Hatha Yoga

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Hatha Yoga

One of several yogic traditions, hatha yoga refers to the ancient Hindu practice of static physical exercise used to develop physical, physiological, psychological, and spiritual aspects of the self. Unlike the active movements of Western gymnastics, hatha yoga utilizes stationary postures called asanas. Practice of the asanas is said to encourage physical well being, mental discipline, and spiritual growth.

As hatha yoga has been practiced for at least 5000 years, its actual origins are difficult to determine. Its recent resurgence may have been a reaction to the emergence of modern science in India during British occupation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Yoga Research and Education Center proclaims the most important influences on the revival of this practice are Sri Krishnamacharya, teacher of B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, and T.K.V. Desikachar. Still others point to the careers of Yogi Madhavdas and Shyam Sundar Gonswami, who co-founded an ashram near Guzrat in Western India. There, they trained two important students: Sri Yogendra, who introduced hatha yoga to the West, and Swami Kuvalayanand. Most of their students established schools in Bombay, and almost all modern practice of hatha yoga can be traced to people trained by either of these two men.

British scholar Henry Thomas Colebrooke wrote the first essay on yoga in 1805. Yet it took nearly four decades for hatha yoga to enter mainstream America in 1947 through yogini Indra Devi, who is dubbed "The First Lady of Yoga." However, yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar is thought to have trained the majority of current American hatha yoga teachers.

The Sanskrit syllable ha indicates the sun and tha the moon. The "yoga" or union of the sun and the moon is through pranayama, believed to be the subtle vitality of breath. Pranayama is induced by actual practice of the asanas and also by special breathing exercises and cleansing techniques. Hatha yoga is based upon balancing the opposing forces that exist naturally within our bodies. Back bends are followed by forward bends while contractions precede extensions. Through this balance of opposites the sun and moon of hatha yoga are joined in union.

Good physical health, rather than being the goal of hatha yoga, is regarded as one of several important steps toward spiritual development. Thus the traditional hatha yoga treatises insist upon yama (abstinences) and niyama (observances) as an essential companion to yoga practice. Examples of yama and niyama include: non-violence, not stealing, truthfulness, restraint from sexual impropriety and greed, observance of purity, austerity, religious study, and divinity. Without such observances hatha yoga becomes merely a form of physical exercise.

Of the theoretical 84,000,000 asanas, 84 are said to be the best, and 32 the most useful for good health. The asanas often incorporate the postures of animals (cow, peacock, locust, lion, etc.), plants, (tree, lotus), and tools (plow, bow). An asana is considered mastered when the yogi can maintain the position without strain for three hours. Asanas develop flexibility in associated muscle groups, and affect the tone of veins and arteries, particularly through inverted positions such as the yoga shoulderstand or headstand. Many asanas help develop maximum flexibility of the spine through a series of backward and forward bending positions at different points of gravity. Asanas, are also claimed to improve the function of the ductless glands, internal organs and the nervous system through persistent gentle pressure.

The mastery of basic asanas and associated cleansing techniques prepares the yogi for meditative positions, while the ensuing practice of mental concentration invites the desired detachment, which enables the meditation itself. When associated with special breathing techniques, the subtle current of the body (termed prana ) flows through the nerve channels, culminating in the arousal of latent energy called kundalini. Kundalini is often depicted as a coiled snake resting at the base of the spine. The task of the yogi is to induce the kundalini energy to flow up the spine to a subtle center in the head, resulting in a mystical or transcendental experience.

There are several schools of hatha yoga which students may follow. They include Iyengar yoga, founded by B.K.S. Iyengar, which is known for precision, of the asanas and the use of props (chairs, belts, weights, etc.). Another school is ashtanga yoga, developed by K. Pattabhi Jois, which might be the most physically demanding school of yoga, focusing on intense vinyasa (a steady flow of connected asanas). Integral yoga, founded by Sri Swami Satchidananda, integrates various forms of yoga to benefit the whole person, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Other schools of yoga and their founders are the Yoga College of India (Bikram Choudhury), and Sivananda Yoga (Swami Vishnu-devananda).

As hatha yoga classes have become widespread and commonplace in the west, yoga practitioners face increased pressure to institutionalize. The Yoga Alliance, for example, is encouraging hatha yoga instructors to standardize training for teachers, in an effort to raise the professional level of the yogic community. The Yoga Alliance can be reached at 234 S. 3rd Ave., West Reading, PA 19611.