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Yoga: More African Americans are Doing It

© Larshal Veronica Vance

I was reading the august issue of Ebony magazine and I came across an article about African Americans and yoga. The article talked about the basics of yoga, the different kinds and some of the moves involved the article got me thinking about what yoga is and why are people starting to do it.

According to The Gale Encyclopedia states that yoga is a system that benefits the body, mind and spirit by teaching self-control through a series of postures (asanas) and exercises, as well as through breathing (pranayama), relaxation and meditation (dyana) techniques (Bruno, 1999). Reading that made me think that, as much stress as I have yoga may be a good thing. As I did some further research I discovered that there are many forms of yoga. Here is a list of the forms that I came across most often:

BHAKTI YOGA- the practice of extreme devolution in one-pointed concentration upon one's concept of God (American Yoga Association, 2001).

KARMA YOGA- all movement, all work of any kind is done with the mind centered on a personal concept of God (American Yoga Association, 2001).

JNANA YOGA- the path of wisdom, which is considered the most difficult path (American Yoga Association, 2001).

RAJA YOGA- called the royal road, because it incorporates exercise and breathing practice with meditation and study, producing a well-rounded individual (American Yoga Association, 2001).

MANTRA YOGA- a form that speaks to the deep organic roots of mans being by the use of vocalized and mental sound currents of both audible and inaudible frequencies (Murray, 1995).

LAYA YOGA- with this form you sense the heart center which is located inside they spine directly back of the heart. You overcome selfishness and self-centeredness, you become able to deal with your fears and worries because of the tremendous strength and insight you gain from the "heart expansion"(Yogaworld, 2001).

HATHA YOGA- the physical movements and postures, plus breathing techniques. This is what most people associated with Yoga practice (American Yoga Association, 2001).

TANTRA YOGA- a way of showing the unseen consciousness in form through specific words, diagrams and movements (American Yoga Association, 2001).

KUNDALINI YOGA- this is a combination of raja, hatha, tantra, laya and mantra yogas. The goal is the stimulation of the spiritual life force at the base of the spine (kundalini) so that it will rise easily from the lower centers of your being into the spiritual centers in your head where higher consciousness is perceived, experienced and ultimately, lived in (Yogaworld, 2001).