Lesser Known Types of Yoga
When you are looking for ways to cope with what life brings, the methods of Yoga might be there for you in forms you haven’t yet explored.
You already know that there is Yoga beyond movement in the form of meditation, breathwork, etc., but have you heard of the Yoga of knowledge or the Yoga of action?
These powerful tools of Yoga can help you find a way out of depression, cope with anxiety, or provide a path towards what you are searching for in life. Explore the one that matches your personality the best.
Jnana Yoga
Try it if…
✓ You like to understand things before you can find belief in them
✓ Understanding helps you find a way forward
✓ You enjoy learning
What is it?
Translating as the Yoga of knowledge & wisdom, Jnana Yoga is all about enquiring and learning.
Though its ultimate goal is spiritual liberation and self-realization, in your day to day life and as a method to relieve mental suffering, we can use it to try to identify and understand what troubles us.
Ways I practice it
To help when I realize why I might be suffering
When I start recognizing the cause of not feeling good in my mind or body, I try to learn about the cause in details. I am a person who needs to understand before I can move on from something, so this works for me.
For spiritual growth:
Learning about the spiritual path personally helps me as much as following it.
Karma Yoga
Try it if…
✓ You like to keep busy and like action in your life in general
✓ You love to work with others
✓ You are energetic & love to work on different projects
What is it?
Karma Yoga is the Yoga of action and selfless service. It is said to be the most practical way towards spiritual development. While helping others is the common path of it, it can also be practiced with any action we perform - being fully aware of it without being attached to the result.
Ways I practice it:
When I am stuck or unsure of what to do:
When I just can’t get clarity, I drop all efforts and do something for someone else. Works wonders for me.
When I am depressed:
The fastest way out of depression for me is when I can finally stop pitying myself. I then remember that action is the opposite of in-action (which is what depression translates to me as) and I can slowly transition to doing something - anything, any action that I can manage at that time, which is the first step out of the dark space.
Bhakti Yoga
Try it if…
✓ You are a joyful person
✓ You find it easy to love
✓ You love to laugh, sing and dance
What is it?
Bhakti Yoga is the practice of selfless devotion and celebrating the creation (life) in everything.
It is the most commonly seen way followed for spiritual development, but there are ways to seek it beyond organized religion and dogmas.
You can devote yourself to art, a cause, or to a service to others.
Ways I practice it:
Though the word ‘devotion’ and the description of Bhakti Yoga invokes slight feelings of aversion in myself, I have recently realized that because of the more spiritual path I have started to take, I have been practicing Bhakti Yoga by celebrating life in all its forms: I’ve started recognizing and appreciating life beyond the forms to which I defined it previously.
Before you go…
Whichever of these traditional schools of Yoga evoked strong feelings in you (positive or negative), taking a bit of time and learning a little more about it might point you to a Yoga path you have not previously considered and you might discover it is what you’ve been unconsciously searching for for a while.
Have unanswered Yoga questions?
Ask in our next webinar!
As well as answering your questions, we discuss :
✓ Finding the right Yoga practice
✓ Making Yoga practice regular
✓ How to learn and advance