> Yoga
and Meditation > Yoga
Traditions
Mantra Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Laya Yoga and
Raja Yoga
The 4 main traditions
: hatha yoga, laya yoga, mantra yoga, raja
yoga.
Hatha Yoga
 |
Includes the practice of postures (asanas)
and breath control (pranayama)
to energize the subtle channels (nadis),
removing obstacles to samadhi or non-duality. Read more
in Hatha Yoga. |
Laya Yoga |
Is also called Kundalini
Yoga, because the raising of Kundalini energy to unite
her with the supreme consciousness is the main objective,
which is reached through deep meditation (dhyana). |
Mantra Yoga |
Through the repetition of a mantra
or seed sound, a higher state of deep concentration (dharana)
can be reached at which the divine form inherent in the
mantra becomes manifest. Read more in Mantra
Yoga. |
Raja Yoga |
Is also called the royal path of Yoga,
where centralized thought combined with spiritual reflection
allows the withdrawal from sensory perceptions, leading
to deep meditation (dhyana) and samadhi. It is the yoga
of Patanjali. |
Other Yoga Traditions :
Krya Yoga
 |
This yoga has a strong connection to Karma
yoga and Kundalini yoga,
involving pranayama, ritual and deep meditation.
Read more in Kriya Yoga. |
Naad Yoga |
Yoga that deals with the sounds
of the inner world. |
Yantra Yoga |
Yantras
are seen as the body or form of the deity, whereas mantras
are the mind, consciousness, spirit or name. Yantras and
mantras can bring one in attunement with the same regulating
forces that have created nature in all its forms, including
the structure of our psyche and our capacity to think.
The discipline is used to withdraw consciousness from
the outer world and direct it to the inner world. It consists
both of the act of drawing and painting the yantra as
of centering on the yantra, reconstructing it first within
the mind. More information and yantra samples can be found
on the Yantra Meditation
page. |
Swara yoga |
This is the science of nasal breath, providing
a practical method to use the right and left hemispheres
of the brain at will. It deals with the relationship between
the nasal breath and the subtle nerves of the body or
nadis, on the one hand, and the cycles of the Moon and
the elements, on the other. Swara Yoga offers methods
for determining right/left nostril dominance and for synchronizing
the dominant nostril with specific activities of everyday
life. See also Swara Yoga. |
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About this page
The above overview was
extracted and synthesized by Wil Geraets from various sources, among which
the following are the most important :
|
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