Branches of Yoga

There are total six branches of yoga which you can adopt and in this
chapter, I will tell you about all of those 6 branches in detail.

•  Hatha yoga
•  Bhakti yoga
•  Raja yoga
•  Jnana yoga or yoga of mind
•  Karma yoga
•  Tantra yoga

The Kinds

As I mentioned above that Yoga was originated from Indians and it is a very
ancient art with lots of skills and complexities involved. If you think that
yoga is just about posing your body in difficult positions then, you are
mistaken because there are different branches of yoga which are listed
below.

Hatha Yoga

Hatha yoga is also called yoga of postures and it is most famous branch of
yoga in west which you must have seen. In this branch, body is twisted in
different difficult and easy postures. The basic emphasis of this branch is to
achieve peace through physical exercises, breathing techniques and
mediation. Basic purpose of this yoga branch is to achieve better health
along with spirituality.
This is the easiest branch as well because it does not take too much time
from your busy routine and you can learn and master this art along with
your daily work. You can easily adjust your schedule to practice and your
daily routine will not be disturbed with this yoga branch.

Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti yoga is not very popular in the west but it is most practiced branch
of yoga in India. This involved spirituality more than physical gestures and
it revolves around heart and divine. You have to choose a path which suits
your hear desires most and then, you have to see everything and everyone
through that path. Bhakti yoga allows you to develop your faith in
something and they take that faith to that level where it can tell you the
exact way to catch.

Raja Yoga

Raja yoga is also called yoga of self-control. Even though self-control is
characteristic of almost every yoga branch but this branch pays special
attention to self-control. Most of the people who practice this branch of
yoga are members of some religious prestige. Raja yogi sees him as central
and gives respect to everything around.
The basic step in mastering self-control is to allow you to be discovered.
Discipline learning is the basic characteristic of raja yoga and if your life is
distracted and undisciplined then, you must practice raja yoga to gain
control of your life and make it more disciplined.

Jnana Yoga or Yoga Of Mind

Jnana yoga which is also called yoga of mind deals primarily with human
brain and it tends to control the intelligence of people. In this yoga people
learn to integrate wisdom and intellect and with combination of these two,
they try to create a perfect moment in their life when they never make
wrong decisions. People who practice jnana yoga are very open minded and
they keep learning about other religions, professionals, in order to expand
their knowledge as they believe that expanding the knowledge expands
their mental and intellect strength.

Karma Yoga

Karma yoga believes that you can make your future better by doing kind
and selfless deeds in the present. It also believes that if your present is
uncertain and hard then, it is the result of your past deeds.
Yogis, who practice karma yoga, do selfless help of other people, in order to
make sure that their kindness to other people will make their future a better
place. Karma yoga changes their whole concept of good and evil which
changes their internal soul and makes them a better person with a bright
destiny.

Tantra Yoga

Tantra yoga is the yoga of rituals but most of the times; it is misunderstood
by many people because they rename it as sex yoga. Sex is just another part
of this yoga but this is not all about tantra yoga. Yogis who practice tantra
yoga possess certain qualities like purity, humility, devotion, dedication to
his Guru, cosmic love and some others.
These are all the branches of yoga but there are some misconceptions also
there about yoga for example some people say yoga is a religion but it is
not. Yoga is just a way to make your life better and integrate peace in your
life. It helps you to achieve a better life with more control over your mind,
thoughts and actions. Yoga is also taken as just an exercise to keep your
body fit which is true to some extent but it is not the whole concept of yoga.
Exercise and physical health is just small portion of yoga but the higher aim
of yoga is lot more sacred and important.