Hatha Yoga
'Well known for spectacular physical poses, hatha yoga is actually a system of working the body and breath in order to investigate meditatively deep and subtle feelings, responses, and reflexes in relation to the conditioning of the mind. Insight into the subtle nature of sensation and its relationship to internal breathing patterns is believed to be the key to insight into the true nature of the mind. Hatha means ‘sun’ (ha) and ‘moon’ (tha), and it can be used to describe any yoga practice that unites the opposite patterns within the nervous system in order to open up the core of the body for our observation. A central component of hatha yoga is āsana, or the practice of yoga postures, in which we work the body; we turn it, twist it, stretch it, and explore its subtleties. Another component is prānāyāma, in which we stretch, unfold, refine, and closely observe the breathing. Within these physical practices of hatha yoga we work the body like we knead dough when making bread, so that it becomes transformed from an amorphous lump of unconscious flesh and bones into something that is vital and full of life. Through this work we find that both the body and the mind begin to wake up; they begin to unite with each other and with our everyday experience of life. As we continue to practice we gradually begin to find that we can extract from the body all of the juice of insight and consciousness that lies within it.'
- Richard Freeman in 'The Mirror of Yoga.'
- Richard Freeman in 'The Mirror of Yoga.'