The
term yoga itself means "union", the union of the individual awareness
or soul with the Universal Consciousness or Spirit. As most of the people perceive that yoga is
only as good as physical exercises, these are actually just the most artificial
aspect of this philosophical science of revealing the infinite abilities of the
human mind and soul.
There
are four main paths of Yoga namely Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Jnana
Yoga. Each of these paths is suitable to
a different outlook or approach to life.
All the paths lead eventually to the same goal - to union with Brahman
or God - if true wisdom is to be achieved then all the lessons of each path
need to be incorporated. Karma Yoga is
the Yoga of Action. It is the path opted
mainly by those of an outgoing nature.
It can purify the heart of an individual by teaching to act selflessly
without thought of gain or reward. One learns to redirect the ego by the act of
detaching one’s self from the fruits of his or her actions and offering them up
to God. In order to achieve this, it is
beneficial to keep the mind determined by reciting a mantra while engaged in
any activity. Bhakti Yoga is
all-surrendering dedication through which one struggles to see and love the
holiness in every creature and in everything, hence maintaining an unending
worship. Raja Yoga is the science of
physical and mental control. It is
sometimes called the "royal road" because it offers a far-reaching
method for directing the waves of thought by turning the human’s mental and
physical energy into spiritual energy.
Raja
Yoga is also known as Ashtanga Yoga referring to the eight limbs leading to
complete mental control. The main
practice of Raja Yoga is meditation. It
also includes all other approaches, which helps one to control body, energy,
body senses, and mind. Hatha Yoga is a
system of physical postures, or asanas, whose deeper purpose is to cleanse the
body, giving one consciousness and control over its inner states and rendering
it suitable for meditation. When the
body and energy are under control, meditation comes naturally. The Hatha-Yogi uses Relaxation and other
exercises like Yamas, Niyamas, Mudras, Bandhas etc. to gain control of the
physical body and the sensitive life force called Prana. Jnana or Gyana Yoga is the philosophical
path. To gain the capability to
distinguish between realism and fantasy is the main focus of this path. This is
the path of wisdom, which highlights the application of discriminative intelligence
to attain spiritual liberation.
All
these and more are just some of the things that trainers impart to instructors
when they enter the 300 hour yoga instructor courses NJ in yoga schools near
them. An RYS 300 hour yoga instructor courses NJ advanced training
is intended to build upon and intensify the trainee’s understanding of the
basic concepts of the practice and teaching of yoga that are commonly taught at
the RYS 200-hour level. These courses
prepare its trainees to educate principles and methods of yoga that are more
progressive, more comprehensive, and/or more subtler, and the training allows
them to teach with greater skill than could sensibly be expected of an RYT 200.
