Ever so often, someone would ask: "What kind of Yoga do you do?"
.
A question which is almost impossible to answer, for the mere posing of the question is in itself a sign of confusion.
.
A true Yogi - who practices authentic Yoga with sincerity - may practise Karma, Bhakti, Jnana and Raja Yoga in some combination. One Yogi encountering another Yogi is unlikely to ask such a meaningless question.
.
Nine out of ten times, the inquiry is a misled one and is directed as to which of the many modern or funky adaptations of postures does one practise.
.
Indeed, the typical public perception of Yoga has shifted a great deal in the recent years (akin to that for Tantra, but that's another topic altogether). As Swami Rama highlighted in Lectures on Yoga:
.
"The word Yoga is much used and much misunderstood these days, for our present age is one of faddism, and Yoga has often been reduced to the status of a fad.
.
Many false and incomplete teachings have been propagated in its name. It has been subject to commercial exploitation, and one small aspect of Yoga is often taken to be all of Yoga.
.
For instance, many people in the West think it is a physical and beauty cult, while others think it is a religion.
.
All of this has obscured the real meaning of Yoga."
Of course, the human body is a beautiful instrument and should be taken care of.
.
However, the body is merely an instrument, and is not itself the goal of traditional Yoga. The excessive focus on, and obsession with, the physical body in modern Yoga vulgarises the tradition.
.
In fact, work on the body is but one small part out of the four paths of Yoga. Together, these four paths of Yoga are aspects of a whole that is called Yoga. The four paths of Yoga work together, like fingers on a hand.
.
So the next time someone asks me That Question, do not be offended if I simply wave my hand.
.
~ Thanks to Kung Fu Master for triggering this. ~
.
.
