Hatha yoga is a branch of yoga. The word ha?ha literally means "force" and thus alludes to a system of physical techniques.
Hatha yoga is associated with the Dashanami Sampradaya and the mystical figure of Dattatreya.
In the 20th century, hatha yoga, particularly asanas (the physical postures), became popular throughout the world as a form of physical exercise, and is now colloquially termed as simply "yoga".
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Origins
Earliest textual references
According to Mallinson, some Hatha Yoga techniques can be traced back to the epics and the Pali canon. The Pali canon contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate for the purposes of controlling hunger or the mind, depending on the passage. However there is no mention of the tongue being inserted into the nasopharynx as in true khecar? mudr?. The Buddha used a posture where pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to even modern postures used to stimulate Kundalini.
Medieval systematization
In medieval times, teachings on Yoga were systematized in several texts:
- The Am?tasiddhi, which dates to the 11th century CE, teaches mah?bandha, mah?mudr?, and mah?vedha.
- The Datt?treyayoga??stra, probably composed in the 13th century CE, teaches an eightfold yoga that it attributes to Yajnavalkya and others as well as ten Hatha Yoga practices that it says were undertaken by the rishi Kapila and other ?ishis. The Datt?treyayoga??stra teaches mah?mudr?, mah?bandha, khecar?mudr?, j?landharabandha, u??iy??abandha, m?labandha, vipar?takara??, vajrol?, amarol?, and sahajol?.
- The ???r?gadharapaddhati is an anthology of verses on a wide range of subjects compiled in 1363 CE, which in its description of Hatha Yoga includes ?the Datt?treyayoga??stra's teachings on five mudr?s.
- The Vivekam?rta??a, which is contemporaneous with the Datt?treyayoga??stra, teaches nabhomudr? (i.e. khecar?mudr?), mah?mudr?, vipar?takara?? and the three bandhas.
- The Goraksa?atak?, which is also contemporaneous with the Datt?treyayoga??stra, teaches ?aktic?lan?mudr? along with the three bandhas.
- The Khecar?vidy? teaches only the method of khecar?mudr?.
The methods of the Am?tasiddhi, Datt?treyayoga??stra and Vivekam?rta??a are used to conserve bindu, although the Vivekam?rta??a also involves raising kundalini. The Goraksa?ataka? and Khecar?vidy? involve raising ku??alin?.
The only other texts older than the Hathaprad?pik?? to teach Hatha Yoga ? mudr?s are the Shiva Samhita, Yogab?ja, Amaraughaprabodha, and ??r?gadharapaddhati.
Classical Hatha Yoga
Hathaprad?pik??
The Hathaprad?pik? was composed by Sv?tm?r?ma in the 15th century CE as a compilation of the earlier hatha yoga texts.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Gheranda samhita are derived from older Sanskrit texts. In Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Swatmarama introduces his system as preparatory stage for physical purification that the body practices for higher meditation or Yoga. It is based on asanas (postures) and pranayama (breathing techniques).
Hatha Yoga Pradipika lists 35 great Hatha Yoga siddhas or masters; Adi Natha, Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath. It includes information about shatkarma (purification), asana (postures), pranayama (subtle energy control), chakras (centers of energy), kundalini (instinct), bandhas (muscle force), kriyas (techniques; manifestations of kundalini), shakti (sacred force), nadis (channels), and mudras (symbolic gestures) among other topics.
Post-Hathaprad?pik?? Texts
Post-Hathapradipika texts include Hathasa?? ketacandrik?, the Yogacint?ma?i, the Hathatattvakaumud??, the Yogab?ja anthologies, the Yoga Upanisads, and ? Brahm?nanda's Jyotsn? commentary on the Hathaprad?pik??', the Amaraugha??sana, the Hatharatn?val?, the B?hatkhecar?prak??a, the Hathaprad?pik?? Siddh?ntamukt?val?, the Gorakhb???, the Gheranda Samhita and the Jogprad?pak?.
Modern popularization
Many modern schools of hatha yoga in the West derive from the school of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who taught from 1924 until his death in 1989. Among his students prominent in popularizing yoga in the West were K. Pattabhi Jois famous for popularizing the vigorous Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga style, B. K. S. Iyengar who emphasized alignment and the use of props, Indra Devi and Krishnamacharya's son T. K. V. Desikachar.
Another major stream of influence within and outside India has been Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh (1887-1963) and his many disciples including, among others, Swami Vishnu-devananda - founder of International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres; Swami Satyananda - of the Bihar School of Yoga; and Swami Satchidananda of Integral Yoga. In India, Baba Ramdev of Haridwar has popularized yoga among the masses in the 21st century.
Hatha Yoga Class Video
False association with the Nath
According to British indologist James Mallinson, some scholars have been falsely associating hatha yoga with the Nath, Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath. In actuality hatha yoga is associated with the Dashanami Sampradaya and the mystical figure of Dattatreya.
Practice
Preservation of bindu
Early hatha yoga was used to prevent the dripping of bindu (semen) from the heads of men. The two early hatha yoga techniques were to stand on one's head (vipar?takaran?) or make breath flow into the center channel which forces bindu up.
Kundalini
In later Hatha Yoga, the Kaula visualization of Ku??alini rising through a system of chakras is overlaid onto the body. This accesses am?ta (the nectar of immortality) situated in the head which floods the body.
Goals
The goals of Hatha Yoga are siddhis and an immortal body.
Health benefits ascribed to yog?sana practice
Yoga's combined focus on mindfulness, breathing and physical movements brings health benefits with regular participation. Yoga participants report better sleep, increased energy levels and muscle tone, relief from muscle pain and stiffness, improved circulation and overall better general health. The breathing aspect of yoga can benefit heart rate and blood pressure.
The 2012 "Yoga in America" survey, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Yoga Journal, shows that the number of adult practitioners in the US is 20.4 million, or 8.7 percent. The survey reported that 44 percent of those not practicing yoga said they are interested in trying it.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
EmoticonEmoticon