BHAKTI YOGA:

The existence of Brahman is known from the fact of its being the SELF of everyone. For everyone is conscious of the existence of his self and never thinks “I am not.” If the existence of his self were not known, everyone would think: “I am not.” This self, of whose existence all are conscious, is Brahman. There is an inherent feeling in everybody: “I exist—Aham Asmi.”
You dream sometimes that you are dead and that your relatives are weeping. Even in that supposed death state, you see and hear them weeping. This clearly indicates that, even after the apparent death, life really persists. You exist even after the physical sheath is thrown out. That existence is Atman or Brahman or the Supreme Self.
Close your eyes and imagine for a moment that you are dead. You can never do so. You can never think that you will not exist after death. You will imagine that your dead body is lying flat and that you are witnessing the dead body. This definitely proves that you are always the witnessing subject or Sakshi.
When you are in the dark, when you are behind a veil, if anybody enquires: ‘Who is there?’, you will unhesitatingly answer: ‘It is I’. If he again asks you: ‘Who is there?’ you will say: ‘I am So and So.’ This ‘I am So and So’ is a mental Kalpnana or false superimposition on account of ignorance. At first you have expressed spontaneously your inherent feeling of existence, the big infinite ‘I’. Nothing can resist this innate feeling of ‘Aham Asmi.’
By whose command are the earth and the sky, the sun and the moon, upheld in their places?
By whose command do the seas not overstep their limits? By whose command does the sun rise punctually in the morning and set in the evening? By whose command do the seasons, solstices and the years not transgress? By whose command do Karmas and their performers and their fruits not likewise go beyond their appointed time? It is by the command of Brahman—the Inner Ruler, Controller and Governor.
What is common in trees, ants, birds, stones and man? Existence. A tree exists. A bird exists. A stone exists. A man exists. Existence is Brahman.
Some are rich, some are poor. Some are healthy, some are born blind. Some die at eighty, some die at ten. What is the cause for this variation? This clearly proves the theory of Karma that there is one Omniscient Lord, who is the dispenser of fruits of actions of human beings, who fixes the span of life in accordance with the nature of their actions, who knows the exact relation between Karmas and their fruits. Karma is Jada or insentient. It certainly cannot dispense the fruits of the actions.
In sleep there are no senses, no objects, no mind and yet you experience the highest bliss.
Wherefrom have you derived the bliss? The mind rests in Brahman during sleep and it is from Brahman that this Bliss is derived.
Cogito, ergo sum—"I think, therefore, I am." This is Descartes’s fundamental basis of philosophy. Sri Sankara says: “This Atman cannot be illusive, for, he who would deny it, witnesses its reality even in denying it.”

KUNDALINI YOGA:

Kundalini Sakti is the coiled-up, dormant, cosmic power that underlies all organic as well as inorganic matter. It is the primordial energy that lies at the basal Muladhara Chakra in a dormant,potential state. Kundalini Yoga is that Yoga which treats of Kundalini Sakti, the seven Chakras or centres of spiritual energy, the arousing of the sleeping Kundalini Sakti and its union with Lord Siva in Sahasrara Chakra at the crown of the head. The seven Chakras are pierced by the passing of Kundalini Sakti to the top of the head.
The seven Chakras are: Muladhara (at the anus), Svadhishthana (at the root of the organ of generation), Manipura (at the navel), Anahata (in the heart), Visuddha (in the neck), Ajna (in the space between the two eyebrows) and Sahasrara (at the crown of the head).
Nadis are the astral tubes that carry Pranic currents. They cannot be seen by naked eyes.They are not the ordinary nerves, arteries and veins. There are 72,000 Nadis. Among them three are important. They are Ida, Pingala and Sushumna. Sushumna is the most important one, because Kundalini passes through this Nadi only. The first step in Kundalini Yoga is the purification of Nadis. When Sushumna is pure then only Kundalini will pass through it. Purification of Nadis is done by the practice of Pranayama.
The Yogi opens the mouth of Sushumna Nadi through Pranayama, Bandhas and Mudras and awakens the sleeping Kundalini and takes Her to Sahasrara at the crown of the head through the lower six Chakras. Kundalini sleeps in the Muladhara in 3½ coils. The three coils represent the three Gunas and half coil represents the Vikritis.

Kundalini is awakened through Pranayama, Asanas and Mudras by Hatha Yogins, through concentration by Raja Yogins, through devotion and perfect self-surrender by Bhaktas or devotees; through analytical will, by the Jnanis; by Japa of Mantra and by the grace of the Guru.
If you are pure and free from all desires, Kundalini will awaken by itself and you will be benefited. If you awaken Kundalini by violent methods, forcibly, when your heart is impure, when desires lurk in your mind, you will come across temptations of various sorts, when you move from plane to plane, you will have a downfall. You will have no strength of will to resist these temptations.
That aspirant who has firm faith in Yogic Sastras, who is courageous, devotional, humble,generous, merciful, pure and dispassionate, can easily awaken Kundalini and attain success in Samadhi. He should also be equipped with right conduct and self-restraint; he should constantly engage himself in the service of his Guru and be free from lust, anger, Moha, greed and vanity.
When Kundalini is taken to the Sahasrara, when She is united with Lord Siva, perfect Samadhi (super-conscious blissful state) ensues. The Yogi drinks the nectar of immortality.

ANANDA YOGA:

Developed by Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda (author of the - Autobiography of a Yogi). Ananda Yoga is a classical style of hatha yoga that uses asana and pranayama to awaken, experience, and begin to control the subtle energies within oneself, especially the energies of the chakras. Its object is to use those energies to harmonize body, mind, and emotions, and above all to attune oneself with higher levels of awareness. One unique feature of this system is the use of silent affirmations while in the asanas as a means of working more directly and consciously with the subtle energies to achieve this attunement.

ANUSARA YOGA:

Anusara Yogawas founded in 1997 by John Friend, it is an exceptional yoga system that integrates Tantric philosophy, precise principles of alignment with energetic movement while honoring the deep connection of body, mind, and spirit.This discipline gives much self-confidence and is very progressive.

BIKRAM YOGA: HOT YOGA

Bikram Yoga or Bikram Method Yoga, is widely known as the "hot yoga". And was developed by Bikram Choudhury, . Based now in the US, he is, of course, a yoga practitioner and he developed Bikram Yoga after injuring himself in a weightlifting accident.
Hot Yoga is a set of 26 yoga asanas, two sets of each and 2 breathing exercises for 90 minutes in a room heated to 105 degree F. That is hot, expect to sweat. The asanas are held for 60 or 30 seconds.

POWER YOGA:

Power yoga involves performing a series of yoga poses without break or stopping. It is a form of rigorous and intense exercise that focuses on breathing techniques as a person transitions rapidly from pose to pose. Like other forms of intense exercise, power yoga can increase endurance and physical strength.

What Westerners call “power yoga” is actually transitioned from Ashtanga yoga, and was given the new name by an Ashtanga yoga instructor. Power yoga is to be done in a heated room and provides a much more rigorous cardiovascular workout than classical yoga. Because of its rigorous and demanding nature, it should not be done by those who have injuries or chronic illnesses. This stamina-building form of exercise is designed for those who are already at a relatively high level of physical fitness.

IYENGAR YOGA:

(THE FAMOUS YOGA)

CHAIR YOGA:

Easy and gentle, Chair Yoga is ideal for people who are deskbound, in rehab or physically challenged.Anyone who cannot get down on the floor because of inflexibility, injury or handicap, or anyone who has trouble with knees, hips or balance, can now enjoy all the benefits of Yoga.