What is Integral Yoga?
Integral Yoga is a combination of specific methods designed to develop every aspect of the individual: physical, emotional intellectual and spiritual. It is a scientific system which integrates the various branches of Yoga in order to bring about a complete and harmonious development of the individual.
Every human being longs for true and lasting happiness. The path or means through which he attempts to find it varies according to the level of the individual’s development. He may strive for happiness by satisfying the physical, emotional and intellectual aspects of his personality. Experience may teach him what sages and saints have been proclaiming throughout the ages, that true and lasting happiness cannot be based on that which is impermanent in its nature. True and lasting happiness can only be attained through the knowledge of the permanent or Divine which is the Indweller of all beings and the source of all life. It has been given such names as the Self, Nature, God, Brahman, Cosmic Consciousness, Infinity and the Thing in Itself, Nirvana, and so on. Since it is infinite, it can only be experienced when the individual raises above his limited personality.
The body, emotions, and intellect must be developed to a level in which they function healthfully and in perfect harmony with each other. Only then can one live a happy life and use them as tools to transcend limitations and to experience the Divine.
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The goal of Integral Yoga and the birthright of every individual, is to realize the spiritual unity behind all the diversity in the entire creation and to live harmoniously as members of one universal family. This goal is achieved by maintaining our natural condition of: a body of perfect health and strength, senses under total control, a mind well disciplined, clear and calm, intellect as sharp as a razor, will as strong and as pliable as steel, a heart full of love and compassion, an ego as pure as crystal and a life filled with Supreme Peace and Joy. "
Excerpt taken from “Integral Yoga Hatha” by Yogiraj Sri Swami Satchidananda