Schools and Branches of Yoga
In the second century BCE, Patanjali compiled various yoga practices into the *Yoga Sutras* [Note 1], establishing the famous “Eight Limbs of Yoga,” i.e., eight areas of practice: (1) Yamas (ethical restraints), (2) Niyamas (personal observances), (3) Asanas (postures), (4) Pranayama (breath control), (5) Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses), (6) Dharana (concentration), (7) Dhyana (meditation), and (8) Samadhi (absorption).
These teachings, preserved for over two millennia, have long been regarded as authoritative. They reveal that yoga is a holistic practice for body, mind, and spirit, requiring diverse methods to be integrated fully for liberation. Ancient practitioners realized that many disciplines aid spiritual growth: proper diet, ethical conduct, good deeds (karma), spinal exercises (body alignment), breath awareness (pranayama), chanting mantras, devotional worship (bhakti), acquiring knowledge (jnana), and awakening kundalini energy—all are beneficial.
However, if Patanjali were alive today, he would likely shake his head in dismay at how later followers have fragmented these practices into rigid schools and dogmatic doctrines. He repeatedly emphasized meditation (dhyana) and the importance of mental stillness, yet said little about physical postures. Clearly, even if using joint flexibility exercises to align the spine and activate energy centers (chakras), diagnosis and tailored prescriptions are necessary—one pose addressing one specific issue. Unfortunately, modern practitioners often equate all yoga with Hatha Yoga (also known as Sun-Moon Yoga), blindly performing every posture without diagnosis—like swallowing every medicine in a cabinet in one gulp. Terms like “weight-loss yoga” and “beauty yoga” appear, straying far from the core purpose.