Hatha yoga

 ( Hindu Philosophy ) 

While the actual means of practice are not specified, the forcing of the breath into the central channel and the restraining of ejaculation are central features of later haṭha yoga practice texts.

The c. 11th century Amṛtasiddhi is the earliest substantial text describing Haṭha yoga, though it does not use the term; it is a tantric Buddhist work, and makes use of metaphors from alchemy. A manuscript states its date as 1160. The text teaches Maha Bandha, mahāmudrā, and mahāvedha which involve bodily postures and breath control, as a means to preserve amrta or bindu (vital energy) in the head (the "moon") from dripping down the central channel and being burned by the fire (the "sun") at the perineum. The text also attacks Vajrayana deity yoga as ineffective. According to Mallinson, later manuscripts and editions of this text have obscured or omitted the Buddhist elements (such as the deity Chhinnamasta which appears in the earliest manuscripts and was originally a Buddhist deity, only appearing in Hindu works after the 16th century). However, the earliest manuscript makes it clear that this text originated in a Vajrayana Buddhist milieu. The inscription at the end of one Amṛtasiddhi manuscript ascribes the text to Mādhavacandra or Avadhūtacandra and is "said to represent the teachings of Virūpākṣa". According to Mallinson, this figure is most likely the Buddhist mahasiddha Virupa.

Around the 11th century, techniques associated with Haṭha yoga also begin to be outlined in a series of early Hindu texts. The aims of these practices were (supranormal powers such as levitation) and Moksha.

In India, haṭha yoga is associated in popular tradition with the Yogis of the Natha Sampradaya. Almost all hathayogic texts belong to the Nath , and the important ones are credited to Gorakhnath or Gorakshanath (c. early 11th century), the founder of the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India, though those texts post-date him. Goraknath is regarded by the contemporary Nath-tradition as the disciple of Matsyendranath (early 10th century), who is celebrated as a saint in both Hindu and Buddhist tantric and haṭha yoga schools, and regarded by tradition as the founder of the Natha Sampradaya. Early haṭha yoga works include:

• The Amaraugha (12th century, attributed to Goraknath) describes three bandhas to lock the vital energy into the body, as in the Amṛtasiddhi, but adding the raising of Kundalini
• The Dattātreyayogaśāstra, a Vaishnavism text probably composed in the 13th century, is the earliest text which provides a systematized form of Haṭha yoga, and the earliest to place its yoga techniques under the name Haṭha. It teaches an eightfold yoga identical with Patañjali's 8 limbs that it attributes to Yajnavalkya and others as well as eight mudras that it says were undertaken by the rishi Kapila and other ṛishis. The Dattātreyayogaśāstra teaches mahāmudrā, mahābandha, khecarīmudrā, jālandharabandha, Uddiyana bandha, Mula Bandha, Viparita Karani, vajrolī, amarolī, and sahajolī.
• The Vivekamārtaṇḍa, an early Nath text (13th century) attributed to Goraknath, contemporaneous with the Dattātreyayogaśāstra, teaches nabhomudrā (i.e. khecarīmudrā), mahāmudrā, viparītakaraṇī and the three bandhas. It also teaches six and the raising of Kundalini by means of "fire yoga" ( vahniyogena).
• The Gorakṣaśataka, a Nāth text of the same period (13th century), teaches śakticālanīmudrā ("stimulating Saraswati") along with the three bandhas. "Stimulating Sarasvat" is done by wrapping the tongue in a cloth and pulling on it, stimulating the goddess Kundalini who is said to dwell at the other end of the central channel. This text does not mention the preservation of bindu, but merely says that liberation is achieved by controlling the mind through controlling the breath.
• The ̣ Śārṅgadharapaddhati, an anthology of verses on a wide range of subjects compiled by Sharngadharain 1363, describes Haṭha yoga including ̣the Dattātreyayogaśāstra's teachings on five mudrās.
• The Khecarīvidyā (14th century) teaches only the method of khecarīmudrā, which is meant to give one access to stores of amrta in the body and to raise Kundalini via the six chakras.
• The Yogabīja (c. 14th century) teaches the three bandhas and śakticālanīmudrā ("stimulating Saraswati") for the purpose of awakening Kundalini
• The Śivasamhitā: a 14th or 15th century text. Its first chapter summarizes Shaivism and Shri Vidya Shaktism; the rest of the text describes yoga, the importance of a guru (teacher) to a student, various asanas and mudras, and the (powers) to be attained with yoga and tantra.

The earliest haṭha yoga methods of the Amṛtasiddhi, Dattātreyayogaśāstra and Vivekamārtaṇḍa are used to raise and conserve bindu (semen, and in women rajas – menstrual fluid) which was seen as the physical essence of life that was constantly dripping down from the head and being lost. This vital essence is also sometimes called Amrita (the nectar of immortality). These techniques sought to either physically reverse this process (by inverted postures like Viparita Karani) or use the breath to force bindu upwards through the Susumna.

In contrast to these, early Nath works like the Gorakṣaśataka and the Yogabīja teach a yoga based on raising Kundalinī (through śakticālanī mudrā). This is not called haṭha yoga in these early texts, but Kundalini yoga ("the yoga of dissolution"). However, other early Nāth texts like the Vivekamārtaṇḍa can be seen as co-opting the mudrās of haṭha yoga meant to preserve bindu. Then, in later Nāth as well as Śākta texts, the adoption of haṭha yoga is more developed, and focused solely on the raising of Kundalinī without mentioning bindu.

Mallinson sees these later texts as promoting a universalist yoga, available to all, without the need to study the metaphysics of Samkhya-yoga or the complex esotericism of Shaiva Tantra. Instead this "democratization of yoga" led to the teaching of these techniques to all people, "without the need for priestly intermediaries, ritual paraphernalia or sectarian initiations."

• Amaraughasasana: a Sharada script manuscript of this Haṭha yoga text was copied in 1525 CE. It is notable because fragments of this manuscript have also been found near Kuqa County in Xinjiang (China). The text discusses khecarimudra, but calls it saranas. It links the squatting pose Utkatasana, rather than the use of mudras, with the raising of Kundalini.
• Yogacintamani: an early 17th-century text on the eight auxiliaries of yoga; the asana section describes 34 asanas, and variant manuscripts add another 84, mentioning most of the non-standing asanas used in modern yoga., which cites
  J. Birch (2025). 9783847108627, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Unipress. ISBN 9783847108627
• Hatha Ratnavali: a 17th-century text that states that Haṭha yoga consists of ten mudras, eight cleansing methods, nine kumbhakas and 84 asanas. The text is also notable for dropping the nadanusandhana (inner sound) technique.
• Hathapradipika Siddhantamuktavali: an early 18th-century text that expands on the Hathayogapradipikạ by adding practical insights and citations to other Indian texts on yoga.
• Gheranda Samhita: a 17th or 18th-century text that presents Haṭha yoga as "ghatastha yoga", according to Mallinson. It presents 6 cleansing methods, 32 asanas, 25 mudras and 10 pranayamas. It is one of the most encyclopedic texts on Haṭha yoga.
• Jogapradipika: an 18th-century Braj-language text by Ramanandi Jayatarama that presents Haṭha yoga simply as "yoga". It presents 6 cleansing methods, 84 asanas, 24 mudras and 8 kumbhakas.

Haṭha yoga represented a trend towards the democratization of yoga insights and religion similar to the Bhakti movement. It eliminated the need for "either ascetic renunciation or priestly intermediaries, ritual paraphernalia and sectarian initiations". This led to its broad historic popularity in India. Later in the 20th century, states Mallinson, this disconnect of Haṭha yoga from religious aspects and the democratic access of Haṭha yoga enabled it to spread worldwide.

Between the 17th and 19th century, however, the various urban Hindu and Muslim elites and ruling classes viewed Yogis with derision. They were persecuted during the rule of Aurangzeb; this ended a long period of religious tolerance that had defined the rule of his predecessors beginning with Akbar, who famously studied with the yogis and other mystics. Haṭha yoga remained popular in rural India. Negative impression for the Hatha yogis continued during the British colonial rule era. According to Mark Singleton, this historical negativity and colonial antipathy likely motivated Swami Vivekananda to make an emphatic distinction between "merely physical exercises of Haṭha yoga" and the "higher spiritual path of Raja yoga". This common disdain by the officials and intellectuals slowed the study and adoption of Haṭha yoga.

A well-known school of Haṭha yoga from the 20th century is the Divine Life Society founded by 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. The Bihar School of Yoga has been one of the largest Haṭha yoga teacher training centers in India but is little known in Europe and the Americas.

Theos Casimir Bernard's 1943 book provides an informative but fictionalised account of traditional Haṭha yoga as a spiritual path.

In Western culture, Haṭha yoga is typically understood as exercise using asanas and it can be practiced as such. In the Indian and Tibetan traditions, Haṭha yoga integrates ideas of ethics, diet, cleansing, pranayama (breathing exercises), meditation and a system for spiritual development of the yogi.

Some traditions such as the Kaula tantric sect of Hinduism and Sahajiya tantric sect of Buddhism pursued more esoteric goals such as alchemy (Nagarjuna, Carpita), magic, kalavancana (cheating death) and parakayapravesa (entering another's body). Mallinson, however, disagrees and suggests that such fringe practices are far removed from the mainstream Yoga's goal as meditation–driven means to liberation in Indian religions. The majority of historic Haṭha yoga texts do not give any importance to siddhis. The mainstream practice considered the pursuit of magical powers as a distraction or hindrance to Haṭha yoga's ultimate aim of spiritual liberation, self-knowledge or release from rebirth that the Indian traditions call mukti or moksha.

The goals of Haṭha yoga, in its earliest texts, were linked to mumukshu (seeker of liberation, moksha). The later texts added and experimented with the goals of bubhukshu (seeker of enjoyment, bhoga).

Verses 1.57 through 1.63 of the critical edition of Haṭha Yoga Pradipika suggests that taste cravings should not drive one's eating habits, rather the best diet is one that is tasty, nutritious and likable as well as sufficient to meet the needs of one's body and for one's inner self. It recommends that one must "eat only when one feels hungry" and "neither overeat nor eat to completely fill one's stomach; rather leave a quarter portion empty and fill three quarters with quality food and fresh water".

According to another text, the Goraksha Sataka, eating a controlled diet is one of the three important parts of a complete and successful practice. The text does not provide details or recipes. The text states, according to Mallinson, "food should be unctuous and sweet", one must not overeat and stop when still a bit hungry (leave a quarter of the stomach empty), and whatever one eats should please Shiva.

Some Haṭha yoga texts teach breath exercises but do not refer to it as Pranayama. For example, section 3.55 of the GherandaSamhita calls it Ghatavastha (state of being the pot). In others, the term Kumbhaka or Prana-samrodha replaces Pranayama. Regardless of the nomenclature, proper breathing and the use of breathing techniques during a posture is a mainstay of Haṭha yoga. Its texts state that proper breathing exercises cleanse and balance the body.

Pranayama is one of the core practices of Haṭha yoga, found in its major texts as one of the limbs regardless of whether the total number of limbs taught are four or more. It is the practice of consciously regulating breath (inhalation and exhalation), a concept shared with all schools of yoga.

This is done in several ways, inhaling and then suspending exhalation for a period, exhaling and then suspending inhalation for a period, slowing the inhalation and exhalation, consciously changing the time/length of breath (deep, short breathing), combining these with certain focussed muscle exercises. Pranayama or proper breathing is an integral part of asanas. According to section 1.38 of Haṭha yoga pradipika, Siddhasana is the most suitable and easiest posture to learn breathing exercises.

The different Haṭha yoga texts discuss pranayama in various ways. For example, Haṭha yoga pradipka in section 2.71 explains it as a threefold practice: recaka (exhalation), puraka (inhalation) and kumbhaka (retention). During the exhalation and inhalation, the text states that three things move: air, prana and yogi's thoughts, and all three are intimately connected. It is kumbhaka where stillness and dissolution emerges. The text divides kumbhaka into two kinds: sahita (supported) and kevala (complete). Sahita kumbhaka is further sub-divided into two types: retention with inhalation, retention with exhalation. Each of these breath units are then combined in different permutations, time lengths, posture and targeted muscle exercises in the belief that these aerate and assist blood flow to targeted regions of the body.

The asanas vary significantly between Haṭha yoga texts, and some of the names are used for different poses. Most of the early asanas are inspired by nature, such as a form of union with symmetric, harmonious flowing shapes of animals, birds or plants.

The classical sources for the mudras are the Gheranda Samhita and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. The yoga mudras are diverse in the parts of the body involved and in the procedures required, as in Mula Bandha, Mahamudra, Viparita Karani, Khecarī mudrā, and Vajroli mudra.

The Haṭha yoga texts acknowledge and refer to Patanjali yoga, attesting to the latter's antiquity. However, this acknowledgment is essentially only in passing, as they offer no serious commentary or exposition of Patanjali's system. This suggests that Haṭha yoga developed as a branch of the more ancient yoga. According to P.V. Kane, Patanjali yoga concentrates more on the yoga of the mind, while Haṭha yoga focuses on body and health. Some Hindu texts do not recognize this distinction. For example, the Yogatattva Upanishad teaches a system that includes all aspects of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and all additional elements of Haṭha yoga practice.

• Kriya Yoga
• Kundalini yoga

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