Last night, we had our last class in the YogaLife NH “Beginning Yoga” series led by Allison Parks Dugas.  I don’t really have an ‘official’ rating system but, if I did, I would give this course a 5 out of 5.  I cannot fully explain how fantastic it was to start each week off with a Yoga class.  It still seems odd to me to say that but I can’t recommend it enough.  For this post, I want to focus on the five forms, or branches, of yoga.  We spent some time last night thinking of which of these branches might resonate with us the most.

The five branches are:

Tantra – is the yoga of the body, postures, breathing, and nutrition (includes Hatha Yoga)
Raja – is the meditation path and the study of the mind
Bhakti – Devotion (to higher self, others, self) is very much from the heart and loving.  This path focuses on relationships.
Karma – Selfless service or responsibility.  Doing one’s duty.
Jnana – is the path of knowledge.  Study of scriptures and self.

It was asserted that the way to get the most out of Yoga is to devote yourself to one path and that, hopefully, one path calls to you more than others.  Naturally, they all call to me.  Of course they do.  Even in this, I can’t identify with only one concept; I want to make them all work.  But, IF I had to pick one, then it would have to be Jnana.

Why Jnana?

I would choose this one for a couple of reasons.  First, I am someone who loves to learn, loves information, spends much of his life adding to his knowledgebase.  I spend SO much time reading, studying, and researching that it can be hard to find me without a book in my hand (or on my phone).  That, of course, is one of the reasons why I have so much information to share with you.  Ali is the same way; that’s why we mesh so well.

And second, I have an inherent thirst for self-study and personal development (hence the focus of this blog).  Why do we do the things that we do?  How do we control our actions, reach our goals, and live with passion?

How I started down my path

With Yoga, I dove right in.  I purchased books, read online, and began practicing at home before I knew what I was doing (don’t do that last one).  With the knowledge path, I think I can integrate all of the other paths because learning about them seems important to my overall understanding of Yoga itself.  Yes, I think I discovered a loophole 🙂 

I know that I don’t have a lot of info on the paths but which would you choose?  Do you do Yoga?  And, if so, do you integrate this concept of paths into your practice?