मार्गmārga · path, way
Which path of yoga is yours?
Updated October 17, 2026 · sources checked October 17, 2026
In short
The tradition describes several paths of yoga: hatha (body and breath), karma (selfless action), bhakti (devotion) and the inner paths, raja (meditation after Patañjali) and jnana (knowledge, after the Upanishads). Answer six questions to see which door suits you first; most practitioners end up combining them, as the Bhagavad Gita does.
How the quiz works
Each of the six questions offers four answers, always in the same order: body and breath, action, devotion, the mind. Your answers add up to a score out of 18, which places you on that line from the body to the mind. If you picked very different answers, read the result on either side of yours as well: the paths are not boxes.
The paths in a few lines
| Path | Sanskrit | What you do | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hatha yoga | हठयोग haṭha-yoga | postures, breath, seals, relaxation | the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Nātha lineage |
| Karma yoga | कर्मयोग karma-yoga | action offered, without clinging to its fruit | Bhagavad Gita, chapters 2 and 3 |
| Bhakti yoga | भक्तियोग bhakti-yoga | chanting, mantra, prayer, worship | Bhagavad Gita, chapter 12; the bhakti saints |
| Raja yoga | राजयोग rāja-yoga | ethics, sitting, concentration, meditation | Patañjali's Yoga Sutras |
| Jnana yoga | ज्ञानयोग jñāna-yoga | study, inquiry into the self | the Upanishads; Bhagavad Gita |
The paths were never meant to exclude one another. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika opens by presenting hatha yoga as a staircase to the summit of raja yoga, and in the Bhagavad Gita (3.3) Krishna speaks of two ways taught of old, the yoga of knowledge and the yoga of action, before weaving devotion and meditation into the same teaching. The full comparison, with the modern schools, is on the paths of yoga page, and Patañjali's map is set out in the eight limbs.
After the quiz
- Take the yoga level quiz to see how far you are on your path.
- Try a breathing practice with the breathing timer: every path uses the breath.
- Read one text slowly. The Yoga Sutras suit the inner paths; the Gita speaks to all of them.
Questions people ask
How many types of yoga are there?
There is no fixed number. The Bhagavad Gita speaks of the yogas of action, knowledge and devotion; Patañjali's yoga of the mind is now called raja yoga; hatha, mantra, kriya and kundalini yoga are further traditional paths, and there are dozens of modern schools that grew mostly out of hatha yoga.
What are the 4 types of yoga?
The usual list of four is karma yoga (action), bhakti yoga (devotion), jnana yoga (knowledge) and raja yoga (meditation). It was popularised by Swami Vivekananda's books in the 1890s; hatha yoga is often added as the physical path that prepares the others.
Is meditation a type of yoga?
Meditation (dhyana) is the seventh of Patañjali's eight limbs, so it is part of yoga rather than a separate type. Raja yoga is the path that puts it at the centre.
Which yoga should a beginner choose?
If you want to start with the body, a gentle hatha session is the classic door. If you cannot or do not want to practise postures, karma and bhakti yoga need no physical ability at all.
Sources
- Bhagavadgītā, critical edition (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute), Sanskrit text (GRETIL) checked October 17, 2026
- Patañjali, Yogasūtra, Sanskrit text (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 17, 2026
- The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh (Allahabad, Panini Office, 1914), Internet Archive checked October 17, 2026