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“Hatha” is one of the most recognizable and popular “yoga words” in the West today, often used in very broad and generalized ways to refer to physical yoga practices of some form or another. Traditional Hatha Yoga is a holistic yogic path, including moral disciplines, physical exercises and Pranayama. The Hatha yoga predominantly practiced in the West consists of mostly asanas (postures) and exercise.
In essence, Hatha Yoga is based on the balancing of the fundamental polarities of the being, the solar (+) and lunar (-) energies. The word Hatha itself is derived from the Sanskrit terms “Ha” and “Tha”, meaning sun and moon, referring to the two primary energies Prana and Apana. Its aim is the recovery and maintenance of perfect health, the development of the mind and its mastery over the body, and perfect control over the vital energies.
With respect to the Ashtanga (8-limbed) Yoga system of Patanjali, Hatha Yoga can be loosely seen to encompass the first four of the bahiranga (outer disciplines), namely yama and niyama (morals and ethics), asana and pranayama. Though in a broader sense, Hatha Yoga is a complete system of bodily health which encompasses the physical cleansing kriyas such as the shat karmas (the six cleansing actions), diet and hygiene, and the physical yoga techniques of asana, pranayama, bandha and mudra. The asanas, pranayamas, bandhas and mudras are techniques for the control not only of the body, but the mind as well, and thus this discipline represents an essential preparation for the higher (inner) stages of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga, referred to as the antaranga (inner disciplines).
The ultimate aim of these physical practices is the arousal and control of the “vital energy” stored in the conus medullaris at the base of the spine. Awareness of this “spiritual energy” is essential in yoga. It is this energy which “lifts the being” to higher levels of awareness and experience, and therefore, all of the practices of Hatha Yoga center around preparing the body to facilitate the upward flowing of this “psychic prana”.
Source: International Yogalayam, http://www.intl-yoga.com
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