Yoga — the paths of union
योग
Also written: yoga paths · types of yoga · jnana bhakti karma raja yoga · hatha yoga · kriya yoga · योग
Yoga is from yuj — to yoke, to join. What is joined is the individual and the whole; the many yogas are many temperaments approaching that one thing. Choosing among them is not a matter of preference but of svadharma: the path that matches your grain is the one that will carry you.
| Yoga | For the nature that is | Instrument | Root text |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jñāna | Reflective, analytical, dissatisfied with second-hand answers | Enquiry, discrimination, the question 'who am I?' | The Upaniṣads; Vivekacūḍāmaṇi |
| Bhakti | Emotional, relational, moved by love before argument | Devotion, kīrtana, self-offering, the nine limbs | Bhāgavata; Nārada Bhakti Sūtra; Gītā 12 |
| Karma | Active, outward, restless in stillness | Work offered without claim on its result | Bhagavad Gītā 3 and 5 |
| Rāja | Introspective, disciplined, willing to sit | The eight limbs; the stilling of the mind | Patañjali's Yoga Sūtra |
The supporting methods
| Method | Works through |
|---|---|
| Haṭha | The body: āsana, prāṇāyāma, bandha, mudrā, ṣaṭkarma. Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā, Śiva Saṁhitā |
| Laya | Dissolution of mind into the inner sound (nāda) and the bindu |
| Mantra | Sound — repetition until the mantra recites itself |
| Kriyā | Prescribed sequences of breath and attention along the spine |
| Svara | The breath's own alternation of nāḍīs, read and worked with directly |
What they share
- All begin with yama and niyama — conduct first. There is no yoga that starts at the cushion.
- All require a teacher, because the errors are invisible from inside.
- All are gradual and cumulative; the texts are uniformly hostile to shortcuts.
- All treat the siddhis — the powers that arise on the way — as obstacles, not achievements.
In this section
Svara Yoga — the science of the breath
The tradition that reads the breath itself: iḍā, piṅgalā and suṣumnā, the five tattvas carried in the flow, the pause as the doorway, and the Śiva Svarodaya.
Dhyāna — meditation
What meditation is in this tradition: the progression from dhāraṇā to samādhi, the main methods, the obstacles Patañjali names, and the honest description of what to expect.
Mantra and japa
What a mantra is, why sound is treated as more than a carrier of meaning, the great mantras, the forms of japa, and the role of initiation.
Pūjā — daily worship
The sixteen offerings of the classical rite, what image worship actually means in the tradition's own terms, and the shape of a daily practice at home.
Svara Yoga — the science of the breath
The tradition that reads the breath itself: iḍā, piṅgalā and suṣumnā, the five tattvas carried in the flow, th…
Dhyāna — meditation
What meditation is in this tradition: the progression from dhāraṇā to samādhi, the main methods, the obstacles…
Mantra and japa
What a mantra is, why sound is treated as more than a carrier of meaning, the great mantras, the forms of japa…
Pūjā — daily worship
The sixteen offerings of the classical rite, what image worship actually means in the tradition's own terms, a…
Last revised 2026-08-16. Corrections are welcome — see how this site is written.