As yoga becomes a worldwide craze – and especially in the West –, it seems that it has lost its essence in many of its representations. Indeed, most of school insist on the physicality and the performance forgetting its roots and the meaning of it. It is actually totally fine to learn yoga as a physical practice but you may miss the main thing. Basically, it is similar to practicing capoeira and the relation within the slavery state in Brazil. It would make sense to learn those dancing technics if you didn’t know that fighting arts were prohibited among slaves in order to prevent rebellion. The same applies with yoga that is not stretching but instead a holistic way of life promoted by a Brahmic system. Unlike Christianity and Islam, Hinduism spread mainly pacifically through the figure of a few enlighted people whom message passed through different borders while cohabiting the preexistence gods and goddesses. Hinduism has many manifestations however a few core beliefs are shared among its followers. What we call Yoga is actually one the few approaches to self-enlightment. Yoga refers in the Western world to the ascetic approach to realization (raja yoga). However, according to the traditional beliefs, enlightment can be achieved through selfless action (karma yoga), devotion (bhakti yoga), study and reflexion (jnana yoga).
