In modern-day capitalist America, yoga is a billion-dollar business. Studios and instructors market various yoga techniques much like businesses that sell fad diet and exercise products. Yoga is hardly a fad, however, having existed for thousands of years. For serious practitioners, weight loss and youthful appearance may be incidental side effects, but they aren't the goal. In fact, those who delve into yoga out of self-obsessed vanity go against the true meaning of yoga.
Definition
The word "yoga" comes from the Sanskrit word "yuj," which means "to join." The true goal of yoga is to integrate your inner life and connect it meaningfully with the world outside yourself. The Divine Life Society's website states that ultimately, yoga intends for the practitioner to realize oneness with the "Divine Consciousness."
Types
Over thousands of years, different cultures have developed various forms of yoga. The one most popular in the U.S. is Hatha Yoga, the goal of which is to balance the opposites in your life and consciousness, the yin and yang of sorrow and joy, love and hate or good and evil. Hatha Yoga emphasizes exercises and physical postures, called "asanas." Other forms of yoga are based more on meditation, such as Raja and Jnana Yoga. Others, like Bhakti and Tantra Yoga, encourage practitioners to adopt life behaviors, attitudes and rituals that connect them to the Divine.
Yoga, Spirituality and Religion
Yoga's ultimate goal is union with God, but yogi and philosopher Bhole Prabhu states that yoga is a science rather than a religion. "Religions seek to define what we should believe, while a practical science such as meditation is based on the concrete experience of those teachers and yogis" who have achieved enlightenment through their practice of yoga. Religion offers communion with God through the acceptance of dogma and beliefs, while yoga emphasizes actions and leaves belief to the actual experience of those who benefit from the actions.
Considerations
Whether your interest in yoga stems from a desire to lose weight and get healthy or you're interested in the spiritual component, be aware that the U.S. doesn't have a governing body that oversees yoga instruction. Virtually anyone can claim to be a yoga expert or teacher. If you're considering a yoga class, take the time to research your instructor's credentials. The Yoga Alliance, which is based in Maryland, maintains a national registry of yoga instructors who have completed 200 hours of training or more. Before joining, learn all you can about the instructor's objectives. If you want to explore the deeper meaning of yoga, you'll want a teacher who has explored that deeper meaning as well.
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