Hatha Yoga
Hinduism
This paper is about the Hatha Yoga practice from Hinduism. Hatha Yoga focuses on asanas, postures and exercises, and breathing techniques, pranayamas to improve physical and mental health.
Word Count: 744
This paper is about the Hatha Yoga practice of Hinduism. Hinduism is a religion that focuses on the physical and the mental. The physical part of Hinduism is done through the use of yoga. There are many types of yoga and many different forms of yoga. “Hatha Yoga is one of the many paths that lead to the ultimate goal of Raja Yoga, the contemplation of the One Reality” (Hatha Yoga). There are two categories of students who study yoga. There is the theoretical yoga, where all the students study is the theory behind the yoga, and the theory with practice yoga, where the students study the theory and then put it to use. Hatha Yoga puts both theory and practice together.
Hatha Yoga is one of four main traditions of Tantra Yoga. Ha translate to mean sun and tha means moon. So Hatha Yoga is a form of yoga that pairs opposite together. Hatha Yoga tries to balance the mind and body through the postures and exercises. Hatha Yoga focuses on the postures, also known as asanas; and breath control, pranayama, to energize the body. Asanas are the first and most important part of Hatha Yoga. The asanas trains the body to become balanced, have poise, and increase strength both physically and mentally. The asanas can help improve physical health but mainly used to clear the mind to prepare for meditation. The asanas are positions that can be held for a long time and yet is comfortable, prefect for meditating. For example, a Swastika asana position would be keeping both hands under the thighs and sitting up straight. A...
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...hould be “plastered with cowdung” but “free from insects, dirt, and filth.”
Svatmarama states that six causes bring quick success to Hatha Yoga. They are courage, daring, faith, perseverance, discriminative knowledge, and aloofness from company. These six causes allow the yogi, a practitioner of (any) yoga, to be more successful when performing Hatha Yoga to achieve a meditative state and become a part of Brahman, the ultimate goal of all Hindus. Aloofness from company could mean to stay in solitary or ignore all the unnecessary distractions of life and just focus on attaining Brahman.
Works Cited
Hatha Yoga. n.d. 25 01 2014. .
Marchand, Peter. Hatha Yoga. n.d. 25 01 2014. .
Svatmarama, Yogi. Hatha Yoga Pradipika. n.d.
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It is the most appropriate yoga for those who are more intellectually or philosophically inclined. This yoga can be broken into three distinct steps. The first step is to learn, this means seeking out teachers and gurus who can pass their knowledge unto you. The second step is to think; this step requires you to separate your true Self from the self you are currently occupying. The final step is to change, that is, to change your self-identification to your true Self. This step can often include referring to yourself in the third person to further drive a wedge between Self and self.
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Yoga, as a way to achieve higher self-awareness, was around as early as 200 B.C. in India and has been gradually growing in popularity in the western world over the past four decades. Traditional styles of yoga, including Hatha yoga, which consists of thousands of poses, have long been studied as an effective form of complimentary or alternative medicine (CAM).
Yoga is a discipline both involving physical and mental control that originated in India. The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word, "yug", meaning union and it means the joining of the individual spirit with the universal spirit. The type of yoga known as Hatha Yoga, ("Ha"- sun, "tha"-moon) is what is most commonly practiced and this yoga involves the path of the mind and body and is the most physical. There are eight limbs or steps of Hatha Yoga, the first step being the five Yamas. There are five yamas and these concern your behavior to the world.
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PROF. HR NAGENDRA,, . "Karma Yoga Questions & Answers." SVYASA University. n. page. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .
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This week’s analysis is associated with the yoga class provided online to help with stress reduction. The first term that I came across was psychophysiology and how this principle is based on the mind and body being one and how our thinking affects all physiology. This principle was the perfect definition of yoga because yoga focuses on how the mind and body connects with each other. It gives you a sense of relaxation throughout your mind and body together. Furthermore, the yoga that was in the video was a yoga style called hatha. Which practices asana (yoga postures) and pranayama (breathing exercises). According to the book, this practices helps bring peace to the mind and body and prepare our body to do deeper exercises. The art of breathing was mentioned during the exercise and in the book. Breathing is very important when trying to unite the mind, body, and spirit. So, having slow, deep breathes was a main focused during the exercise. Another term that was used in the video was the art of stretching, which allows us to become aware of our flexibility of our muscle while moving. Lastly, the art of balance is significant because it allows us to move into the next form of position on both sides of our body. Some of the workouts pose that was mention in the textbook that I did was two knees to the chest, cobra, and head of cow. Overall, hatha