Chapter 8

Hāṭha Yoga: The First Steps Towards Rāja Yoga

The various āsanas, kumbhakas, and the various mudrās of Hāṭha Yoga should all be practised, till the fruit – Rāja Yoga – is obtained.’

Hāṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, 1: 67

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Hāṭha Yoga, the skilful training and mastering of the physical body, is the first step towards training and mastering the mind. A healthy and balanced mind can only exist in a strong, healthy body. For this reason, Hāṭha Yoga is the first step to the training of the mind or Rāja Yoga. The aim and goal of Hāṭha Yoga is to recondition the physical system, both the mind and the body. The skilful techniques of Hāṭha Yoga (āsana, kriyā, prāṇāyāma, mudrā, yantra, mantra and laya (absorption), purify, strengthen, balance, and remove any obstructions or obstacles, so that the mind and body can become fit vehicles toward Self-realization.

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Purification is accomplished by the six acts; the yogi becomes strong through postures [āsana]; stability is acquired through the seals [mudrā] and calmness through sense-withdrawal [pratyāhāra]. Lightness results from breath control [prāṇāyāma], perception of the Self from meditation [dhyāna], and the untainted state from ecstasy [samādhi]; this last state is undoubtedly liberation [mukti].

Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā, 1: 10–11

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The purpose of the Hāṭha Yoga scientific approach is to give you the knowledge and means of controlling the two energies (the two syllables of Hāṭha): hā and ṭha, which represent sun and moon, and prāṇa and apāṇa, respectively. Hāṭha Yoga subdues the current of thought that creates the fluctuating waves (vṛttis) of feeling in the mind and heart by subduing the prāṇa. Without this knowledge (vidya) it is very difficult to gain control over the mind. Hāṭha Yoga is a very practical way to control the mind through control of the prāṇic energy.

Hāṭha Yoga also aims to awaken the prāṇic energy in the spine and chakras, to prepare oneself for Rāja Yoga, which leads to the highest state of Self- and God-realization.

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I salute Adīśvara [the first Lord, Śiva], who taught to Parvati [Śiva’s consort] the Hāṭha Vidya, that is a step to attaining the higher pinnacle of Rāja Yoga.

Hāṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, 1: 1

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I salute Adīśvara who taught first the science of Hāṭha Yoga – a science that stands out as a ladder that leads to the higher heights of Rāja Yoga.

Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā, opening verse

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Hāṭha Yoga cannot be obtained without Rāja Yoga, nor can Rāja Yoga be attained without Hāṭha Yoga. Therefore, the Yogi should first learn Hāṭha Yoga from the the instructions of a wise guru.

He who, while living in this physical body, does not practise Yoga, is living merely for the sake of sensual enjoyments [bhoga].

Śiva Saṁhitā, 5: 181–2.

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