What is Hatha Yoga ?

Yoga is an acronym for togetherness. The union of soul and mind. The style of yoga known as “hatha” incorporates a series of physical postures (also known as “yoga actions”) and breathing techniques. “HATHA” means “stubborn” in Sanskrit. This asana practise entails steadfastly doing yoga without the interference of the mind or the five senses. Hatha yoga (ha = “sun” and tha = “moon”) aims to bring the body, mind, and soul into harmony means that doing this will help you find harmony inside.

Hatha Yoga

It is a coordinated practice of asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, and dhyana to reach the transcendent condition of samadhi. It is not merely an asana practice. The yogi is liberated from the perception of form, time, and space in samadhi. Just the beginning of the yogic path is represented by asana.

Although this path ultimately leads to the sanctification of mind and the union of mind and body, it primarily focuses on the sanctification of the body. A healthy existence depends on the holiness of both the body and the intellect.

Hatha yoga History

This is a relatively new method in the history of yoga that was created from the teachings and practises of Tantra Yoga. The tantrics created the physical-spiritual ties and body-centered practises that gave rise to Hatha Yoga by accepting the physical body as a tool for achieving enlightenment. Yet this is primarily concerned with altering the physical body through cleansing and the development of the body’s subtle energies.

This style of yoga aims to pull vital energy up into the central channel and into the crown chakra as its ultimate goal. The esoteric techniques of breath retention, bandhas, and mudras that would channel and raise one’s energy levels high enough to achieve enlightenment are rarely taught in most modern classrooms. The deeper realms of meditation and enlightenment found on the raja yoga path are accessible only after mastering all of the techniques used in this style of yoga.

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is the oldest and most frequently used ancient treatise on the physical techniques of this. This book was written in the fifteenth century CE by Swami Swatamarama and was based on older Sanskrit writings, well-known teachers’ teachings, and Swatamarama’s personal yogic experiences. This book’s major objective is to explain it’s physical disciplines and practises and to combine them with Raja Yoga’s higher spiritual objectives.

Swatamarama starts by describing how the two are related, telling us that Hatha is a prerequisite for Raja Yoga. He explains that instead of attempting to directly manage the mind as in Raja Yoga, developing self-control and self-discipline is much simpler when we start with the physical and energy body. We may easily master the control of the mind through the mastery of prana, or the energy of the body, and achieve achievement with Raja Yoga.

Six Principle

There are six limbs of Hatha yoga (Shatanga Yoga). Which are:

Asana: a calm, relaxed state of the mind and soul.

Expanding the capacity to hold prana with pranayama

Pratyahara: withholding oneself from sensory input

Dharana is the practise of centering the mind.

Dhyana: self-observation

Samadhi: emerging from illusion

Benefits

There are a lot of advantages to practising this asana, both for your physical and mental health and a longer, healthier life. It aids in enhancing physical posture.

• It improves metabolism.
• It improves mobility in joints.
• It improves flexibility.
• It rejuvenates the ligaments.
• it improves energy level.
• It brings positivity to mind.
• It improves the function of lungs and heart.
• It improves the functioning of the all body parts.
• It sharpens the focus level.

Best Hatha Yoga Poses

There are 84 traditional yoga poses . Few are:

• Shirshasna – Headstand
• Sarvangasana – Shoulderstand
• Halasana – Plough pose
• Matsyasana – Fish pose
• Gomukhasana – Cow-face pose
• Paschimotthanasana – Seated forward bend
• Bhujangasana – Cobra pose
• Mayurasana – Peacock pose
• Natrajasana – Dancer pose
• Vrikshasana – Tree pose