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R?JA Y?GA, THE MENTAL Y?GA

This Y?ga possesses a larger number of mental techniques than other modalities of Y?ga. R?ja means royal (of the kings). It consists of four parts or angas: praty?h?ra (abstraction of the senses); dh?ran? (mental concentration); dhy?na (meditation) and sam?dhi (hyperconsciousness). Later, around three centuries before Christ, four more angas were added as an introduction (yama, niyama, ?sana, and pr?n?y?ma) with which it was then codified as Asht?nga Y?ga or Classic Y?ga. Look later in this section for an explanation as to why these two modalities today are presented as if they were two different ones.

BHAKTI Y?GA, THE DEVOTIONAL Y?GA

The tone set for this Y?ga is of devotion, almost religious. It uses more mantras and p?j? than other modalities of Y?ga. Bhakti means devotion. Devotional Y?ga is not necessarily spiritualist. In its pre-classic origins, its foundations were naturalist and in the region in which it flourished no evidence of the existence of religious institutions have been found. It consists of worshipping the forces of Nature: the sun, the moon, the trees, the rivers, etc.

KARMA Y?GA, THE Y?GA OF ACTION

This Y?ga teaches how to act in life and in the world so as to be in accordance with the law of karma. Karma means action. It is a Y?ga that induces action. Its medieval branch came to have a connotation of the V?d?nta philosophy, something that conferred to it an air of ?uninterested action? when, as a matter of fact, the idea is to drive to action, to work, to accomplishment. For sure, such a dynamic in principle does not envision personal benefits, pay-offs or recognition.

J?ANA Y?GA, THE Y?GA OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE

More emphasis is placed on the search for self-knowledge through meditation than in other modalities of Y?ga. J??na means knowledge. The method of this particular modality consists of meditating on the response that your psyche elaborates for the question ?Who am I?? until there is no other element left that can be separated from the Self and analyzed. At this point, the practitioner will have encountered the Monad, or the Self.

LAY? Y?GA, THE Y?GA OF PARANORMALITIES

This Y?ga develops paranormal powers through corporal techniques, breathing, mantras, etc. Lay? means dissolution. The intention of this kind of Y?ga is to develop the personality, or in other words, eliminate the barrier that exists between the ego and the Self. As the Self or Monad is understood to be the Absolute in itself, inhabiting each living being, by dissolving the barrier of the personam all of its power and knowledge flows directly to the consciousness of the practitioner.

MANTRA Y?GA, THE Y?GA OF THE DOMINION OF SOUNDS AND ULTRA SOUNDS

As the name indicates, an emphasis is given to mantras in this modality of Y?ga. Mantra means vocalization. This branch of Y?ga aims to reach its goal through the resonance that is transmitted to the centers of energy within the body itself, conducting them to a full awakening. As a result, consciousness is raised and the practitioner reaches sam?dhi.

tantra Y?GA, THE Y?GA OF SENSORIALITY

This Y?ga uses sexuality as the leverage for interior evolution. Tantra means, among other things, the correct way to do any thing, authority, prosperity or stringing (of a musical instrument). The way to achieve interior perfection and evolution is through pleasure. It teaches how to relate to yourself, other human beings, animals, plants, the environment, the Universe, etc. It also addresses everything that refers to sensoriality and sexuality. It aims to reach its goal through the reinforcement and channeling of the libido. Tantra Y?ga emphasizes work on the kundalini, however, there is also another modality, which we describe later, that is specialized in awakening this colossal force: Kundalin? Y?ga.

SW?STHYA Y?GA, THE ANCIENT Y?GA, CONTAINS IN ITSELF ALL OF THOSE DESCRIBED ABOVE

This Y?ga is the systematization of the very trunk of Pre-Classic Y?ga, from which all others were born. Sw?Sthya means self-sufficiency, health, sound state, comfort and satisfaction. It is based in the most ancient roots (Tantra-S?mkhya) and because of this it is so complete, since it possesses the germ of what, centuries later, gave birth to the eight most ancient branches of Y?ga (?sana Y?ga, R?ja Y?ga, Bhakti Y?ga, Karma Y?ga, J??na Y?ga, Lay? Y?ga, Mantra Y?ga and Tantra Y?ga). Its practice consists of eight groups of techniques: mudr? (gestural language), p?j? (syntony with the archetype), mantra (vocalization of sounds and ultra sounds), pr?n?y?ma (respiratory exercises), kriy? (purification of the mucous membranes), ?sana (organic technique) y?ganidr? (relaxation technique) and samyama (concentration, meditation and other deeper techniques). It is the systematization of Dakshinacharat?ntrika-Nir?shwaras?mkhkya Y?ga, an integrated proto-Y?ga of Dravidic origins, which are more than 5,000 years old.

SUDDHA R?JA Y?GA, A VARIETY OF MEDIEVAL R?JA Y?GA, HEAVILY MYSTICAL

It is a branch of R?ja Y?ga and uses mantras and rituals. Suddha means pure, implying that it intends to be the purest version of R?ja Y?ga, which is not true since R?ja Y?ga comes from the S?mkhya lineage and Suddha R?ja is founded in the opposite, V?d?nta. It consists of mantras and meditation.

KUNDALIN? Y?GA, THE Y?GA OF POWER

This is a branch that specializes in the awakening of the latent energies in the central nervous system. It works with visualizations, mantras, respiratory exercises, contractions of the plexus and glands, etc. Kundalin? means that which has the appearance of a serpent. It is a type of Y?ga that envisions the awakening of the energy that has its name (kundalin?). This energy is that which is situated in the perineum and has a direct relation to sexuality. Its awakening and ascension, by way of the spinal medulla to the brain, produces a constellation of paranormalities culminating in a state of expanded consciousness that is denominated sam?dhi, which is the goal of Y?ga. Actually, all authentic types of Y?ga and not only this one work on awakening the kundalin?, according to Dr. Siv?nanda in his book Kundalin? Y?ga (pg. 70).

SIDDHA Y?GA, THE Y?GA OF THE CULT TO THE PERSONALITY OF THE GURU

This Y?ga is of a Tantric origin and uses a great amount of meditation and mantras. Siddha means the perfect, or that which possesses the siddhis (paranormal powers). By its name, one may perceive a relation between it and Kundalin? Y?ga, but there are very few similarities between the two. It uses many mantras, p?j? and meditation, but its actual base is the reverence to the personality of the guru.

KRIY? Y?GA, THE Y?GA THAT CONSISTS OF SELF-OVERCOMING, SELF-STUDY AND SELF-SURRENDER

The true Kriy? Y?ga consists of three subdivisions of anga niyama, which are ethical norms. Kriy? means activity. This type of Y?ga was very wide-spread in the United States in the 50s and maintains a rich following even today. It consists of three niyamas (ethical norms): tapas (self-overcoming); swadhy?ya (self-study) and ?shwara pranidhana (self-surrender). It is mentioned is cited in the Y?ga S?tra, a book from the 3rd century B.C. The best book on the subject is Tantra Y?ga, N?da Y?ga and Kriy? Y?ga by Siv?nanda, Editorial Kier, Buenos Aires. This is the only work that openly teaches Kriy? Y?ga, without making a mystery of it.

INTEGRAL Y?GA, THE Y?GA THAT INTEGRATES ITSELF INTO DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES

This is a contemporary modality that proposes to incorporate Y?ga in daily life. It is called Integral Y?ga not for being the most integral, as its name may suggest. It is named as such because its objective is to integrate itself in the professional, cultural and artistic life of the practitioner. It was created by Sri Aurobindo, who defended that ?Y?ga ceases to appear to be something mystical and abnormal that has no relation to the common process of terrestrial energy.?

CLASSIC Y?GA, AN ARID AND HARD Y?GA WITH SEXUAL RESTRICTIONS AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS

This kind of Y?ga is patriarchal and restrictive. It uses eight angas: yama, niyama, ?sana, pr?n?y?ma, praty?h?ra, dh?ran?, dhy?na and sam?dhi. Many people use the name Classic Y?ga, but teach another thing. Classic Y?ga ? or Asht?nga Y?ga ? is not the most ancient Y?ga or the most complete Y?ga, as it is said by many to be. The most ancient and complete is Pre-Classic Y?ga. Classic Y?ga has a strong name, but its practice is unviable for the modern man due to the slowness with which its steps are taken. The practice is so restrictive and arid that no one would pay to receive this type of learning. This is why what you see in the Occident are schools that exploit the name of Classic Y?ga, but in practice actually teach Hatha Y?ga. Classic Y?ga is made up of eight parts or angas: yama, niyama, ?sana, pr?n?y?ma, praty?h?ra, dh?ran?, dhy?na and sam?dhi. The best book on this is the Y?ga S?tra of P?ta?jali.

ASHT?NGA Y?GA, THE SAME AS CLASSIC Y?GA

Even though it is the same as Classic Y?ga, what you will find in the United States is simply a fictitious name for what is really Professor Iyengar?s Hatha Y?ga, only lightly modified.

HATHA Y?GA, THE PHYSICAL Y?GA

This is a modality that consists of corporal techniques, respiratory exercises and relaxation. Hatha means force, violence and not the poetic ?Sun-Moon?, as some books declare. Consult the Sanskrit-English Dictionary by Sir Monier-Williams for confirmation. It is a medieval branch, founded in the 11th century after Christ, therefore, it is considered a modern Y?ga, which came about 4,000 years after the origination of primitive Y?ga! It is made up of the four initial angas of Asht?nga Y?ga (yama, niyama, ?sana and pr?n?y?ma), however, in gyms, the first two are not taught and therefore, the practice is restricted to the anga ?sana (corporal techniques) and the anga pr?n?y?ma (respiratory exercises). Other techniques can be aggregated, such as bandhas, mudr?s and kriy?s, but are not required. Meditation is not a part of this Y?ga and it should not be included in a practice of Hatha. It has been the most popular Y?ga in the Occident. In Brazil, today, it is widely supplanted by Sw?Sthya Y?ga.

IYENGAR Y?GA, A VERSION OF HATHA Y?GA

This Y?ga is an extremely vigorous interpretation of Hatha Y?ga. This name is inadequate, since B.K.S. Iyengar is the name of a professor of Hatha Y?ga. This kind of Y?ga is actually a very vigorous interpretation of Hatha Y?ga.

POWER Y?GA, A VARIETY OF IYENGAR Y?GA

Again, this is merely another type of Hatha Y?ga.Power Y?ga is a method that is minimally expressive. It is in fact a fantasy name for a type of simplified Hatha Y?ga practiced in the United States, which is demonstrated by the very character of its hybrid English-Sanskrit name. There is no reason to use a term in English. If there were reason, it would then be permissible to name other methods in English such as ?Water Y?ga? or ?Health Y?ga? and so on, not only in English, but in any language! Perplexity is what we feel when we observe that the press ceases to mention other types of Y?ga that are much better and more authentic in order to give space to a Y?ga that has its name in English, simply because it comes from the United States and not from India.