A Healthy Chick Moment of Yoga: Four Paths of Yoga

Yoga means Union. Union between the individual self and the Universal Self; union between Body-Mind-Spirit. Yoga is not just a system of physical exercises. It is a classical system of personal development of body, mind, spirit. There are four main paths to attain this Union which brings health, happiness and peace of mind: Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga (Hatha Yoga) and Jnana Yoga. Each path is suited to a different temperament or approach to life. All the paths lead ultimately to the same goal. The lessons of each path need to be integrated if true wisdom is to be attained.

1. Karma Yoga, The Path of Action

By acting selflessly, without thought of personal gain or reward, and by detaching from the fruits of actions and instead offering them to God, the Karma Yogi purifies the heart and sublimates the ego.

2. Bhakti Yoga, The Path of Devotion

Through prayer, worship and ritual, the Bhakti Yogi surrenders to God, channeling and transmuting emotions into unconditional love or devotion. Chanting or singing the praises of God form a substantial part of Bhakti Yoga.

3. Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga

This path is often called Ashtanga, or eight-limbed yoga. It is the path of body, breath and mind control, and meditation. Hatha yoga is part of Raja yoga. It offers a systematic method for controlling the waves of thought. The chief practice of Raja Yoga is meditation. When body and energy are under control, meditation comes naturally.

4. Jnana Yoga, The Yoga of Knowledge

This is vedantic meditation and self-enquiry. Requiring tremendous strength of will and intellect, the Jnana Yogi uses intellect to inquire into his or her own true nature and into the nature of reality. 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.

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- Lauren

Bringing Balance to the Workplace Through Yoga

Babies are born yogis. When we were younger we were all able to pull our toes up by our ears and simply laugh. Then we grew, we aged, we got injured and we began carrying stress on our back, shoulders, and neck. Our bodies became tighter, muscles grew stiff and we lost our balance.

Yoga helps create a sense of union in body, mind and spirit. It brings us balance.

The Physical benefits: Creates a toned, flexible, and strong body. Improves respiration, energy, and vitality. Helps to maintain a balanced metabolism. Promotes cardio and circulatory health. Relieves pain. Helps you look and feel younger than your age. Improves your athletic performance.

The Mental benefits: Helps you relax and handle stressful situations more easily. Teachesyou how to quiet the mind so you can focus your energy where you want it to go - into a difficult yoga pose, on the tennis court or golf course, or in the office. Encourages positive thoughts and self-acceptance.

The Spiritual benefits: Builds awareness of your body, your feelings, the world around you, the needs of others. Promotes an interdependence between mind, body, and spirit. Helps you live the concept of "oneness."

Yoga in the workplace has the added benefits of boosting energy, reducing work related stress, relieving office chair back pain, all of which add up to happier employees and increased productivity. But for the most part, the evidence of the benefits of yoga is anecdotal. They range from the simple "I can touch my toes again" to "it helped me handle my stress." A former student and corporate client in West Patterson said, “I enjoy yoga at the office because it is convenient. By practicing it in the work environment, I can relate the relaxation techniques to my job. I find that I am a better employee when I practice yoga, I can ‘go with the flow’, rather than waste time and energy fighting changes. Especially in today’s business environment, the pace is fast and ever changing.”

The great thing about yoga is, you don’t have to be able to touch your toes to do it. Anyone can do yoga-no matter how young or old you are, whether you're a couch potato or a professional athlete. Size and fitness level do not matter because there are modifications for every yoga pose. The idea is to explore your limits, not strive for some pretzel-like perfection.

If you work in the Metro Park area, you can check out a class at Metro Park Wellness located at 99 Wood Ave South, Iselin, NJ. Classes are offered on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 12:15 – 1:00pm and 1:15 – 2:00pm on the 8^th Floor. It's a $10 drop in and yoga mats are provided. Simply wear comfortable clothing that allows you to move. Just remember one thing: the purpose of yoga isn’t to tie you in knots; it’s to untie the knots you already have and bring balance back to the body.

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~Terra