...yoga, an individual becomes true spiritual seeker and realizes his true nature as Atman and he lives in this world, works for this world and still stays untouched from the grossness of the mundane pleasures, thus doing immense good to the society while on his path to salvation and spiritual freedom.

The Swami Sivananda Yoga Venanda Center sums up karma yoga into five actions:

Right Attitude Its not what you do that counts, its the attitude while doing it that determines if a job is a karma yoga job, i.e. a liberating job, or a binding job.

Right Motive Same as attitude. It is not what you do that counts but your real motive behind it.

Do your duty. Give your best. Give results.

Jnana Yoga. This is the most difficult path, requiring tremendous strength of will and intellect. Taking the philosophy of Vedanta the Jnana Yogi uses his mind to inquire into its own nature. We perceive the space inside and outside a glass as different, just as we see ourselves as separate from god. Jnana Yoga leads the devotee to experience his unity with god directly by breaking the glass, dissolving the veils of ignorance. Before practicing Jnana Yoga, the aspirant needs to have integrated the lessons of the other yogic paths - for without selflessness and love of god, strength of body and mind, the search for self-realization can become mere idle speculation.

Jnana yoga teaches that there are four means to salvation:

Viveka - Discrimination: The ability to differentiate between what is real/eternal (Brahman) and what is unreal/temporary (everything else in the universe.)

Vairagya - Dispassion: after practice one should be able to "detach" themself from everything that is "temporary."

Shad-sampat - The 6 Virtues: Tranquility (control of the mind), Dama (control of the senses), Uparati (renunciation of activities that are not duties), Titiksha (endurance), Shraddha (faith), Samadhana (perfect concentration).

Mumukshutva - Intense longing for liberation from temporal limitations.more

Yoga in Practice: Ten Solutions for Depressed Yoga Students, Part 3

... facets, but all of them lead to good health. A Yoga student who practices once in a while, is better off than never having practiced at all, but should not expect to see significant results. This is why Yoga teachers have to tell their students the truth about expectations.

Do not sugar coat a Yoga students responsibility to practice Yoga on an almost daily basis. This is also how a medical prescription works. Can you imagine what would happen if patients took their prescribed medicine once in a while?

Continuity is the key to good health and a steady Yoga practice will yield good mental, physical, and spiritual health. This is also true for everything worth attaining in life.

Copyright 2006 Paul Jerard / Aura Publications<...more

Breast Cancer Awareness and the Benefits of Practicing Yoga Daily

...a 12 week yoga program or to a 12 week waitlisted control group. The groups were ethnically diverse, with 42% African American and 31% Hispanic. The yoga group participated in one gentle yoga class per week. The yoga program was developed by coauthor Chirag Shah, an Oncologist and RYT, in conjunction with experts in India and the united States. The program consisted of physical stretches and poses, breathing exercises, and meditation. All activities were performed in a seated or reclining position, with props for support as appropriate.

The results are hardly surprising to those of us who have felt the benefits of regular yoga practice for...more

Yoga and Spiritual Self-Reconciliation

...Yoga is a broad term, but it has many styles that are encompassed within this health maintenance system. Most forms of Yoga address physical, mental, and spiritual health - while some are a little strong in one area, but might be a bit lacking somewhere else.

One example would be Hatha Yoga and its many popular sub-styles. When Yoga traveled outside India, it evolved into non-Hindu cultures who chose to keep the spiritual aspect out of Yoga classes. Yoga is not a religion, but Hindu principles do exist within some Yoga studios.

For example: Yama and Niyama are Hindu principles, but many of us would recognize them as univer...more