20 Facts About Hatha yoga

Hatha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to preserve and channel the vital force or energy.

Some of the early hatha yoga texts describe methods to raise and conserve bindu (vital force, that is, semen, and in women rajas – menstrual fluid).

Two early Hatha yoga techniques sought to either physically reverse this process of dripping using gravity to trap the bindhu by inverted postures like viparitakarani, or force bindu upwards through the central channel by directing the breath flow into the centre channel using mudras.

Early Nath works teach a Hatha yoga based on raising kundalini through energy channels and chakras, called LayaHatha yoga.

The term hatha yoga was first used in the c 3rd century Bodhisattvabhumi, the phrase na hathayogena seemingly meaning only that the bodhisattva would get his qualities "not by force".

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Around the 11th century, techniques associated with Hatha yoga begin to be outlined in a series of early Hindu texts.

In India, hatha yoga is associated in popular tradition with the Yogis of the Natha Sampradaya.

Instead this "democratization of Hatha yoga" led to the teaching of these techniques to all people, "without the need for priestly intermediaries, ritual paraphernalia or sectarian initiations.

The text lists 35 great Hatha yoga siddhas starting with Adi Natha followed by Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath.

Hatha yoga represented a trend towards the democratization of yoga insights and religion similar to the Bhakti movement.

Negative impression for the Hatha yoga yogis continued during the British colonial rule era.

Examples of other branded forms of yoga, with some controversies, that make use of Hatha yoga include Anusara Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Integral Yoga, Jivamukti Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Kripalu Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Sivananda Yoga and Viniyoga.

Hatha yoga practice is complex and requires certain characteristics of the yogi.

In Western culture, Hatha yoga is typically understood as exercise using asanas and it can be practiced as such.

Hatha yoga teaches various steps of inner body cleansing with consultations of one's yoga teacher.

Some Hatha yoga texts teach breath exercises but do not refer to it as Pranayama.

Pranayama is one of the core practices of Hatha yoga, found in its major texts as one of the limbs regardless of whether the total number of limbs taught are four or more.

The Hatha yoga mudras are diverse in the parts of the body involved and in the procedures required, as in Mula Bandha, Mahamudra, Viparita Karani, Khecari mudra, and Vajroli mudra.

In contrast, the Hatha yoga texts consider meditation as important but dwell less on meditation methodology than Patanjali yoga.

Hatha yoga texts acknowledge and refer to Patanjali yoga, attesting to the latter's antiquity.