Yoga is an experience, a state of being with potential for action.  It can be translated literally as union, a coming together of body, mind and spirit to a point of balance.  English words such as “yoke” are derived from the same root word. When we are “doing” Yoga we are actually practising some form of technique to bring us to this state of union.  So Yoga is both the aim and the pathway.

Anna Yoga – the yoga of awareness of what we eat and drink and its effect on our inner balance, physical and mental – hyped up, torpid or balanced.  Linked to Ayurveda, the ancient science of healing that is the partner of Yoga.

Jnana (pronounced gyana or like the Spanish ñ) – the yoga of Self - enquiry – what life is about, what death means; what the human being is and the nature of the Ultimate Reality; the Self as pure consciousness.  Consider the soaring beauty in the Upanishads, some dating back 3000 years:

“Smaller than the smallest particle of an atom, and yet more vast than the whole expanse of space, this Self resides in the heart of all beings.  …….One who meditates on that Self which is formless in the midst of all forms, eternal in the midst of the momentary, which is everywhere at once and great beyond compare- such a one will know that Self and finally cease all grieving.”

Katha Upanishad Part 1 (2)

To be continued......