Monthly Archives: February 2017

Approaches to the True Goal of Yoga (Part 16)

When do you think the point comes that yoga should no longer be called yoga?

A good analogy here would be to consider a car that has missing parts. Visualize a car and a friend asking, “What is that?” You say, "It's a car." Now imagine that this car is missing its wheels, an engine, and the doors and seats are gone and your friend asks you the same question. Still, you repeat, "It's a car.” Or you might say something like, "it’s junk." Although it may be hard to determine the exact point of change, but somewhere along the way, in removing the parts, you'd naturally have to stop calling it “a car.”

Now apply this to yoga – stripped of its higher goals, can it still be called yoga?

Imagine yoga with missing parts. At what point, and after how much adjustment and conformity to modern culture, does yoga cease to be yoga? When yoga is stripped of its higher goals and methods, can it still be called yoga?

Imagine holding a window, and saying to someone, "This is a house!" To demonstrate asanas (postures) saying, "This is yoga!" makes as much sense as saying that a single window is a complete house. Both are confusing a minor, although useful part with the whole.

Some of the most common comments used to justify the modern devolutions of yoga are saying things like, "But it's useful!” or, “It helped me!" When the true nature of yoga is pointed out to them they tend to feel that authentic yoga is somehow in opposition to doing other activities that are of benefit to human beings. Just because people more become flexible and less stressed, it doesn’t mean that the methods they use are necessarily called yoga.

The fact that physical postures (or modern revisions) are effective is not in question. Doing asanas is beneficial, but calling them yoga is a different matter. Almost any physical exercise, such as walking calisthenics or playing tennis is useful, but that does not make it yoga. Aerobics, jazzercise, Zumba, and kickboxing, etc. may also be useful, but that does not make them yoga. Massage therapy, physical therapy, and respiratory therapy are also useful, but that does not make them yoga. Psychotherapy and counseling are useful, but that does not make them yoga.

Some modern Yoga teachers are often found arguing that the yoga they are teaching is only a physical program supported by physicians and the medical community, and they place little or no emphasis or acknowledgement on the authentic spiritual goals of Yoga. Thus, we have a situation where modern Yoga teachers are usually ignoring or minimizing the spiritual goal of yoga.

Approaches to the True Goal of Yoga (Part 16)

If you are a sincere student and are seeking authentic yoga it will be necessary to recognize the authentic vs. the adaptations: There are many challenges faced by those who are seeking authentic yoga as the path to Enlightenment or Self-realization, the path that it is intended to be. As with many endeavors in life, progress begins with understanding. Understanding the current situation within the modern Yoga community will help tremendously in sharpening one's ability to recognize the difference between modern adaptations and the authentic, traditional yoga of the ancients.

Once one sees the difference between the adaptations and the authentic, it then requires determination to be in a minority and to not just get caught up in the flow of the latest fad. That determination, followed by proper action will lead the sincere student of authentic Yoga to an authentic path.

It is good to keep in mind that it is said, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” It is also said that the ideal teacher will come for each student, depending on the aspirations the seeker holds in their heart.

This ends this series on the “Approaches to the True Goal of Yoga”

Rae Indigo is ERYT 500

Approaches to the True Goal of Yoga (Part 15)

With all the names and modern styles of yoga the question arises: What kind of Yoga do you do?

All the recent “inventions” just confuse matters more. The essential, authentic nature of yoga is even further confused in the public eye by the way the methods are presented and promoted. By reviewing almost any list of the best known dozen or so modern yoga "styles," it will quickly become evident that almost all of these contemporary styles have been invented in the last few decades. Very few yoga teachers today will simply teach "Hatha Yoga," the physical yoga system of the past (that actually had spiritual goals), let alone the “whole” true spiritual yoga. Remember that even Hatha Yoga (asana + pranayama) is part of the eight limbs of Raja Yoga and Raja Yoga is only one of the four traditional schools of yoga.

In addition, many, if not most of the modern "styles" of yoga have the surname of a currently living man in front of the word yoga, as if that man, himself, has invented yoga. This is not to say that these teachers aren’t competent or even superb in their physical abilities. They may do a very good job within the limited scope of their “personalized” teachings.

Oftentimes this “personalization” takes the liberty of distorting Sanskrit terms. Several modern systems have taken an ancient Sanskrit word or phrase that has a specific spiritual meaning, and then adapted that terminology to some set of postures or practices that were apart from the original intent.

Even worse, some of these modern teachers have then trademarked these ancient, traditional names, further misleading an unsuspecting public. This leaves the would-be students with the impression that the current day founder of this “brand name” system is somehow linked to the original teachings associated with that word or phrase. It may further lead people to believe that these new teachers also have some expertise or familiarity with the traditional practice or level of attainment authentically associated with that word or phrase.

Most of the modern "styles" of Yoga did not exist a few decades ago, while yoga itself is thousands of years old.

These modern styles are very suspect as they should be. If you turned back the clock a hundred years, or maybe fifty, or twenty, or even less, very few (if any at all) of these current styles, systems, or methods of yoga would have yet existed. Most of the founders of these modern, so-called yoga styles were not even born. Therefore, these modern styles are, by their very nature, suspect. Especially when, at the same time, it is claimed that yoga is thousands of years old. This is not a mere call to go back in time to some theoretically more pristine era of yoga. It really is a case of throwing away the baby with the bath water.

To repeat the question at the beginning of this article: What kind of yoga do you do?

Traditionally, there are four schools of Yoga. If asked, "What kind of Yoga do you do?" the answer would be one of these four, or a combination of them. Briefly, the four schools of Yoga are:

  • Karma Yoga: The yoga of action, doing the practices while fulfilling one's duties in the external world.
  • Jnana Yoga: The yoga of knowledge or self-enquiry, knowing oneself at all levels through a process of contemplation and introspection.
  • Bhakti Yoga: The yoga of devotion, of surrender to the divine force or God, practiced in ways consistent with one's own religion.
  • Raja Yoga: The meditative school of yoga, such as systematized by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras.

Approaches to the True Goal of Yoga (Part 15)

Additionally, it is important to note that yoga itself has been classically considered to be one of "six schools of Indian philosophy."

A true Yogi, one who sincerely practices authentic Yoga, may do just yoga, meaning some combination of Karma, Jnana, Bhakti, and Raja Yoga, in the context of the six systems of Indian philosophy and practice.

Paramahansa Yogananda, the well-known author of Autobiography of a Yogi, responds to the question "What is Yoga?" in the text The Essence of Self-Realization: "Yoga means union.” Yoga is loosely translated as the English word “yoke.” Yoga means union with God, or, union of the little, ego-self with the divine Self, the infinite Spirit. Most people in the West, and sadly many in India, confuse yoga with Hatha Yoga, the system of physical practice.

Stay tuned, this series will continue – coming up next, the final installment in this series; “Approaches to the True Goal of Yoga (Part 16).” This next blog article will include some final thoughts and tips.

Rae Indigo is ERYT 500