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Yoga
This section adapted from the Yoga basics website.
Yoga is a vast collection of spiritual techniques and practices all aimed at integrating mind, body and spirit and achieving a state of enlightenment or oneness with the universe.
Yoga is not a religion but a spiritual practice, which does not require any specific belief system to participate. The philosophies of yoga are universal and can be incorporated within any belief system. The science of yoga has developed a vast amount of techniques which all lead to the same point of unification of the mind-body-spirit.
There are many styles of Yoga that differ according to where emphasis is placed. For example, coordination of breath and movement, holding the postures, the flow of one posture to another or focusing on strict alignment of the body. The physical postures, breathing exercises and meditation practices of yoga have been proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, regulate heart rate, and even slow down the ageing process. No style is better than another; it’s simply a matter of personal preference. Below is a comparison of many of the styles.
 Karma Yoga: the way of right action, serving without the motivation of obtaining the results of labour.
Bhakti Yoga: the way of devotion, devotion to a supreme being absorbing the emotions and self in pure love.
Jnana Yoga: the way of knowledge, studying god and learning to discriminate between illusion and the reality that all is god.
Hatha Yoga: the physical path, using the body through asana and pranayama to control the mind and senses.
Tantric Yoga: the feminine path, worshiping the goddess energy and seeing the body as the temple of the divine.
Kundalini Yoga: the path of energy, arousing the energy stored in the chakras through breathing and movement.
Raja Yoga: the path of meditation, controlling the mind from wandering and obtaining mastery over thought.
To find yoga practitioner in Australia go to the Australian Natural Therapy pages.
Read a survivor's story about yoga and how it has helped.
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