Bhakti Yoga, often referred to as The Yoga of Love, is an inward spiritual path focused on love. It involves worshipping God with devotion while seeking unconditional compassion toward all beings and creation. Bhakti yoga can be an especially rewarding path for emotionally sensitive people seeking a way to connect to something larger through their hearts and emotions.
Though you won't find bhakti yoga classes in every studio, its elements have increasingly become integrated into other styles of yoga classes. San Francisco teacher Rusty Wells developed his own brand of bhakti called Bhakti Flow Yoga that combines Hatha yoga postures with devotional practices such as Kirtan (devotional singing) and mantra.
Bhakti yoga's primary objective is the experience of rasa, or pure bliss brought on by connecting to the Divine. Studies indicate that practices such as chanting (kirtan) help cultivate this feeling while simultaneously improving physical health. Karma Yoga (acts of selfless service) also plays an essential part of this tradition and promotes humility and compassion; Jnana Yoga provides wisdom and understanding.
Bhakti yoga encompasses nine core principles. These are: (a) Svarupapradipika: devotional service to the Divine; (b) Smarana, which involves contemplating names and forms of God (or their symbols); (8) Bhakti Nivedana, the cultivation of selfless service (nivedana); worshipping deities or scripture; arjuna practice of Yoga Asana (arjuna); (iv) Dasya or practice of selflessness
