The doors of the studio have been open for a few weeks now! It feels great to be back in to a routine again. As I mentioned in my last Musing, I absolutely love the HeartFelt community. I’m pretty sure the best people do yoga at HeartFelt Yoga 💚💚
In this HeartFelt Musing, I want to discuss the four yogic paths. Maybe you have heard your favourite teacher talk about yoga being a lifestyle- following one (or all four) of these pathways will guide you to this kind of life. There is usually one pathway that we are drawn to, but integrating all four will develop the mind, body and soul.
So, what are these four paths? They are Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Gyana Yoga.
Of these four types, I bet the one you have heard about the most is Karma Yoga. Unfortunately, the word Karma has been given a bad rap here in the west. But Karma yoga is actually a beautiful way to practice yoga! This is a path of service. While practicing Karma yoga we are fulfilling our dharma (our role in life) without attachment to the outcome. When we can give without expecting anything in return, the ego will start to dissolve. Sometimes this giving is as simple as holding the door for someone; at other moments it may look like giving constructive advice. Karma yoga can even be practiced by you walking away from an unhealthy situation. A Karma yogi is serving to create a better world, they serve with tolerance, patience and joy.
Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion and love for a higher power. A Bhakti yogi lives a life of humility, compassion and unconditional love for everything. For one living a Bhakti lifestyle. they see God in the heart of everyone and everything. The practice of Bhakti Yoga includes chanting of mantras (uplifting phrases or words) meditation and studying or learning from yogic text. This devotion will lead us to higher levels of consciousness and ultimately Samadhi or enlightenment.
Raja Yoga is the path of control- controlling the mind, the senses & the ego. Most yoga teacher trainings talk about the eight limbs of yoga. Raja yoga uses these eight limbs to find this control. We control our physical body with asana, our mind with meditation and our energy with pranayama. When your favourite teacher is talking about yoga as a lifestyle, living a life based on the teachings of the eight limbs of yoga is probably what he/she is talking about. So, if you go to an asana class regularly, you can say you’re a Raja yogi!! If you are interested in learning more about the eight limbs, I invite you to join me for my upcoming Yoga for the Soul weekend retreat.
The last path is Gyana yoga. This is the path of knowledge about the self. This is an intellectual approach to a spiritual life. I have talked in a few of my other musings about my love for self study! There needs to be a curiosity to practice Gyana yoga. To walk this path, we analyse our actions (with detachment), using the understanding of yogic text. This is the mind inquiring into it’s own nature. This study is easier if there is already a firm foundation in the other three pathways.
The practice of yoga is so deep and meaningful! When a choice is made to live a life of yoga, this is really a choice to fill your life with service, with acceptance, with unity, with joy, with kindness and most importantly, with love! This is the world I want to live in- oh wait this is the world I live in, because this is the world I have created for myself 😁
Until next time,
Sandra