Yoga Meditation - The Basic II

As you progress through your yoga meditation practice, you’ll find that there are various yoga paths available.

The main yoga paths are classically listed as:
- Raja yoga: union by mental control, focusing on meditation and concentration
- Karma yoga: union by action, eliminating the ego and attachments through selfless service
- Bhakti yoga: union by devotion, through conversion of the emotions into devotion centered on the divine
- Jnana yoga: union by knowledge, using the intellect to break bondage to the material world.

Of the above, bhakti yoga is most readily considered synonymous with religion, while both raja and jnana yoga are considered the most ‘scientific’.

To the above list we can also add the following:

- Hatha yoga: an aspect of raja yoga, which works with the energies of the body and mind through exercises, postures and breathing methods

- Mantra (japa) toga: union by sound, repeating special words, sentences and incantations to take the meditator to the essence and source of thought (this can be incorporated into raja and bhakto yoga).

- Laya (latent) yoga: a combination of most other yoga paths, with an emphasis on kundalini yoga, which is the systematic raising of energy upwards through the chakras as a rapid route to enlightenment.

Most people who practice yoga meditation incorporate many of the above paths at some level. Hence, in practice, the distinctions implied by the labeling are not so rigid. The purpose of this section within this book is to extrapolate some meditation principles from yoga. In practice, this means considering the methods employed within raja yoga, including mantra yoga.

Now you have known the main paths of yoga meditation so you can choose which one is appropriate for you.

Next post: The eight limbs of yoga.