Hatha Yoga – what exactly is it?

Does Hatha Yoga simply mean a certain style of asana practice, or is there more to this term? Here you can find out what "Hatha Yoga" means.

Hatha Yoga as part of the ancient tradition of yoga

While there are a variety of different yoga styles today - including Iyengar Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Jivamukti Yoga, Power Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Forrest Yoga, Hormone Yoga and many others - the term "Hatha Yoga" goes back to much earlier times than the modern styles.

Yoga has a very long tradition and is originally a path of practice and enlightenment that is closely linked to certain philosophical views of ancient India . The history of yoga goes back to Vedic and even pre-Vedic times. Over time, different streams of yoga emerged, so that a variety of different yoga styles emerged - long before the range of yoga styles that are popular today, especially in the West, which mainly involve different forms of asana practice.

Among other things, tantric influences played a role in the development of the various movements, but important traditions such as Patanjali's Yoga Sutra also had a formative influence. In addition to the various yoga traditions that were founded and passed on by swamis and gurus and each include specific meditation techniques and other practices, there are some basic yoga paths, such as the yoga of knowledge (Jana Yoga) or the yoga of devotion (Bhakti Yoga) .

In contrast to these two paths, Hatha Yoga is based on physical principles, but also has a direct and conscious influence on the energetic level and is intended to serve the spiritual goals of yoga through inner purification and the subtle, ethereal processes that are set in motion. At the same time, there were also movements in which Hatha Yoga practices were used to strive for physical immortality. However, the real immortality - as is recorded in important source texts - also lay for the Hatha Yogis in the realization of the highest being or the all-causal unity.

Elements of Hatha Yoga: Pranayama, Asana practice and cleansing practices

The most well-known group of Hatha Yoga exercises today are the asanas , i.e. the postures that represent a central element of the physical yoga practice. Finds from the excavation sites in the area of ​​ancient Mohenjo-Daro and ancient Harappa show that even in the ancient Indus Valley culture, i.e. in the Bronze Age, there were practices that are equivalent to the asanas mentioned in texts much later.

In the original Hatha Yoga, however, there was clearly a much greater focus on pranayama , i.e. on yogic breathing techniques. Perhaps even more directly than the asanas, pranayama works on various levels - on the physical as well as the energetic and mental. Breathing practices therefore took on great importance.

It was also considered important to cleanse the body not only externally but also internally. There were very specific practices for this, known as Shat-Karma ("six actions"). These include, for example, the strong sideways movement of the abdominal muscles, which can be learned with a little practice and is said to stimulate the abdominal organs, or staring into the flame of a candle, which is said to promote self-cleaning of the eyes - but there are also techniques that take some getting used to, such as cleaning the stomach and esophagus using a strip of cloth that is swallowed for this purpose.

In addition, so-called seals, the mudras , and "locks", the bandhas , are among the techniques of Hatha Yoga.

In addition to these physical practices, meditation - especially in the sense of Dhyana as visualization - can also be described as a part of Hatha Yoga. One source for this is, for example, the Gheranda Samhita , which we will discuss later.

Energetic aspects of Hatha Yoga

In addition to cleansing, strengthening and keeping the body supple, the increase and control of energy within the human subtle system has always been a core element of Hatha Yoga. This is made clear by the central importance of Pranayama on this path of yoga, as mentioned above. The breathing techniques are a targeted work with Prana (this term means both breath and life force or vital energy). The mudras and bandhas already mentioned also have an effect on the energetic level. Hatha Yoga also overlaps with Kundalini Yoga (in the original sense; this does not mean the yoga style later founded by Yogi Bhajan), since the Kundalini force is also sometimes very central in higher Hatha Yoga.

In Sanskrit, the term hatha literally means something like "inevitable force" or "perseverance". However, the syllables ha-tha are often given the meaning "sun-moon", which in turn is interpreted as a symbol of life force and consciousness.

Important writings of Hatha Yoga

Among the old source texts in which Hatha Yoga and its practices are handed down, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Gheranda Samhita are particularly noteworthy. The HYP dates from the 14th century and was written by Svatmarama. This classic yoga text deals with Pranayama in more detail than the other elements of Hatha Yoga - for example, a relatively small part of the work is devoted to Asanas. However, they are addressed in the first chapter, together with the categories Yama and Niyama , i.e. ethical principles and other rules of life.

Hatha yoga is explained in great detail in the Gheranda Samhita. This text dates back to the 17th century. According to the author Gheranda, there are an incredible number of 8,400,000 asanas, of which 84 are important and 32 are particularly important. The latter are described in detail in the text.

Modern developments of Hatha Yoga

In the 1920s, the Indian Krishnamacharya founded a Hatha Yoga school in Mysore that became very famous. He taught TKV Desikachar as well as BKS Iyengar and K. Patthabi Jois, who each developed their own style of practice from what they had learned and thus also became known worldwide. Most of the styles represented in today's multifaceted yoga scene are based on the forms of asana practice that emerged in this way - sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly.

An interesting current research project on Hatha Yoga

Anyone interested in the history of Hatha Yoga will find in-depth information in the publications from the research project The Hatha Yoga Project . The project was carried out from 2015 to 2020 at the SOAS University of London in cooperation with researchers from the École française d'Extrême-Orient in Pondicherry and funded by the European Research Council. Among those involved was James Mallison, who wrote the book Roots of Yoga together with Mark Singleton, which provides valuable insights into ancient source texts.

For today's Hatha yogis: accessories for asana practice and meditation

Today, it has proven to be a good idea to practice asanas on non-slip yoga mats . Many of the popular yoga styles also use props or yoga aids . There are also accessories for meditation, especially meditation cushions , which support a comfortable upright sitting position. This is exactly where our expertise as a manufacturer lies. So take a look around our wide-ranging and high-quality range!