Types of Yoga

1
Types of Yoga

• Brittany Bache
• Christina Colosimo
• Maggie Fenstemaker
• Scott Miller

2
Introduction

• In the US, yoga is becoming a rapidly popular
  practice.
• Yoga is a practice that creates harmony between
  the mind and the body and it spiritually awakens
  the soul.
• Originated India through Hindu religion.
• The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word
  yuj, meaning to yoke
• Yoga means to unite or merge.
• Unites mind and body through asanas (posture),
  pranayama (breath control), dharana
  (concentration), and dhyana (meditation)

3
Original Hypothesis for Yoga

• Our hypothesis in the beginning of the semester
  was to find the connection between
  religious/spiritual realization and yoga.
• How can we make the connection between yoga poses
  and breathing techniques and spiritual nirvana?

4
Testing Our Hypothesis
We implemented our hypothesis in various
ways -15 minute daily workout -Daily journal
(kept records of struggles, achievements, and
new learnings) -Weekly instructed yoga
classes -Weekly blackboard posts -Group
discussions -Research paper
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Connections to Religion 101

• We related our spiritual daily yoga practice to
  those of the Muslim prayers
• The consistency of daily practice and the
  connection Muslims make with God is closely
  related to aspects that we have practiced
  throughout our experience.
• EXAMPLES
• Specific breathing techniques, correct posture,
  daily repetition, and performance on mat.

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Questions

• How many classmates have attempted yoga in the
  past?
• Did you find it enjoyable?
• Has the media influenced your decisions in
  attempting this spiritual practice?
• Do you believe yoga is more beneficial to your
  physical or spiritual needs?

7
Areas of Concentration

• Jivamukti Yoga
• Kundalini Yoga
• Karma Yoga
• Iyengar Yoga
• Jnana Yoga
• Bhakti Yoga

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Jivamukti Yoga

• Most popular type of yoga today in the US,
  created by David Life and Sharon Gannon.
• The idea of Jivamukti is that it liberates the
  soul from past, present, and future karma.
• Life and Gannon incorporate ideas of traditional
  yoga to help young Americans understand the
  practice without losing meanings, teachings, and
  methods.
• Incorporates ideas from Patanjalis yoga Sutra,
  the Bhajavad-Gita, Hatha yoga, Padipika, and the
  Upanishads.

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Jivamukti as a Class

• A practitioner learns understanding of the
  religion, vegetarianism, animal rights,
  environmental and social activism, music, and
  meditation.
• One may listen to a range of music including
  Beatles and Van Morrison because those artists
  celebrate the philosophical ideals of God as
  love, peace, and nonviolence

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Yoga Pose 1- UtkatasanaThe Awkward Chair Pose

• Bend the Knees until the thighs are almost
  parallel to the floor
• Keep the butt low
• Bring the arms up towards the ceiling
• Bring a slight back bend into the upper back
• Hold 5-10 breaths

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Kundalini Yoga

• It encourages physical wellness and inspires the
  mind.
• Kundalini yoga focuses mainly on physical balance
  and positioning.
• It is based on kriyas or specially formulated
  sets of exercises.
• Kundalini yoga focuses on control of the lower
  spine and body.

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How Kundalini is Beneficial to Practitioner

• It helps people maintain healthy bodies, and keep
  a firm muscle tone.
• Kundalini yoga increases oxygen capacity and
  blood flow, as well as strengthens the nervous
  system.
• It is popularly believed that Kundalini Yoga is
  the most admired and effective method of yoga.

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Cat -Cow Stretch

• 1. Start in all fours, bringing the wrists
  underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath
  the hips.
• 2. Think of the spine as a straight line
  connecting the shoulders to the hips. Try
  visualizing the line extending forward through
  the crown of the head and backwards through the
  tail bone.
• 3. Keep the neck the natural extension of the
  spine.

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Karma Yoga

• Karma, in the Hindu religion, is said to be work
  or action.
• Karma yoga represents the joining of both the
  physical and mental aspects of Hindu philosophy
  to produce a single concept.
• The main focus of Karma yoga is the performance
  of actions dwelling in union with the Divine,
  removing attachment and remaining balanced ever
  in success and failure.
• It is important to remember that for every
  effect theres a cause, and the devotee realizes
  that he, in his present life situation, is
  experiencing the effects of a number of causes
  which he has entertained and enacted.

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Camel Pose

• 1. Come up onto the knees. Take padding under the
  knees if they are sensitive.
• 2. Draw the hands up the side of the body as you
  start to open the chest.
• 3. Reach the hands back one at a time to grasp
  the heels.
• 4. Bring the hips forward so that they are over
  the knees.
• 5. Let the head come back, opening the throat.

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Iyengar Yoga

• B.K.S. Iyengar created Iyengar yoga in the 20th
  century.
• Iyengar emphasizes the development of strength,
  stamina, flexibility, balance, concentration, and
  meditation.
• This form of yoga uses props such as belts,
  chairs, blankets, and blocks in order to support
  and help adjust the body in different ranges of
  motion. These ranges help to improve ones
  posture.
• Not only can Iyengar improve ones posture, but it
  can also improve the digestive, circulatory, and
  respiratory systems.

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Iyengar Practices

• In Iyengar practice, one is required to master
  the art of breathing before he/she can work on
  the postures.
• The main idea of Iyengar yoga is the mastery of
  the body is the gateway to mastery of the mind.
• In Iyengar yoga, the soul and the body are
  interconnected. For example, if ones body feels
  poorly, then the mind will also feel poorly.

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Bow Pose

• 1. Come to lie on the stomach, taking a blanket
  under the hips as padding.
• 2. Reach the hands back and take hold of the
  ankles.
• 3. On an inhale, draw the torso and legs up off
  the floor simultaneously.
• 4. If you can, bring the thighs to rest on the
  floor.

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Jnana Yoga

• Jnana primarily focuses on knowledge and insight
  of the human mind.
• The word Jnana means wisdom or knowledge.
• Jnana Yoga is the path of Self-realization
  through the exercise of Gnostic understand, ( to
  be more precise, the wisdom associated with
  discerning the Real from the unreal or illusory).

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Benefits of the Jnana Practitioner

• Jnana practitioners channel motivations and
  desires that may be conflicting with their
  everyday life.
• Jnana allows a person to gain a better control of
  his or her own mind and soul.
• Practitioners are known to behave the most
  disciplined of all those who partake in yoga
  practices.

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Bridge Pose

• 1. Come to lie on the back.
• 2. Bend the knees, bringing the soles of the feet
  parallel on the mat close to the buttocks.
• 3. Lift the hips up towards the ceiling.
• 4. Interlace the fingers behind your back and
  straighten the arms, pressing them down into the
  mat.
• 5. Roll one shoulder under and then the other.
• 6. Lift the hips higher.
• 7. Draw the chest toward the chin, but do not
  move the chin toward the chest.
• 8. Make sure the feet stay parallel.
• 9. Release the hands and bring the upper, middle,
  and then lower back down.
• 10. Rest , allowing the knees to knock together

22
Bhakti Yoga

• Bhakti focuses principally on emotional forces of
  human beings.
• Bhakti yoga is based on a person becoming
  purified and channeling their anger toward the
  Divine.
• Bhakti roots from the word bhaj which means
  to share or participate in.
• It is known as the Yoga of love and devotion.
• Bhakti Yoga involves self-dedication, many
  practitioners that partake in this yoga leave
  with a higher sense of self-confidence.

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Bhakti emphasis on deity

• Bhakti can also mean the devotion of one
  individual to another individual.
• Often a statue or picture of a deity (Jesus,
  Buddha, etc.) is displayed during this type of
  yoga.
• The love and devotion towards the other
  individual, as well as themselves, provides
  spiritual meaning to the yoga process.

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Hypothesis Proven

• We found a connection between yoga practice and
  religious achievement by focusing on channeling
  our inner thoughts and beliefs into relaxing
  positions and postures.
• We found ourselves closer to God by channeling
  our thoughts into the positive aspects in life
  rather than the negative.
• We found a transition between a basic exercise
  into a holy practice.
• We also found holiness entering our everyday
  lives by being less stressed, and turning to God
  for guidance.

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Concluding Questions

• After attaining a new perspective of yoga, do you
  feel differently about the practice?
• As a new knowledgeable practitioner of yoga, do
  you find yoga to relieve stress? Do you feel
  more spiritually inclined?
• Would encourage others to partake in yoga?
• Will you continue your journey of yoga practice?
• We recommend attending classes held at JCU
• Tuesdays Thursdays, 730 pm in the Gym Annex

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Works Cited

• "Ashtanga Yoga ." Sanatana Society. 19 Nov 2006
  lthttp//www.sanatansociety.org/yoga_and_meditation
  /tantra_yoga_ashtanga_yoga.htmgt.
• Feuerstein, Georg PH.D. The Yoga Tradition- Its
  History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice.
   Hohm Press Prescott, AZ.  1998. Pp 40-49. Nov.
  2006.
•   Iyengar Yoga Resources. Mira Mehta. 2000-2006.
  Iyengar Yoga Resources. 3 November 2006
  lthttp//www.iyengar-yoga.com/iyengaryoga/gt
• Iyengar Yoga. Wikipedia. 3 November 2006
  http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyengar_Yoga
• Jivamukti Yoga. Rachel Flax. Spring of 2003 and
  Spring of 2005. Barnard College Columbia
  University. 3 November 2006 http//www.barnard.col
  umbia.edu/religion/hinduismhere/rachel.html
• "Karma Yoga." Yoga World. 13 Nov 2006
  lthttp//www.yogaworld.org/karma.htmgt. Kundalini
  Yoga and Meditation Yoga. Healthy, Happy, Holy
  Organization.  2004. Pp. 1-2. 2 November 2006. lt
  http//www.3ho.org/kundaliniyoga.htmlgt
• Lai, Betty. "Ashtanga Yoga Background." 14 July
  2003. Ashtanga Yoga. 13 Nov 2006
  http//www.ashtanga.com/html/background.html
• . "Raja Yoga Meditation" Mystic Worlds
  Fellowship. 15 Nov 2006 lthttp//www.yogaworld.org/
  raja.htmgt.
• Sivananda, Swami. Practice of karma yoga. Delhi
  Motilal Banarsidass, 1974.
• Sivananda, Sri Swami . "Tantra Yoga." 15 Nov 2006
  (Online book) lthttp//www.dlshq.org/teachings/tant
  rayoga.htmgt.
• "Tantra Yoga." Mystic World Fellowship. 15 Nov
  2006 lthttp//www.yogaworld.org/tantra.htmgt.
• "What is Tantra Yoga?." Sanatana Society. 15 Nov
  2006 lthttp//www.sanatansociety.org/yoga_and_medit
  ation/tantra_yoga.htmgt.