~The Many Yoga Paths~

   Most people these days know that yoga involves some sorts of exercises, breathing, relaxation and / or meditation techniques. When yoga first became popular in the West in the 1960's, it was mainly adopted as an exercise routine, predominantly embraced by women for health and fitness purposes. As a result of this, even today, it is still the yoga postures which are the most well known aspect of yoga, and it is also true that it is the physical postures which constitute the majority of most people's yoga practise. In the shops there are many beautiful books with photogenic front cover artworks of lithe young babes in bright, body hugging leotards, at sunset on a palm beach in paradise performing extraordinary and difficult postures. Such imagery subtly suggests that "you too could be like this if you do yoga", and that yoga is now a trendy and thoroughly modern way to feel beautiful and close to nature. Unfortunately this snap shot mentality has caused the popular belief that yoga is just exercises for the fit, or mystical escapism from everyday reality. Such limited presentations of yoga have also put off a lot of potential yoga beginners who think "I could never do that".
   But the real truth about yoga is far from this. Most of the millions of yoga practitioners throughout the world today are ordinary, inflexible folk, spanning a wide range of all ages and abilities, and who will never get to such a level of gymnastic expertise. They may arrive at their first yoga class in some run down old community hall, right next to the highway traffic, in dowdy old tracksuits, with their tired limbs and stiff joints, their shallow breathing, their scattered minds, expecting little more than to go home stretched and relaxed. Alternatively they may arrive at a nicely appointed New Age type of yoga studio with soft lighting, clouds of incense, tinkling harp music, wall charts of ancient sages and chakras where, after an hour or two of silent meditation they float off home completely rejuvenated in mind and body. In short, there are many styles of yoga on offer today.
   All of the modern styles of yoga that one might encounter today can be traced back to one or other of the classical forms, listed following.
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