Hatha Yoga — The Tantric Science of Body Purification
Hatha Yoga is the Tantric science of purifying and empowering the physical body so it becomes a fit vessel for kundalini awakening and spiritual liberation.
Hatha Yoga (Ha = sun, Tha = moon — the yoga that balances solar and lunar forces) is the systematic Tantric science of body purification and energy cultivation, documented in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (15th century CE), Gheranda Samhita (17th century CE), and Shiva Samhita. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika opens by stating that Hatha Yoga is practiced 'for the sake of Raja Yoga' — it is not an end in itself but the preparation of the physical vessel for higher states of meditation. The six purification practices (Shatkarmas — Neti, Dhauti, Nauli, Basti, Kapalbhati, Trataka) cleanse the body of impurities. Asana (posture) creates stability and ease in the body. Pranayama purifies the nadis. Bandhas and Mudras direct the energy. Together these practices transform the body from a source of distraction into a vehicle of liberation — what Tantra calls Deha Siddhi (perfection of the body).
Hatha Yoga is the ladder of Raja Yoga. Without the purification of the body, no higher practice can succeed.
Swatmarama's Hatha Yoga Pradipika presents asana, shatkarma, pranayama, mudra, and bandha as a graded purification of the body so it can hold the force of awakened kundalini.
Hatha Yoga Pradipika
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- What Tantra says about illness and the body failing
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika opens by stating that hatha is practised 'for the sake of Raja Yoga' — the body is being prepared, not perfected for its own sake. Worth reading twice by anyone whose practice has quietly become a health project.