Jnana Yoga Exercises
To most people, the words yoga and exercise suggest physical poses, but there is much more to true yoga. The poses are only one branch of yoga---hatha yoga. Yoga comprises several disciplines. Jnana yoga is one of the mental disciplines and jnana yoga exercises are done with the mind.
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Goal
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A yoga practitioner aims for health on all levels---physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. The highest goal of yoga is total awareness of one's true nature.
Method
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To attain that awareness or enlightenment, serious yogis practice disciplines and observations in the various branches of yoga.
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Intellect
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According to yoga master Swami Satchidananda, the intellect of a yogi should be as sharp as a razor. In jnana yoga, that intellect is used to probe deeply into one's true nature.
Jnana Yoga
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Jnana yoga uses the mind to transcend itself, leading to full awareness of the Atman, God, the True Self.
Exercises
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The exercises of jnana yoga incorporate self-inquiry, study and contemplation to go beyond identification with the physical and mental and to wake to self-realization.
Example
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The most famous jnana yoga exercise uses the question, "Who am I?" In a meditative or contemplative state, the yogi asks himself or herself that question, observes each answer as it comes, with the reminder, "I am not that." The objective is to continue working with this exercise regularly, going deeper, until false identifications drop and true identification (with the highest self) dawns.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Photo: Sraddha Van Dyke
