Hatha Yoga

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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...

... middle of paper ...

...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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