Today there are innumerable styles of Yoga and an equally impressive array of studios and great teachers. The obvious questions are, where to study, how to know whether the teaching is authentic, and what value to give to certifications etc. 

To understand the answers to these questions, it is important to understand the importance and role of living traditions in Yoga.

Wherever you choose to study Yoga in India or elsewhere, it is important to know, if Yoga is being taught as a system or just a set of postures and breathing techniques. Even in India, the majority believes that Yoga and Yogasana are synonymous. 

The truth is that Yogasana is one limb of the Yoga system if we refer to the system of Patanjali Yoga (which we will do in this article). So, it is important to learn Yoga from a place where one can learn about all the eight limbs of Yoga.