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Hatha Yoga - Learning About Hatha Yoga

Article Summary: The purpose of Hatha Yoga is to locate and activate the chakras (centers of energy), thereby raising the kundalini (dominant spiritual power). This in turn is believed to help remove blockages (disease) in the mind and body.

The purpose of Hatha Yoga is to locate and activate the chakras (centers of energy), thereby raising the kundalini (dominant spiritual power). This in turn is believed to help remove blockages (disease) in the mind and body.

Hatha yoga attempts to balance mind and body via physical postures and exercises (asanas), controlled breathing, and the calming of the mind through relaxation and meditation. Asanas teach poise, balance & strength and were originally (and still) practiced to improve the body's physical health and clear the mind in preparation for meditation in the pursuit of enlightenment.

It is common for yogins and tantrics of several disciplines to dedicate their practices to a deity under the Hindu ishta-devata concept while always striving to achieve beyond that: Brahman. Hindu philosophy in the Vedanta and Yoga streams, as the reader will remember, views only one thing as being ultimately real: Satchidananda Atman, the Existence-Consciousness-Blissful Self.

With ha meaning "sun" and tha meaning "moon," hatha yoga is commonly translated as the yoga that brings union "of the pairs of opposites." Sometimes Hatha Yoga is also translated as the "forcefull yoga", because it seems to require the most physical excercises of all yoga types. Hatha Yoga is certainly the yoga that is the best known in the West, which is probably why so many definitions of Hatha Yoga exist.

Learning about Hatha Yoga

Asanas are various body positions designed to improve health and remove diseases in the physical, causal, and subtle bodies. The word "asana" is Sanskrit for "seat", which refers not only to the physical position of the body but also to the position of the body in relation to divinity. They were originally meant for Meditation, as the postures can make you feel relaxed for a long period of time. The regular practice of Asanas will grant the practitioner muscle flexibility and bone strength, as well as non-physical rewards such as the development of will power, concentration, and self-withdrawal.

Pranayama is derived from the words "prana" (life-force or energy source) and "ayama" (to control). It is the science of breath control. This is an important part of Hatha Yoga because the yogis of old times believed that the secret to controlling one's mind can be unlocked by controlling one's breath. The practice of Pranayama can also help unleash the dormant energies inside our body.

After working the body in various postures, the hatha yoga classes end with shavasana, the relaxation pose. At this point in the practice, our subtle energy channels are open and the spiritual energy flows freely. The wave-like motion of the breath stills the mind, so that we become conscious of the divine light inside. In this way, hatha yoga prepares us for meditation.

Hatha is the form of yoga that anyone should begin with. Hatha begins with the basics of yoga and teaches you the inner workings of meditation and how you should begin. Once you master your own postures and positions of meditation comfort, it is time to master your breathing patterns. If you can master your own breathing patterns, than mastering your mind is not far out of reach for you. It takes many steps to reach these different levels of meditation and yoga. With practice and concentration anyone can do it.

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Corwin Brown
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