Raja Yoga

king of the yoke

Raja yoga (Sanskrit, राजयोग, rāja•yōga, “king of the yoke”) or ♚𐒋𐒆𐒛Ⱥ♔™, in the system I developed since becoming a trained yoga instructor in the 1980s, is not a rigid series of steps but a process:

bhakti yoga (Sanskrit, भक्तियोग, bhakti•yōga, “yoking through the bestowal of devotion”) ➔ jnana yoga (Sanskrit, ज्ञानयोग, jñāna•yōga, “yoking through knowledge”) ➔ hatha yoga (Sanskrit, हठयोग, haṭha•yōga, “yoking through force”) ➔ karma yoga (Sanskrit, कर्मयोग, karma•yōga, “yoking through action”).

Logically, however, before one can engage in positive physical activity (karma yoga), one needs to be in physical shape (hatha yoga).

To me, bhakti yoga is devotion to a being, such as a Deity, or a cause, as in communism. Jnana yoga is the acquisition of knowledge in general.

Hatha yoga is stretching, exercising, or simply moving. Anything can be a posture or an āsama (Sanskrit, आस॑न). Hatha yoga includes pranayama (Sanskrit, प्राणायाम, prāṇāyāma, “breath extention”). It is empirically effective in alleviating anxiety disorders.

Finally, karma yoga is action taken in love and service, especially revolutionary praxis.