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Beat Stress With Meditation: Yoga

by Naomi Ozaniec

The word Yoga is derived from the Sanksrit, yuj, meaning ‘to unite, integrate or join.’ Yoga therefore connects and unifies moral, mental, physical and spiritual well-being, and the various branches of Yoga achieve this in differing ways. Western Yoga is mainly Hatha Yoga. Taking its name from the two Sanskrit words for sun and moon, Ha-tha Yoga unifies and harmonizes the whole person by working directly on the body using a series of postures called asanas. Hatha Yoga impacts deeply into the nerves, glands and vital organs; its purifying action improves mental skills, lifts awareness and awakens spiritual sensitivity.

Jnana Yoga is the path of spiritual knowledge through study and meditation. Karma Yoga is the path of union through action. Derived from the Sanskrit Kri, meaning ‘to do’, it is a way of selfless action without attachment to any outcome. Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion and worship to God. Derived from the Sanskrit verb root, bhaj, meaning ‘to share in, to belong to, to worship’, Bhakti Yoga includes praise and song, offering service, meditation and the surrender of self in divine loving union with deity. Raja Yoga or Royal Yoga is primarily concerned with taming the mind, the king of the psycho-physical being through meditation as a means of discipline and purification. It is founded upon a moral, spiritual and practical code laid down by the sage Patanjali.

Compared with its broad and ancient eastern lineage, the modern western experience of Yoga is relatively narrow. Nevertheless its many benefits have contributed to a widespread popularity.
 



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