You may have been asked what type of yoga you practice in your classes or have heard refer to our classes as HATHA.

The word “Hatha” comes from two Sanskrit terms.  “Ha” meaning sun which is masculine and powerful and “tha” meaning moon which is feminine and accepting.  Yoga means to yoke or to join two things together.  Hence, Ha-tha.

Hatha Yoga (‘forceful yoga’), also called hatha-vidya (“science of hatha”) is a type of Yoga that has been around a long long time.  Its principles in general is applied to the body.  It is considered to be the joining together of the energies of the sun and moon, thus creating balance, power and acceptance in the physical, spiritual and emotional senses.  Hatha Yoga is about learning to breathe properly, stretching to keep your body supple and flexible, and practicing relaxation.

 HISTORY

Hatha is a type of Yoga specific to the Kanphata sect, and through this designation is also applied in general to the vast body of doctrines and practices geared toward self-realization by means of perfecting the body.

The most popular teacher of hatha yoga, and who is widely celebrated as its creator is Goraksha (9th or 10th century), who was a member of the Natha tradition, in which body cultivation played a crucial role.  Many Western scholars consider hatha yoga to be a product of cultural decline, and even in India it came under attack early in its development.

Hatha Yoga must not be dismissed as “easy”, as is hinted in the word hatha itself, which means “force” or “forceful”.  The objective of hatha yoga is to transform the human body to make it a worthy vehicle for self-realization.  Embodiment is understood as a genuine advantage, and enlightenment is thought to have definitive bodily repercussions. 

As the Gheranda-Samhita (1.8) affirms: “Like an unbaked urn left in water, the [bodily] vessel is ever [so soon] decayed.  Baked well in the fire of Yoga, the vessel becomes purified.”

Thus the hatha-yogin strives after “liberation” by means of the creation of a “yogic body” immune to disease and free from the limitations that characterize the ordinary flesh body.  The yogic body is said to be endowed with “supersenses” and powers far beyond the capabilities of the normal person.  According to the Yoga-Shikha-Upanishad (1.134), hatha yoga removes the dullness or impurity, resulting from defects.  This is mentioned as the second level of yogic attainment, the first being the obliteration of all diseases.  The third level is reached when the inner moon showers forth the nectar of immortality, whereupon the body becomes youthful and the yogin acquires a variety of paranormal powers.

The literature of hatha yoga is fairly extensive.  The two most popular manuals are the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Gheranda Samhita.

Reference: Feuerstein, G.  2000. The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga. Shambhala Publications Inc.