In modern day’s history of yoga, it has transformed significantly from the older days, along with the establishment of a variety of different schools. Modern yoga is more of the physical stance and poses that comes with the art and is varies widely from the traditional teachings. Most notably is the vehicle employed in the teaching of yoga in the western civilisation which employs different outlet of media including classes, books, magazines and articles? In fact, with the proliferation of technology, modern yoga could be done anywhere at any time with the aid of videos.
The fact is, there is no traditional or modern yoga, but rather what yoga has evolved to mean in modern times. Yoga which literally means “union” is merely a system in which one practice and lives by in order to seek a higher fulfilment. Postures and exercises are merely part of yoga and do not define the word. However, with the introduction of yoga to the Western civilisation, corporate industries have begun to warp the meaning of yoga into something of a physical exercise. This is exactly why we see “Yoga Studios” popping up around us that merely teach students about the different poses and breathing techniques. In culmination, modern yoga is more of a selected concentration on the physical postures in yoga rather than traditional yoga which defines an entire belief system.
As humans progress, thought processes too vary and internalisation increases. This has given birth to different methodologies, which are then individually assigned a school. As there are often many different schools throughout time, a lack of practitioners would result in defunct of the school. Some of the key methodologies of yoga include Modern Hinduism, Hatha Yoga, Eclectic Yoga and Yoga that has been incorporated into religious traditions.
Among the following styles of yoga, Hatha Yoga remains one of the most popular styles of yoga around the world. It incorporates the use of physical techniques also known as asanas (postures) in order to achieve balance in the body. Some of the latest schools of Hatha Yoga include the Naam yoga that was established in 2006 and gained widespread popularity. Below lists some of the other schools of Hatha Yoga:
In the modern take of modern Hinduism and its revival, yoga has been used in the religion due to the different philosophies and concepts that it embodies. Below lists the different schools in modern Hinduism:
Despite yoga first originating from India, the reception of its ideologies are often well received amongst other religions and thus have been incorporated within other religious practices adopting similar meditation techniques and exercises. Some of the following schools listed below illustrates this clearly:
It is definitely important to understand what form of yoga works best for your life as the end game is for “Yoga” as a whole to benefit you. Choose your school wisely as they often time imbue character traits that are both beneficial spiritually and physically.