One of the goals of Hinduism is to help people achieve their full spiritual potential. Since all people are different, Hinduism does not teach just one way to reach this goal. Instead it identifies four basic spiritual personality types and a path for each. These paths are known as yoga, which comes from the same root as the word yoke. It means, “to place under training.”
The first type includes people who seek spirituality through reflection. Their yoga is jnana, or knowledge.
The second type includes people who seek to understand things emotionally. Their yoga is bhakti, devotion and love.
The third type includes people who take an active approach to their goals. Their yoga is karma, or work.
The fourth spiritual type includes people who like a methodical approach to understanding spirituality. Their path is raja yoga, or royal yoga. This is the yoga that uses physical postures to achieve spiritual illumination.
Think about yourself and your approach to things. Which of these approaches to spirituality would be best for you: jnana yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga, or raja yoga?