They’d stand on one leg, or carry out the ‘bat penance’ (hanging upside down). We may think these are part of an obscure and long-lost tradition. They would submerge themselves in cold water, never sitting down (not even to sleep). They would hold their arms in the air for hours on end. In order to perfect the body and senses, these Hatha yogis would perform extraordinary feats. These were the original Hatha yogis – and Tapas, translated as ‘heat’, ‘glow’, ‘austerity’ or ‘discipline’ and referring to a sense of ‘burning’ off past karma and refining the body and mind – was their practice. Aspects that came to be a part of Hindu tradition, like reincarnation and karma, were central to their thinking. The ascetic tradition emerged on the borders of India and Nepal. That is, they renounced their lives, families, jobs and worldly responsibilities in favour of a life as an ascetic. Whilst the majority of us ‘fit in’ a morning practice, or ‘pause’ to switch on a five minute meditation app, the ancient Hatha Yogis were renunciates. But it came from something that was the complete opposite, and was viewed very differently to how we view yoga now”. No matter what one does, isn’t it all physical?”.Īt the same London lecture, Jim Mallinson – author of the title ‘Roots of Yoga’ – observed “ Yoga has been turned into something you can ‘fit in’ to a busy modern lifestyle. He remarked “what’s physical and what’s not is up for question. Mark Singleton – author of ‘Yoga Body’, and a Senior Research Fellow at SOAS London University – spoke at a lecture I attended. shatkriyas and shatkarmas – cleansing techniques.asana – yoga postures (practised in any style of ‘yoga’).So Hatha yoga can be considered as anything you might do with the body, including: Literally however, Hatha means ‘force’ and is more traditionally defined as ‘the yoga of force’, or ‘the means of attaining a state of yoga through force’. And indeed, that is how we describe our Hatha yoga classes on EkhartYoga. These are typically practised more slowly and with more static holds than a Vinyasa flow or Ashtanga class. What’s involved in a Hatha yoga class?Ī yoga class described as ‘Hatha’ will typically involve a set of physical postures (yoga poses) and breathing techniques. The practice of Hatha yoga aims to join, yoke, or balance these two energies. ‘Ha’ represents the esoteric sun, and ‘tha’ the moon. Popular thinking ‘in the West’ (an all-too-common expression now), is that Hatha yoga is about balancing the body and mind. Throughout the evolution of yoga practice, the same word – Hatha – has come to mean different things too. Language is a powerful thing, and in different cultures the same word can have a variety of definitions. However our thinking and perception of it certainly has. What Hatha yoga is hasn’t changed for thousands of years.
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