When is Yoga really ‘Hatha Yoga’?

How might we practice Hatha Yoga?

Essay by Uma Vijaiya - August 2021, Yucatan Jungle, Mexico

Hatha Yoga has three main components - the primary component is physical (working with asanas/the body), the second component is energetic (working with prana/energy), and the third component is psycho-spiritual (Raja Yoga, or non-duality, working with the mind, self-inquiry) (1). Hatha Yoga is often regarded as a preparation for Raja Yoga, or we can say that traditional Hatha Yoga is intended to lead to Raja Yoga.

No success in Raja Yoga without Hatha Yoga, and no success in Hatha Yoga without Raja Yoga. One should, therefore, practice both of these well, till complete success is gained. On the completion of Kumbhaka, the mind should be given rest. By practicing in this way one is raised to the position of Raja Yoga. (3)

Hatha Yoga is as old as the Vedas. Hatha Yoga is mainly studied through classical Shaivite texts like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika or Shiva Samhita and the teachings of the great Nath Yogis like Gorakhnath who lived over a thousand years ago (1). The Hatha Yoga Pradipika reveals the intimate relationship between Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga. While the text describes asanas (postures), purifying practices (shatkarma), mudras (finger and hand positions), bandhas (psychic locks), and pranayama (conscious breathing practices), it also explains that the purpose of Hatha Yoga is the awakening of Kundalini shakti (subtle energy), leading in through Sushumna (the central energy channel), and advancing through Raja Yoga to the deep meditative absorption called Samadhi.

1.1-1.3. Salutation to adinatha (Siva) who expounded the knowledge of Hatha Yoga, which like a staircase leads the aspirant to the high pinnacled Raja Yoga. (3)

Raja Yoga commonly refers to the 'royal' or higher Yoga of meditation. While the term is not specifically mentioned in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Yoga Sutra tradition has been commonly called Raja Yoga over time. Raja yoga as a term has been used interchangeably with Ashtanga yoga, or the ‘eightfold path’ to spiritual liberation - yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi. Raja Yoga aims directly at a change of consciousness, the 'control' of the mind and the cultivation of Samadhi, the state of unitary awareness (2).

Arguably, the first five limbs of Ashtanga/Raja Yoga —yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, and pratyahara — make up the external path of Hatha Yoga, which is preparation for the last three limbs - dharana, dhyana and samadhi - the  internal stages of Raja Yoga.

The third limb is asana (physical postures). Most people call modern asana based Yoga, Hatha Yoga, however, Hatha Yoga in fact is centered much more on prana than asana, on energy rather than physical movement. Real Hatha Yoga includes pranayama, and other purificatory and kundalini focused practices which direct us towards Raja Yoga and the more mind-heart centered practices (1). The yamas and niyamas are the first two limbs, they make up the internal and external qualities by which we can live a peaceful, justful life and reach our highest potential as a human and a human family. If the yamas and niyamas are ignored, practicing Hatha Yoga can become superficial and even harmful. It is important that we not only aim for physical strength and vitality but also mental strength, vitality, stability and quietude (2).

One of the essential prana-centric components of Hatha Yoga is balancing the flow of energy in the two dominant nadis (channels) in the body, Ida and Pingala. It is often simply put that 'ha' means sun and 'tha' means moon, uniting the energy of the two in the central channel, the union of the two, we can say, is Yoga. We can move in this direction with specific Hatha Yoga practices, certain postures, mantras, meditation, a yoga 'danda', pranayama, such as calming pranayama practices such as simple breath awareness, alternate nostril breathing, breath ratios and diaphragmatic breathing. The more vigorous breathing patterns such as kapalabhati and bhastrika can also help to break a pattern of prana being stuck in Ida or Pingala. 

2.4-2.6. Pranayama should be performed daily with satwika buddhi (intellect free from raja and tama or activity and sloth), in order to drive out the impurities of the Susumna. (3)

One way of achieving this is to unite prana and apana vayu. In pranayama, prana vayu is said to be generated with the intaking of the breath and apana vayu is generated by the exhaling process. Naturally apana goes down and prana goes up, but with Hatha Yoga, when we inhale, energy draws down into the body and as you exhale you draw energy up, so as prana vayu moves down and apana draws up, the two energies join in the centre and create an energetic furnace which burns the impurities that we carry in our lower chakras, and our intestines. This coming together of prana and apana is also represented by mulabandha, which is one way that energy comes to centre, moves in the central channel, Sushumna nadi.

1.69. Asanas, various Kumbhakas, and other divine means, all should be practiced in the practice of Hatha Yoga, till the fruit of Raja Yoga is obtained. (3)

It is a huge misconception that you need to be flexible to do yoga. The fact is, the more Hatha Yoga you do, the more flexible you are. But you have to start somewhere and you have to put the time and effort in, ideally a little bit every day, rather than an hour only once a week/month. Developing flexibility is an important element of a Hatha Yoga practice because the asanas were developed by the Hatha Yoga system in order to prepare the body to be flexible and strong enough to sit cross legged on the floor pain free, for a long time, in meditation. Here we are talking about the sixth and seventh limbs, dharana and dhyana.

We can say that when we do asanas (postures), we are stepping onto the path inwards towards realising our true Self. The purpose of asana is to increase and circulate the prana in the body, prana is the life force. We can do this increasing circulation (movement and heat) and creating pressure and release in different pats of the body, stimulating different energy centres. We can also understand this circulation of prana throughout the body as circulation of loving awareness.

More important than physical flexibility and stability is mental flexibility and stability - and the former can lead to the latter when approached in the right manner (the yamas and niyamas). When we can do a physical practice without causing stress or strain, physically or mentally, with non-violence, loving awareness, patience, compassion, presence and contentment then we can say that we are practicing yoga. How do you actually feel after practicing Yoga? A lot of the time the way people practice yoga actually creates stress rather than reducing it. So if you feel exhausted or like you really need to lie down for a long time after a yoga practice, or overly stimulated, activated or somewhat vigilant, you’re likely to have been creating stress during the practice, where as the whole practice should feel like savasana. So the next time you are practicing yoga asanas, relax all mental concepts about how you think a yoga pose or class should be done, or how you think your performance should be in it, and just turn your attention again and again to the breath, the inner body, the inner silence and the quality of attention you bring to the breath.

Becoming flexible is important, but only as important as it is to become strong and relaxed. It's certainly possible to become more strong and more flexible at the same time without feeling a stretch or stress, whilst remaining relaxed. Stretching is just one of many elements of physical Yoga - alongside strengthening, joint exercises, one legged exercises, aerobic conditioning, breathing, sense control, relaxation, meditation, visualisation, and many more. Remembering that the goal of Yoga is unified consciousness and that only when we are truly connected, we are free.

Yoga is commonly defined as 'union'. We can also say that it is a process of connecting and understanding that connection - to deeper, subtler parts of ourselves, to other people and our environment, to the elements and the interconnection of mind, body and spirit. We mainly live in our heads, so when we get into our bodies and move our bodies with awareness, when we have an embodied experience, we see that mind and body are totally connected. For example, when we feel freer in the body, it’s easier to feel more free in the mind, free from stress, fear, anxiety. But if we push ourselves, to stretch or to achieve a certain position, we create more stress on a mental level and tension in the body. So it’s not so much the performance of the postures and movements that matters, but how we approach them mentally. If we move consciously, with loving awareness, we can experience a deep sense of interconnection. This is more likely to happen if, during any physical practice, you stretch less, tense less, think less, breathe less and feel more. I say breathe less because Swami Sivananda is quoted as saying that “A yogi measures the span of life by the number of breaths, not by the number of years.” and this is widely accepted as fact!

One of my teachers says “To get yoga, it’s better to take small slow steps in the right direction than bigger steps in the wrong direction”. It's similar to the analogy of of 'digging many wells'. There is a tendency that many of us carry today and that is to dig many holes, try lots of things (practices, therapies, teachers, medicines etc) but not for very long, not long enough to go deep enough. When we apply the principles of Yoga (according to the Yoga Sutras for example) we learn to stay with 'one thing' (Yoga Sutra 1.31 tat-pratisedha-artham-eka-tattva-abhyasah) and as we dive deep into this one thing (one practice, one mantra, one bhavana, one meditative practice, one reflection) every day, over a long long period of time, subtleties are revealed, and much richness, like the gems, gold, or water that a deep hole might provide us with if we only would keep digging. Ask yourself, what is that one thing that takes you to the place beyond all hurt?

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(1) 'Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga and Asana by David Frawley' (Article on Vedanet)

(2) 'Raja Yoga: Ancient Yoga for the Modern World' by Swami Rama (Yoga International Article)

(3) Haṭhapradīpikā by Svātmārāma (https://terebess.hu/english/Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika-Muktibodhananda.pdf free download)