Yoga is learning to be in tune with your inner self, and letting go of the trappings of the materialistic world. It’s a search for the truth. Yoga has been around for many years, and there are many types of yoga. If you are looking for a form of yoga to help you deal with the rigors of daily life, maybe you can check out these types of yoga below. You just might find what you are looking for here.

Patanjali is now also referred to as Ashtanga Yoga, named after the opriginator of this type of yoga, Patanjali Yoa Sutra. When you try out this type of yoga, you will see yourself moving fluidly from one posture to another, using a breathing technique to help you through the physical movements. Ashtanga refers to “eight limb path” which incorporates eight paths to a higher level of realization. These paths are Yama or the right moral code, Niyama which is personal discipline, Asana or yoga positions, Pranayama or breathing, Prayahara or sense withdrawal, Dharana which is the ability to focus on one object, Dhyan or meditation, and Samadhi or salvation.

Bhakti Yoga is a type of yoga that tries to make one evolve towards the divine by serving God. Instead of doing yoga positions, practitioners of Bhakti yoga use acts of service as of form of love and devotion, and the right path to live life by.

There are nine forms of Bhakti yoga. They are, without using the terms, hearing about God, singing about God, service, worship, remembering God’s name and presence, prostration, cultivating the Bhava of a servant, or friend of Bhava, and surrendering yourself.

Hatha Yoga is another type of yoga that is similar to the Ashtanga yoga in that it also uses physical postures. This is mostly for beginners and is the type of yoga most seem in the US. The main objective of this type of yoga is to use the body to prepare the mind for its spiritual journey. Hatha Yoga practitioners believe that if the body is in good condition physically, then the mind will have an easier time in dealing with spiritual matters.

Ananda Yoga is a type of yoga that was developed by Kriyananda, who studied under Yogananda. Yogananda is thought to be the first yoga teacher from India to go to the West to teach yoga here.

This type of yoga believes that we can have direct experience with God, a concept they call self-realization. It aims to bring harmony to all the aspects of a human - the emotional, physical, and mental states.

Another familiar type of yoga is the Mantra Yoga. This you may recognize because it was used as an example of yoga in many Hollywood and TV films. As the name depicts, Mantra yoga is done using sounds in the Hindu or Vedic language.

Remember the “Ommm” sound that you hear when you think of yoga? This is that type of yoga. That sound and other specific sounds are suppose to awaken the energy in us to help us focus on our present state and lead us to a higher level of consciousness.

These are just a few of the types of yoga that have been developed. There are so many others to choose from. The types of yoga listed above are just the more familiar or popular types of yoga.

If you want to start learning yoga, then knowing some of the type would help you decide if you want the physical type or the more mental type. Whichever type of yoga you choose, they all lead to the same goal. Learning to develop a higher state of mind in able to deal with the problems and challenges of our earthly world.