Has yoga been reinvented or something???

As kid, my grandfather practiced yoga religiously. He would meditate for hours. He spoke softly. Taught me how to eat properly (small bites and to take my time!). Where/what the third eye was. He taught me how to breath and how to meditate on my breath, and how to concentrate on one thing and meditate. I would read his books on yoga and hinduism. But I was a kid, maybe 7 or 8. I remember a lot but I forgot a lot too.

Did I learn incorrectly or has yoga been commercialized and changed? I see DVD's and yoga classes...stuff like that. I know my grandfather studied for a lot of years and practiced everyday. The stuff I see on TV is all about body positioning and not much else. Am I missing something? I would ask him but he died about 15 years ago.

Jane
The Yogic system was developed for the realization of the ultimate truth- the Brahman. There are many Yogic paths such as Sankhya, Gnana, Bhakti and Dhyana yogas and many others which are a hybrid of the above paths.

You are obviously referring to the Dhyana Yoga path developed by Sage Patanjali. It is called Yoga darsana ( the visionic path of Yoga).This is an eight fold path each constituting a step. They are Yama , Niyama , Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.

The first two steps are for purity in thought, word and deed. Only after one achieves this the next step of Asana (posture) and Pranayama (exercising the breath) are advised. But what one sees in the western media is a blind jump to the third level without observing the first two.

The result ? We see Yogic videos with half naked and provocative woman, and ads for yoga for stomach ailments, asthma, and what not. It is just derailing the original yogic thought.

You talked of re inventing, right ? The right word is 'disfigured'. The Pure Dhyana yoga is handed down through an unbroken chain of teacher- student tradition. Books and videos can introduce you to these fields . That's all.

If you were mature enough when your grandpa told about these things, you could have known that most possibly he would have been initiated by a master.

To conclude, postures are also yoga but only a miniscule part of it.

Yes Yoga HAS been commercialized by the western world. The yoga you learned are the principles to many eastern philosophies.
There are many styles of yoga, and it has become a form of exercise, as it is used separately and incorporated into peoples lives over here as opposed to it being a way of life.
There are some of us who practice yoga, and then also practiced the Eastern philosophies you have mentioned as well. But it has become a very commercial thing here in the western world, and it is actually quite the lucrative business to get into right now because it really has become a trend.
And rightly so, I mean, I like it. There are many benefits.
But people just aren't adapting the entire lifestyle or philosophies from which these mind-body exercises have been created from. But this is just my opinion.

I don't think you learned incorrectly at all.
On the contrary, I think you were very fortunate to have the example of someone who likely practiced yoga as just one component among others (meditation, etc) to help himself become the best person he could be, not just physically, but mentally and spiritually, also.

Most activities that can be turned into a means of livelihood, have the potentiality to become commercialized.

Namaste',
dwb

Not everyone wants to deal with yoga philosophy, and it is not restricted to Hindus anymore. There are benefits for everyone, even through just asana and pranayama. I personally consider the yamas and niyamas useful as well, but not everyone does, at least immediately. As with everything else taught, there are good, mediocre and dire teachers, and the prospective student should shop around.

There are many different forms of yoga, but it's true that it has been commercialized to some extent. It still exists in its original form, but there's a type of yoga to suit everyone.

I have my own routine which has very little to do with active meditation.

I wouldn't mourn it though - it's great that the ignorant masses can gain benefits from it, and so long as someone remembers what it used to be like, it can still exist.

Yeah - there's yoga, and yoga. Jane Fonda pretty much ruined it for everybody, just like Madonna ruined the Kaballah.

Yoga, as you know, isn't supposed to be about "exercise." It's about stilling the body, and then the mind. The word literally means "union," and the ultimate goal of yoga is to unite the self with the not-self, the ego with the non-ego, the individual with the universe. It's a mystical practice. So the "yoga" of DVDs and the YMCA is most definitely another animal altogether.

There are many 'types' of yoga, the most common in the West being Hatha Yoga with its postures for better health and exercise. Usually that's the one you see DVDs for. But other practices exist, like Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Raja Yoga.

When I was a teen back in the 60s, an Indian gentleman opened a studio in our town where he taught Hatha Yoga to mostly housewives during the day. In the evenings he would open the studio for free instruction in meditation, Indian music and other types of yoga. It was very awesome.

Yes, that is why I try to take classes with true teachers. The most commercial I will get in a pinch is a Rodney Yee video.

I am just not into this "burn fat and carbs with yoga!" kind of crap. Yoga is not just about exercise, it is about balancing your body in all ways.

I don't know how much it has been changed, but it has most certainly hit the mainstream hard.