Yoga-The Art of Transformation

An 11th-century yogini sculpture is part of an upcoming Smithsonian exhibit.

This October, the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. will unveil the world's first-ever exhibit of yoga's visual history, called "Yoga: The Art of Transformation."

The museum's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery will display 120 masterpieces of Indian sculpture and paintings with pieces that date as far back as the third century to the early 20th century. Temple sculptures, devotional icons, illustrated manuscripts, as well as colonial and early modern photographs, books, and films aim to shed light on the 2,000-year old practice. Source

Raja Yoga

Raja Yoga is also known as ‘Classical Yoga’, ‘Royal Yoga’ or simply ‘Yoga’. It is one of the six traditional schools of Hindu philosophy, abridged by the sage Patanjali in his ‘Yoga Sutras’. The word ‘Raja’ means ‘king’ in Sanskrit and this form of yoga is called Raja yoga because the mind is believed to be the king among the organs.

Raja Yoga follows consists of chanting of mantras, transcendental meditation, Meditation on music, trataka (Concentration method), mirror gazing, humming, visualization vipassana, kriya yoga, chakra breathing and sound etc. 

Some people consider that the practices of raja yoga, was known as long ago as the Neolithic Age and were practiced in the Indus Valley culture. Raja yoga is concerned principally with the cultivation of the mind using meditation (dhyana).

The term Raja Yoga is introduced in the 15th-century in Hatha Yoga Pradipika’s fourth chapter to distinguish the school based on the ‘Yoga Sutras’ of sage Patanjali. The term was later used to describe the entirely unrelated meditation practice of the Brahma Kumaris, which involves the focus of one's mind and surrender to a striated body they believe to be the Supreme Soul.

Raja yoga refers to the state-of-being characterized by perfect equilibrium, in which nothing is lacking. Some times Raja Yoga is referred to as Astanga Yoga  because there are eight aspects to the path to which one must be there.  

Ashtanga Yoga- the eight limbed yoga

The first mention of Ashtanga yoga seems to have occurred in Pantanjali's yoga Sutras. The literal translation is "eight-limbed yoga." Ashtanga yoga embraced eight spiritual principles including moral restraint, posture, breath control, and meditation.

The eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are:

Yama - code of conduct, self-restraint
Niyama - religious observances, commitments to practice, such as study and devotion
Asana - integration of mind and body through physical activity
Pranayama - regulation of breath leading to integration of mind and body
Pratyahara - abstraction of the senses, withdrawal of the senses of perception from their objects
Dharana - concentration, one-pointed ness of mind
Dhyana - meditation (quiet activity that leads to samadhi)
Samādhi - the quiet state of blissful awareness, super conscious state.

However, as practiced today in the West, ashtanga yoga has come to mean something different. Today, ashtanga yoga is sometimes referred to as power yoga. Its emphasis is less on the spiritual than on the physical ability to assume a set of complicated postures, such as the sun salutation, swiftly and gracefully. Ashtanga yoga places a strong emphasis on breathing techniques. Because if provides a full-body workout, it has found favor among many athletes and other celebrities who must keep their bodies strong and flexible.

Ashtanga yoga requires many difficult movements. Amateurs and even professionals may inadvertently injure themselves by pushing too hard or by forcing themselves into a posture they are not sure how to do. Therefore, people wishing to try ashtanga yoga are advised to take several classes to master the principles before trying to practice alone. It is also a good idea to purchase a yoga sticky mat or a rug to keep from slipping and falling while performing the postures. Some practitioners prefer rugs for doing ashtanga yoga, because the rugs absorb sweat better than mats do.

This Yoga style is also athletic, intense and rather demanding. In Sanskrit Ashtanga means “eight-fold path or eight limbs”. Here, every time the students do a series of postures in the same order. Ashtanga Yoga is rigorous because of the constant movement from posture to posture.