Types of Yoga

Haṭha Yoga 

Haṭha Yoga is a term that is often heard, but too often little understood. Most forms of Yoga popular today are approaches to Haṭha Yoga or only to parts of it. What is truly means is that there are two streams of energy in the Universe, symbolically linked to the sun (ha) and the moon (ṭha) that can be brought into a balance. Doing this, through a range of exercises, can bring Union.

Varṇa Yoga

When contemplatively studying things from the level of energy patterns, this is called Varṇa Yoga. Varṇa means a colour, tone, hue, letter, class of things, etc. In other words, a thing with a certain character that distinguishes it from other things. In this approach to Yoga, we study wholes vs. wholes, parts vs. parts, elements vs. elements. And all in relation to each other. The axioma here is that the whole is the sum of all parts + all possible relations between parts.

In our school we learn to do this through Sound, Speech & Colour. One could say that Varṇa Yoga is the Yoga of Complexity, as it is a great way to gain contemplative understanding into the dynamics of complex subjects. To learn to see simplicity within complexity.

At the moment, this approach seems to be unique to our school. (Do you believe it is not? Tell us more about why you think so!)

Bhakti Yoga

Essentially colouring the approaches to spirituality of the Abrahamic world religions (Judaism, Christianity & Islam), Bhakti Yoga is the path of union through prayer, devotion & faith. It has been dominant in the whole field of world spirituality for the last two+ millennia, also strongly influencing the Dharmic religions of the east (Hinduism/Sanatana Dharma, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism).

At the core, Bhakti is the strongly pointing of one’s energy into the direction of an ideal or point of desire until Union is reached. This approach is quickly losing its dominance in the world, but is still a powerful method.

Karma Yoga

Karma Yoga has to do with our karma. Karma is the collection of impressions (saṃskāra) that were left on our consciousness over the ages of moving from incarnation to incarnation. Each interaction, when either not harmonic in nature and/or not met with the right inner attitude, leaves an impression on our consciousness that slightly changes the energy field of our being. Patterns of these impressions, our karma, get in the way of experiencing Union.

Karma Yoga is the applying of Yogic exercises, small daily deeds and activities in service to the world at large in order to correct one’s karmic patterns in order to liberate oneself of them. This also has a collective effect, whereas liberating individual karma weakens the related karmic patterns the groups the individual is a part of.

Mantra Yoga

Traditionally, Mantra Yoga is the use of the inherent power of certain words to produce spiritual effects, ultimately leading to Union. This used to be done out loud or mentally. In our times, the former is generally considered too coarse, and one should choose to only do it mentally. In such a mental practice, the practitioner basically aimes the mind at the vibrations of the mantra. When regarding it in this way, every vibration can be used as a mantra.

In our school this is what we do. This is what we call Higher Mantra Yoga: playing with all types of vibrations through Yogic practices, and using them invocatively to cause spiritual effects in order to establish a state of Union.

Jñāna Yoga

It is also possible to attain a state of Union through inquiring into the Truth, the existential nature of life. This is done mostly through deep, contemplative study of the scriptures, direct knowledge through observation of the essential nature of reality, studying one’s inner life and direct perception of the Divine.

This requires the practitioner to truly become with the objects of study through deep concentration, followed by meditation and then to insight. Many contemporary practitioners think they can do this, but end up being lead astray by their own mind. However, the very best of scientists and other academicists in our time from time to time spontaneously experience moments of Jñāna Yoga, when they have certain realisations of or insights into truth. This of course doesn’t mean they have mastered this Yogic path, let alone are able to explain how they did it.

Through this path, though, Yoga and science could easily meet and find ways to strengthen each other. The biggest obstacle to this is for Yogis to tolerate the fundamentally limiting ways of the scientist, and for scientists to tolerate the ways of the Yogi, which to them are not limiting enough. Mutual acceptance, along the lines of how interreligious dialogue attempts to forge mutual respect in spite of differences and celebrates the similarities, will be needed. In order to build the arch between two of the foundational pillars of our human race, religion and science, so they can finally start working together again.

Rāja Yoga

When the path of Union is trodden through controlling the mind, up to the level of the highest abstractions, it is called Rāja Yoga. Meaning the Royal Path of Yoga, as it was historically often used in leadership training for kings and other rulers.

It is deemed the most suitable for our times, especially in western countries. As our use of the mind is generally of such a poor level of quality and skill. This causes all kinds of troubles in our lives, often of such a subtle nature that we hardly see them coming or even truly notice them, but rough enough to make our lives difficult, our vitality low and not seldomly cause physical illness.

The Yoga philosophy teaches us that full control of the mind leads to full control over our subtle energy. This is a very instrumental and direct way to Union. Best paired with Haṭha Yoga.

Ati Yoga

Ati Yoga means utmost Yoga. It is the most direct path to Union, but also one which is considered to be extremely difficult to tread for practitioners that haven’t first profoundly studied some of the other paths to Yoga. One’s that do tread it without any previous experience are often sooner or later led astray. It is a path where every sense of purity, of high & low, of good or bad is gradually abandoned.

Often people believe this requires the practitioner to let go of all discernment of all the differences that exist in reality. While in fact the very opposite is true: one should totally perfect their discernment, to include all and everything, to such a degree that the Unity within Diversity is perfectly seen and understood.