...l sadhana (practice).

Bhakti yoga is the yoga of devotion. Many saints from different spiritual traditions have taken the approach of love and devotion to God (in whatever form they feel most inspired.) The essence of Bhakti yoga is often encompassed in the devotional poetry and songs of saints such as Mirabai, Rumi, St Teresa of Avila and Sri Ramakrishna.

Jnana Yoga is the yoga of wisdom and discrimination. In jnana yoga aspirants seek to discover the truth through renunciation of false ideas and wrong thoughts. He uses reasoning and discrimination to go beyond the domain of the mind and see the unity in the real essence of the universe.

In the hoary past aspirants would feel that to practise yoga it is necessary to renounce the world. However many modern spiritual teachers have shown it is both possible and desirable to practice yoga right in the heart of modern life. Worldly activities need not be separated from yoga and spiritual practice.

Footnotes

[1]Yoga and Spiritual Life by Sri Chinmoymore

For Depression Treatment, There is a Helping Hand in Yoga

...the use of several Yoga poses, there are some specific standouts.

1. The Sun Salutations:

The sun exercises stimulates and balances all systems of the body including the endocrine and nervous systems that have marked effects on our emotions, furthermore they induce deep breathing, which has been known over the ages to help alleviate many a stressful situation. Although they are usually a warm up to other Yoga poses, they can stand on their own as a Yoga session so you may not have to spend too much time to reap Yogas benefits as an alternative treatment for depression.

2. The Shoulder- Stand:

In spite of what its name may suggest, this pose is indeed very easy to execute and is the one pose that both old and new Yoga Instructors and writers view as near panacea for most human ai...more

Why Meditation And Yoga Are So Good For You

...Most people are well aware by now that the formula to a happy and healthy life is to exercise and eat well. However, today's hectic lifestyles often mean that we frequently find ourselves in stressful situations. In order to combat stress we need to learn how to relax, and that's where meditation and yoga come in.

The practice of yoga has been around for hundreds of years (or more). It originated in india, and was introduced by holy men (called Yogis) who would meditate for days together, in order to train their minds and bodies, and to achieve a sense of well being. Nowadays, many people think of yoga in terms of the different styles of yoga, or in terms of yoga poses, but in reality it is a com...more

Jnana Yoga - Intellectually becoming God-conscious

...ditating on the question "Who am I". The point of this exercise is eventually to come to the realization that "I" transcends the limitations of the body and is really a part and an expression of the universal "I", or God.

Thus, it can be seen that Jnana Yoga helps the aspirant by first appealing to his intellect, valuable for those who are very intellectually oriented, but then it helps the aspirant transcend his limited intellect by becoming aware of the Cosmic Intellect that forms and permeates everything. He focuses on the question of "Who am I" and by so doing, achieves the realization that the small I is really a part of the universal I. His intellectual exercises can be considered as the sugar, which coats the substance of his eventual God-Realization.more

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