ORIGINS OF YOGA 13Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti yoga is the path of love and devotion. This is where we devote our-
selves emotionally to God, spirit, and the divine. This can be accomplished
through music, dance, art, and poetry. Like the other paths of yoga, the point
in bhakti yoga is to take ourselves beyond our limited selves and back to our
true eternal nature.
Since I started practicing yoga I have always felt a real affinity with bhakti
yoga, especially the musical aspects of the path. One example of this is kirtan,
which came from India and has exploded in popularity at yoga studios through
the western world. Kirtan is a musical experience in which a singer leads a
music group. The singer calls out a mantra and the audience sings the mantra
back. Think about the last music concert you went to. Chances are there was a
moment when the lead singer sang something, and then the entire auditorium
sang it back, and it was electrifying. Perhaps this was even the highlight of the
whole show.
This is how kirtan is the entire time. It’s as if you are a part of the band
and a cocreator of the music. Traditionally, kirtan uses Sanskrit mantras and
names of God. Just like a yoga pose purifies the body, a mantra purifies
the mind and the heart. As these become purified, our natural qualities of
compassion, forgiveness, and love become fully expressed. In the end, love
is the essence of life. On two occasions I have had a brush with death. In
both instances, when confronted with my death, I didn’t think about anything
material or physical. I didn’t think about my car, favorite shoes, job, or money.
I thought about all the people I loved in my life and all the people that had
demonstrated their love to me.
Anytime you create music or art for God, you are engaging in bhakti yoga.
Love and devotion give you wings to take flight above and beyond the ego
and into a boundless and infinite place. From this place, you have the imme-
diate potential to transform yourself, your family, your community, and the
world. Let there be love.
Hat ha Yoga
In India, the most common form of yoga is bhakti. In the West, the most
common form is hatha yoga. Hatha means sun and moon; you could also
say yang and yin. It is about finding the balance between these two opposing
forces of nature.
Hatha yoga began to flourish around the 10th century CE as a way to
support yogis’ meditation practices through the use of asanas (postures) and
breathing techniques (pranayama). One of the main texts from this tradition
is the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, written around 1350 CE by Swami Swatmarama.
In this text are 15 postures, and 8 are seated postures.