Kriyas & Cleansing
Life is a system that moves in accord with the elements that created it. But life itself is made up of various parts, each of which emerges from governing mechanics that distinguish themselves according to the realm in which they operate. Though there a countless fastest that make up the reality of a human life, two features, when placed in juxtaposition, seem to starkly contrast each other in terms of perceptual impact upon reality: that of material reality and that of spiritual reality.
A material life is propagated and maintained by the laws of the material universe, and in the realm of humanity this means self sustenance through principles much like those found in Darwinian rules of evolution of the species through the survival of the most successful traits. Productivity, for the material life, is developed from innovative techniques and socially appeasing character traits which move the individual forward into the headway of fame, power, and future. The material life, in principle, fructifies through material-based success.
The spiritual life stands in notable distinction to this dimension of the corporeal life, and although the movements of what we consider the inner or spiritual spectrum of being may at time reflect component of the material life, the governing principles of the two realms are not the same. Spiritual success may lead to worldly success but is not dependent upon it, and sometime the traits which appear in a spiritually centered lifestyle are at opposition to the forces of the material world. For instance, a purely materialistic way of living may justify, without the consciences of morality, the murdering of other human beings so long as it aids the murderer in the accumulation of greater wealth and power, yet a spiritual life would not even consider such an act lest one be completely robed of their inner-being. Such a harsh example conveys the obvious differences, but subtle variances are also present. For instance, love between human beings may be interpreted quite differently between the perceptual observations of a materialist from a spiritualist; for the preceding, love connotes ownership and possession of another human being. It may be said that one has love or is loved. It is a marked trait of an assist from which one can benefit from. For the later, however, it is considered a state of being, to be within the body of love. No ownership implied. It is therefore quite possible that two lives can be identical in nature but the perceptual experiences drastically at odds.
Although many experiences may be shared between the materialist and the spiritualist, the worlds of the two are quite often different from one another because of the fundamental differences in the methods implemented to actuate the pinnacle achievements of that view of reality. To which world one ascribes to is marked in the actions and beliefs about how to live one’s life. The affect these choices (relative to the laws of reality to which one ascribes) have upon the manifestation of human experience and accomplished landmarks can even be seen in social manifestations: the materialist society produced means for concurring the material world; tools of war, systems of government, infrastructures of production, and techniques for concurring the physical world while the spiritual based societies sought the success of the inner-world through knowledge, self inquiry, institutions of learning, techniques for inner refinement and purification. Although there has never been (and perhaps never will be) a society that is purely materialistic or spiritualistic both in form and in character we have seen the production of societies that choose one world over the other. The division we see today is often expressed in terms of the societies of the Eastern World (the oriental) and the Western World (the occidental), and though this division is to a degree overly general and unreceptive to the individual characteristics of specific states, there is still enough truth held in this view to allow for it be maintain both as a general reference as well as a academic inquisition.
To note historically, the Western World has been one of conquest and expansion of the material world; ownership of greater areas of land, expansion of wealth, and production of more advanced tools has been the central focus of these societies. They have traveled far and wide to obtain the most valuable, and have invested much for the development of the luxuries that sustain their satisfaction and contentment. The Eastern World, in contrast, has been one of inner discipline and inquisition, putting at the forefront of pursuits the conquest of the inner world to which was ascribed the greatest beauty and prosperity that far surpassed what the material world had to offer. Of course there is much to debate within this topic, but that is not of our concern here. What is of interest is the desires which propel us, because it is these desires which motivate our purpose of living.
It goes without saying that the Western World today has reached the principle of success relative to its history: as opposed to its history, many of the individuals living in the Western World have the means to fulfill their worldly needs to the extent that they have ample time to do whatsoever they please; food, shelter, health, and financial opportunities are all available for them to live a happy life. The luxuries of today are far beyond anything we have seen in the history of the material world, and people have every opportunity to exploit these advantages so long as they have the knowledge and motivation to do so. And yet despite the external prosperities life remains the same (in terms of the inward experience) as it did a thousand years ago; people are just as happy, or perhaps less, than their predecessors. So we must ask, what is missing?
Inner wisdom, that is knowledge of how things operate on the level of the mind and spirit, is best understood not in actions and behaviors, as Behaviorism might suggest, but by the inner workings of thoughts, desires, perceptions, emotions, intentions, and all other inner-experience that determine how we perceive reality. Although the western world has produce many philosophers who sought the philo or wisdom of life, their pursuit was most often explained through the eyes of the outer world looking in; the human was observed primarily as reproduction of outer elements which together combined to form life itself which is why today many are still pursuing the recreation of a human being through machines for they believe that machines can eventually replicate the mental and physical characteristics of the human being. But life is not explained here. Life as we experience it comes from another dimension, more complete and more perfect than the one we see with our eyes and touch with our hands. Though the material life is a part of our reality, it is not all of it. The full meaning to life itself can only be explained when all aspects of our being have been accounted for from the corporeal to the supernatural.
Interestingly, contemporaries of the Western World are absorbing a new way of thinking and living which reflect the natural movements of the Sun. Wisdom of the inner life is beginning to dawn in the once predominantly material world of life just as the Sun of Knowledge and Wisdom (Dyana-Surya) of the Hatha Yoga texts arose in the spirit of the spiritual practitioner who followed the light of the yogic practice. This transition has come at a time that seems most appropriate as insufficiency in the state of internal mental and emotional affairs are often not a result of material poverty but of spiritual poverty. The void which many feel in their lives stand firm regardless of their prosperity, fame, and wealth which has produced a wide spread quest for fulfillment outside of the material world.
To this void we have an occupant from the East, specifically from Bharata Varsha (now know as India) or the sacred land of support; Yoga. Yoga is what is sometime referred to as a holistic science as it is stand at the boundaries between what we consider the material sciences which the western mind is pre-occupied with and the spiritual sciences to which we classify the mystics. Yoga rests here at this junction as it neither denies the material world as some spiritual traditions do nor neglects the spiritual element of life. Through its many, and at time even paradoxical, systems Yoga offers a sufficient means for conjoining the inherent benefits of the material life with the intrinsic profundity of the spirituality. As the word entails, holistic requires a consideration and application of all the parts involved and must work with every known aspect of reality in order to come to terms with a unified theory of existence. Within yoga’s robust methodologies and techniques are innumerable opportunities for the seeker of fulfillment to be filled both within the spiritual life and the material one.
The Division
Yoga is classically bifurcated into two divisions: Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga. The first is a system derived from the classical Yoga-Darshana of Patanjali, a classical saint of yogic spirituality who was said to have authored one of the original texts on yoga, the Patanjali Yoga Sutra. Raja Yoga is literally translated as Royal Union and is labeled as such because it procures the path towards supreme revelation to which nothing can surpass in the quality of its knowledge and level of consciousness. Raja Yoga subscribes to eight limbs of self-perfection which are yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, andSamadhi. Often marked sequentially as steps towards the highest state of Samadhi, the eight limbs ensure a steady progression towards self actualization each stage having specific guidelines to follow in order to ensure success in one spiritual path.
Within the parameters of Raja Yogaare the subsystems Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Dhyana Yoga which each correlate to phases within the practice of Raja Yoga. Broadly translated, Karma Yoga is the practice of unselfish action, work, or service which is intended to bring forth at-one-ment with the divine principle contained within oneself and can be expressed in any type of action including within one’s worldly occupations. Of similar character in terms of one’s commitment through action and intention is Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti Yoga is also fed by devotion to the Divine essence of reality, but more subtle in nature than that of Karma Yoga in that Bhakti Yoga focus upon the inward practice of love, devotion, and faith which together lead to revelation. Of the three, Dhyana Yoga is the most difficult to practice as its methods are developed through profound spiritual meditation and concentration upon the inner divine which ultimately requires a drastic paradigmatic shift is thinking in which reality itself is perceived within its most abstract form.
Hatha Yoga makes up the other main division of Yoga, and unlike Raja Yoga consists of only 6 limbs which together form the Sadhana of Hatha Yoga. These are:
1. Asana (including Bandha and Mudhra) – Physical or psychological postures or gestures which purify the body and energy pathways;
2. Pranayama – Regulation and manipulation of energy or prana;
3. Pratyahara – Withdrawal of the mind from the movements and sensations of the physical sensory organs of perception;
4. Dharana – Concentration of the mind towards one singular internal object to the abstraction and exclusion of all other thoughts;
5. Dhyana –Expansion of Dharana into a state of meditation that flows from the single-pointed concentration into an intensified experience of the total inner state.
6. Samadhi – Awakening of Divine Consciousness and transcendence of the notion of selfhood.
When compared with one another, Raja Yoga can be classified as a psycho-spiritual approach whereas Hatha Yoga is a physio-pranic one. This is because Raja Yoga concerns itself foremost with the mental world whereas Hatha Yoga is of the physical and energetic world. Hatha Yoga too is partitioned into three additional yogic systems of Laya Yoga, Mantra Yoga, and Tarak Yoga. To these are the varieties of techniques most popularly known amongst the western world, various forms of self purification through the body, energy, and mind to uplift the practitioner to the highest realizations pronounced in the profound states of Samadhi.
Hatha Yoga can be traced to three primary texts on the traditional, those of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gherand Samhita, and Shiva Samhita. The most popularly know of the three is of course the Pradipika written in the 14th century by Sage Svatmarama which is said to be the oldest living text amongst the Hatha system which itself was forged somewhere far beyond this relativity young text somewhere in the years between 700-1000 B.C. Only one text predates this, the Hatha Yoga written by Gorakhnath himself, the founder of Laya Yoga in 9th century, but this text is no longer in existence for our study. One additional text also circulates within the Hatha system, Sidha-Sidhanta Padhati, but this book is not widely know and is no doubt a text next to impossible to find even in today’s modern age where most classical texts have been converted into electronic form to be preserved for the ages.
As a very general outline, the Shiva Samhita is a text of five sections said to be composed, or at least inspired by, Shiva. Each section is oriented towards the physic-pranic revelation: the first section discuses Laya-Prakaranama or higher psychic fusion, the merging of bodily consciousness with the divine principle; the second section, Tetra-Dnyanopedesha is a inquisition into the philosophy of Hatha Yoga; the third is concerned with preparations for meditation focusing upon the four classical meditative asanas with sidhasana and padmasana the more notable of the four; the forth relating several practices within the Mudras and Bandhas; and the fifth an outline of the Chakra system.
The Gherand Samhita is a text composed by Rishi Gheranda and is a compendium of instructional notes highlighting the primary principles of Hatha Yoga includng: Sapta-Sadhanas or seven spiritual disciplines; Shat-Kriyas or six purification devices; and the daily observation of asanas, bhandhas, mudras, pranayamas which together lead towards dhyana and Samadhi.
In comparison to its companion texts, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika is most well recognized by the contemporary practitioners because it has been sustained by numerous commentaries both historic and modern which together make is a relatively accessible doctrine. By nature many of the ancient scriptures of India have perished into the obscurities of forgotten traditions because the vast majority of them where written not as step by step guides to the practices or ideas they taught but rather as cliff notes to a highly comprehensive discipline which was handed down from guru to disciple. Therefore what survived as a practice was not always the most advance but the most popular and practical system which could be used interchangeably and dynamically within a spiritual discipline. It is for this reason that some scholars consider the Hatha Yoga Pradipika to be one of the more liberal texts of the yogic system, acting almost as a mollifying alternative to some of the more demanding practices of Raja Yoga. The text suggests that the same Samadhi of Raja Yoga can be obtained by a more accessible ladder of sequential steps towards spiritual liberation.
The text is conceived within 4 main sections: asanas, pranayama, mudras, and samadhi. Together, five meditation asanas, 10 asanas for spinal flexibility and deep relaxation, dietary regulations, nadi suddhi pranayama, seven kriyas, thirteen mudras lead the practitioner into Samadhi: "As salt being dissolved in water becomes one with it, so when the mind dissolves into the Atman, it is called samadhi " (HYP 4:5).
Applications
The word hatha is most often liberally translated as sun and moon which is in reference to the two opposing elements of Shakti-prana which is expressed most directly in the central nadis of surya and chandra also known as pingala and ida. One of the tenant goals, then, of Hatha Yoga is in the balancing of these polar energies so that the more subtle energies may be conjured from their dormancy within the cohabitant equilibrium that sustains their presence. More accurately, however, is the interpretation of hatha ‘forceful’ which suggests the intrinsic nature of this system. Many of the techniques associated with the Hatha Yoga system are forceful interventions into the control and alteration of energy patterns within the body that lead to rapid alterations in the body and mind. Such efforts, of course, do not come without their risks, and it is for this very reason that one Indian saint, Shree Dnyaneswar Maharaj proclaimed “will not the mouth break asunder if one tries to chew and swallow a mountain?” To this the answer is “YES” with an emphasis that cannot, and should not, be rebuked.
At the heart of the system outlined by the Hatha Yoga Pradipika is the essence of the practice of pranayama which entails a control and regulation of the internal energies. The Hatha yogis where committed to the understanding and application of the life force which drivers the mind-body-soul triad that together form the human being. They were among the first anatomists of their days, studying the gross anatomy of the human body and comparing it with the intangible pranic anatomy corresponding the viyus and chakras. It was from this inquisition into the pieces that made up the manifested body that the Hatha yogis are believed to be among the first to popularize and systematize the awakening and then further use of the Kundalini power, or Serpent Energy. This internal energy is the pristine model of the supreme energy which manifests in all living beings. Dormant by nature, the hatha yogis found that by ‘forceful’ intervention kundalini could be aroused from her slumber. From here proceeded the disheveling of the mundane milieu of human experience which procured the necessary foundation for the establishment for a truly spiritually driven lifestyle.
Hatha Yoga maintains a dependent relationship with the Kundalini force and the primary mission of the tactics and techniques the yogi uses from the Shat-Kriyas to Dhyana are there to awaken and later tame kundalini energy. Therefore the central act of the Hatha Yoga system is Kundalini-Jagarana or ignition of the kinetic force resting dormant within the base of the spine. Though many systems of yoga were familiar with the presence of kundalini, it was really on the Hatha Yoga practitioners who, on a large scale systemic level, were willing to impose force to activate kundalini. Other mainstream forms of yoga upheld the belief that kundalini would awaken spontaneously as the spiritual practitioner advanced within their practice, but it was only the Hatha yogis, either out of boldness, refinement, or perhaps even stupidity, were willing to forcefully intervene in the kundalini state. This is because of the many energies contain within the human being, kundalini is the most unpredictable and unruly. Though her awakening sets in motions profound revelations, it also throws the practitioner into turbulent fluctuations in the mind, emotions, and body from which only a few have crossed into the open field of sublime bliss. Oftentimes the benefits received from Kundalini awakening are heavily outweighed by the confusions and pains that are also conjured from their slumber. Lest one has a very strong mind, kundalini awakening can be a life threatening experience.
Yet there are few systems that are as definitively laid out in tangible sequences as that of Hatha Yoga. Many of the other expressions of yoga are most often vague, incomplete, or obscure and only reveled through the guidance of a guru or internal revelations, reading between the lines as it is often said, hence the reason why much of the yoga we see today is diluted forms of the Hatha Yoga system. Defined as a system based upon its characteristically traits, Hatha Yoga can be considered a physio-pranic based methodology for rapid self-realization that can be practice casually by many as a means of healing and self-vitalization but sincerely pursued only by the few who have a profound grasp on the path that lays before them and a strong enough mind to execute to the proper actions necessary for controlling and later guiding the inner life forces.
Methodologies
Based upon the tree major texts mentioned above, let us know consider a general outline of Hatha Yoga which gives a peripheral view of the system at large, a reflection of the, at minimum, last millennium of practices widely observed by the Hatha yogis.
The practice of Hatha Yoga is best summarized in the seven disciplines (Sapta Sadhanas) within Yogi Raj Gherand’s text. He was a strong proponent of Hatha Yoga who taught the science of Hatha Yoga to only the most adept of students. He held that yoga is the supreme path to the actualization of selfhood, and though the mind and body are feable and weak, they have contained within them the dormant potential to illuminate the inner divinity. The Sapta Sadhanas were tools for transforming the mind and the body so that their characters were reformed to accommodate spiritual vision. They were:
1. Purification through Shat-Kriyas
2. Strength through Yoga Asanas
3. Stability through Mudras
4. Fortitude through Pratyahara
5. Lightness through Pranayama
6. Direct perception through Dhyana
7. Non-attachment through Samadhi
Together these phases sequentially paved the road toward salvation or Moksha, and we can see the progression quite plainly as a movement from the physical to the unmanifested divine. Each stage is personified with a specific quality is the sadhanas themselves represent specific accomplishments to be obtained while proceeding along the path towards liberation.
The Shat-Kriyas are cleansing practices which are intended to purify the body and removing any physiological disorders or disturbances that might hinder one’s efforts in the more advanced stages of the practice. Other benefits are inherently instilled within the practice which we will discuss in a moment. In all the Shat-Kiryas or six purification techniques are: dhauti, basti, neti, nauli trataka, kapal bhati.
Some of the kriyas have become obsolete because of modern inventions or innovations while others have been obscured through the vales of time, but nevertheless we can come to a general outline of the most applicable and widely practices kriyas which are still of substantial use to the yogic practitioner today. They are eight fold and include, from head to toe so to speak:
1. Ocular Hygiene: Cleansing of the ear canals and the exterior surface. Preserving the ears in cold weather with cleansing through the application of warm water.
2. Ocular Hygiene: More mystic in nature than some of the others, ocular cleansing, primarily trataka, involves a fixed gaze on a luminous object, most often a candle, with steadfast concentration without closing the eyes. Overtime this practice is said to even correct near and far sightedness.
3. Nasal Hygiene: To this are several practices but the most popular are Sutra Neti and Jala Neti. Less invasive of the two, Jala Neti is the cleansing of the nasal passage ways with the use of warm salted water which is directed through the nasal passageways with a feeding cup. Water enters through one nostril and departs either out of the opposite or through the mouth. Sutra Neti is more difficult to perform and requires the use of either a waxed cotton thread or catheter that is passed through one nostril and then towards the pharynx and out through the mouth or alternatively through the opposite nostril. In either case nasal hygiene is of utmost importance because it allows for free flow of the two nasal passageways which regulate the flow of surya and chandra nadis.
4. Oral Hygiene: This process is threefold: cleansing of the teeth traditionally with neem or babul twigs; gentle massage of the gums with the fingers to strengthen them; and cleansing of the tongue by massaging it with the fingers. In addition to these the practitioner is to extend the length of the tongue through Khechari Mudra which is then to control the nectar which follows form bindhu.
5. Gastric Hygiene: Two main practices are utilized to clean esophagus and stomach; vyaghra kriya and vastra dhauti. The fist involves the use of warm saline water which is consumed orally than vomited through induction with the use of the fingers. The second is far more intense and requires the consumption of a long cotton cloth which is then removed. This practice should, with no exception, be done only under the guidance of an experienced teacher.
6. Ileal Hygiene: Two non invasive kriyas of kapal bhati and nauli help to maintain the productively and health of the small intestine. These practices involve specialized control of the breath and abdominal muscles to create a highly effective manipulation of the abdominal region.
7. Colonic Hygiene: More challenge of the kriyas to perform is basti vidhi which requires the uptake of what while reclining in a bathtub through the anis by performing Uddiyana Bandha. Alternatively a catheter can be used in which warm and disinfected water is fed from a funnel into the colon. Both practices lead the removal of stagnant waste in the colon.
8. Anal Hygiene: While the forces of apana lead to the evacuation of waste from the body, an overly constricted anal cavity can inhibit this natural movement. For this the practice of mool shodhana is used to relieve constipation.
To each of these kriyas, as well as to the complete system, are obvious as well as subtle affects. Each of these practices, when observed with proper guidance and intention, maintain optimal health and function of the organic system without any chemical or surgical intervention which has become so popular in the modern age. It is for this reason that many of these practices have been adopted by natural therapeutic systems like Ayurveda which have been applied on a large scale level because of their practicality and affectivity.
The subtle affects of the kriya are not nearly as well pronounced in a sensual way, yet it is these expressions of the kriya that really substantiate the practice beyond pure physiological maintenance. On a bodily level, the practitioner gains control of many physical processes that are most often operated unconsciously. As a result of this a sensitization to the unconscious operations of the body are brought into conscious awareness which results in a drastic change in ones receptivity to the activity and health of the organic processes.
Another subtle capacity that is developed through the kriyas is the ability to control and regulate reflexes of the body. In the beginning, each of the kriyas are resisted by various reflexes within the body which are unconscious defense systems that we are most often unconscious of. The reflexes themselves produce a sense of fear which most often must be overcome in order for the kriya to be successful. This redefinition of comfort zones may seemly purely superficial and perhaps even unnatural, but the affects are often surprising in that one develops greater confidence in managing and control their body. Similar crossings of fear thresholds are also seen within the yoga asanas.
The most subtle of influences of the kriyas are those metaphysical in nature which attune the practitioner to the refined energies present within the body. These only develop after consistent practice with astute observation, but the revelations can sometimes be profound including the awakening of the subtle indrayas or senses of the body like perception of the sounds of prana moving within the body. Such awakenings are usually only sustained under guidance from a guru or advanced teacher and can be dangerous when not directed under proper supervision and intention. It is because of this that many practices within Hatha Yoga are not directly stated in the texts themselves in order to prevent the abuse that is likely to arise from practicing these techniques outside of the traditional guru/disciple tradition.
Once the body has been purified through the kriyas, and often times simultaneously observed in association with the kriyas, the practice of the yogasanas is initiated. This is the form of yoga that is most widely practiced in the world today, although here in the Hatha Yoga texts only a fraction of the said thousands or more of yogasanas are given because of their practicality and specialized benefits. The Saddhu Raj Gherand explains that there are in fact as many yogasanas as there are animals, insects, and other creatures in the natural world, each asana an expression of the animals nature. However the Hatha Yoga tradition generally employees eighty four asanas in total, with just thirty two being mentioned as the postures applicable to the common practitioner. These are the:
1. Siddhasana
2. Padmasana
3. Bhadrasana
4. Muktasana
5. Vajrasana
6. Swastikasana
7. Simhasana
8. Gomukhasana
9. Virasana
10. Dhanurasana
11. Mritasana
12. Guptasana
13. Matsyasana
14. Matsyendrasana
15. Goraksasana
16. Paschimotanasana
17. Utkatasana
18. Samkatasana
19. Mayurasana
20. Kukkutasana
21. Kurmasana
22. Uttanasana
23. Uttanmandukasana
24. Vrikshasana
25. Mandukasana
26. Garudasana
27. Vrishabhasana
28. Shalbhasana
29. Makarasana
30. Ushtrasana
31. Bhujangasana
32. Yogasana
These are the 32 outlined in the text presented by Raj Gherand and include a mixture of seated, standing, forward bending, back bending, reclining, and meditative postures which together create a very healthy and supple physical body. Interestingly the Sapta Sadhanas of Gherand is more comprehensive regarding the yogasanas than the Hatha Yoga Pradipika which addresses only fifteen asanas in total, of which six are postures of meditation. These postures of the Pradipika are:
1. Swastikasana
2. Gomukhasana
3. Virasana
4. Kurmasana
5. Kukkutasana
6. Uttankoormasana
7. Dhanurasana
8. Matsyendrasana
9. Paschimotanasana
10. Mayurasana
11. Shavasana
12. Siddhasana
13. Padmasana
14. Simhasana
15. Bhadrasana
Together these fifteen asanas are said to be sufficient for obtaining a well balanced and healthy body. Many asanas that we know and use today are excluded from the lists presented in these two traditional texts either because they were made obsolete by a more effective posture or because it was expected that the gurus of the Hatha Yoga system would teach additional asanas when necessary. But for the most part it is believed that some of the postures most readily circulated in contemporary yoga like Chakrasana, Trikonasana, Halasana, etc. were discovered after the composition of these texts. Other postures, like Shirshasana were integrated into other aspects of the practice; in the case of Shirshasana we find the posture in category of Mudras, refered to as Viparitkari. Such distinctions are present because of the central role of the postures themselves: asanas treat primarily the physical body; mudras address the energy in the body.
As mentioned previously, the kriyas and asanas do not have isolated effects. The asanas, according to Svatmarama, fulfill three major purposes:
1. The body achieves absolute health through a casual relationship; attending the welfare of one part of the body creates a ripple effect whereby all other parts of the body receive subsequent health;
2. The counter opposing forces of ida and pingala, prana and apana are balanced thereby producing an energetic equilibrium which is necessary for optimum physical and mental performance;
3. The doshas (constitutions) of the body, vata, pitta, and kapha are purified and brought into accord.
Contrary to some other traditions, Hatha Yoga does not neglect the welfare of the physical body. It is not that the Hatha Yogis were only looking to elevate the physical body to a pristine condition; instead, they believed that it was only when the physical body was in good health that higher spiritual aspirations could be effectively sought after.
Interestingly, Hatha Yoga has never been a system based upon the compartmentalization of physical and mental disease and disorder. Despite their comprehensive knowledge of anatomy and physiology, the Hatha Yogis pursued health through harmonization, healing the total system as opposed to its segmented parts. They discovered that total health is not achieved by treating isolated problems but by pursuing total health. It is for this reason that the seemingly limited number of fifteen asanas, contrary to the hundreds practiced in the modern age, was presented in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika as sufficient to bring about absolute health.
The contemporary habit of creating specific programs for various physical disorders runs contrary to the Hatha Yoga system which discovered that physical wellbeing was more effectively achieved by pursuing a vision of total health as opposed to isolated treatment. What perhaps makes this type of system ineffective today is not the methodology and practice but its application, for total health requires total commitment, and in today’s world quite the opposite is desire: little to no commitment with rapid effects. While on a short term basis the modern system proves to be more effective in providing temporary relief of symptoms, it is only the approach employed by systems like Hatha Yoga that ensure total health. Ironically making a statement like total health in the modern age is nearly taboo because such a concept seems to dwell in the realm of the impossible. Yet such is not a fantasy but an unlikelihood simply because our beliefs and lifestyles inhibit the actualization of such physical, mental, and spiritual statuses that require more commitment than what the majority are willing to instate.
With that being said, some might classify Hatha Yoga as an antiquated system replaced by modern medical methodologies and technology. But the reality is that the distinction between the eastern practices of Yoga and the western modules of medicine is not in their affectivity but in the people the exercise them. For an individual who is capricious in their efforts and lazy in upholding their commitments physical health is best achieved through chemicals and surgeries as they provide instant rectification or suppression of complications without much effort on the part of the sick (not to discredit the medical system, however, which through its innovations has saved countless of lives). But for those who are willing to exert the energy and effort, total health is an achievable reality through proper application of the Hatha Yogic system, and although some will argue that such health is impossible, it is undue justice to say so until one has attempted it themselves.
Fortunately for us, the yoga system does not stop at having a high performance body, and it is for this reason that the journey only begins with physical wellness; from here we make our movement into the exploration of the more subtle, and perhaps more substantial, changes within the energy, mind, and spirit of the human being.
