How to Do Bhakti Yoga

To Westerners, yoga usually means a series of stretching exercises that culminates with some sort of resting period or invitation to meditate. Yoga is actually a name for spiritual practices that come from India, and practicing yoga does not always mean physical exercise. Bhakti yoga is an exercise of the heart, soul and mind; it is unlikely that bhakti practice will resemble the familiar hatha yoga positions that are so popular in Western culture today. The steps below introduce the practice of bhakti yoga, which is a process defined by each individual, so part of the journey is to figure out what your route should be.

Difficulty:

Challenging

Instructions

1. Understand that bhakti yoga is a spiritual practice based on love of God and devotion to God. The word "bhakti" means "love of God."

2. Learn about the various ways in which you can become closer to God and experience the feeling of such devotion.

3. Understand that bhakti yoga focuses on remembering God in all incarnations and making efforts never to forget God.

4. Explore the idea of working with a guru. A guru can provide you with information, readings and guidance and can share his personal philosophy of God with you so that you can get closer to God. A guru can also help you determine if a mantra will help you during this process.

5. Serve God by paying your respects to sacred representations of God, whether they take the form of a temple, a picture, an altar or a small object of your choice.

6. Learn the traditional prayers of bhakti yoga and read them, memorize them and repeat them in honor of God.