Yoga for the Soul

Yoga for the Soul

In this article, we look the main types of yoga that emphasize maily on spiritual practice and the integration of body, mind and soul.

Yoga started essentially as a spiritual practice by the Indians thousands of years ago. Here in the West, yoga has gone through a lot of modifications to meet the needs of modern individuals and lifestyles. Listed below are the major yoga styles that focus on spiritual aspect.

Sivananda Yoga

A philosophical practice created by Swami Sivananda, Sivananda yoga promotes "serve, love, give, purify, meditate, realize" in its practitioners.

Sivananda yoga's goal is to integrate body, mind, understanding and emotions by following the twelve postures from hatha yoga that emphasize on the spine.

Practitioners remove any physical blocks to the total integration of self through chanting, pranayama and meditation.

Integral Yoga

Integral yoga was created by the Reverend Sri Swami Satchidananda in 1966 with the objective of helping students to integrate the philosophy of yoga into their daily life. Meditating using classic hatha postures, Integral yoga tries to balance physical effect of the practice with the relaxation effects.

Ananda Yoga

Swami Kriyananda created Ananda yoga back in 1960s. Ananda Yoga uses silent affirmations during each yoga pose to maximize the benefits of each asana.

Simple hatha poses help to prepare the brain for meditation and better self awareness of spirit is achieved by focusing on proper alignment and pranayama.

Kundalini Yoga

Once a closely guarded secret practiced by the select few, Kundalini Yoga came to the United States in 1969.

Through correct postures, deep dynamic breathing, continuous chanting and mantra meditation, practitioners emphasize on awakening the energy at the base of the spine and controlling the flow of this energy up through each of the 7 chakras.

Whatever the reason you want to learn yoga- even if your primary goal is for exercise, you can attain the spiritual dimension of the practice through concentration, controlled breathing and discipline.