1 W 2.2 The Hatha Yoga Pradipika – Jaeok Cho - 18 Sep 10’

A ) Briefly describe the historical background and setting of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and discuss the Yoga System expounded by Swatmarma.

Ancient seals from the time of the Vedas and Upanishads show some seated yoga postures. All the evidence is that this was for meditation.

Forest dwelling rishis, sages and wandering monks practices austerities to try to transcend the physical body. They were trying to work directly on the mind.

The Buddha also practiced extreme austerities before finding the “middle way”. Patanjali was influenced by Buddhist thought and his sutras reflect many of the same concepts in the eightfold path and five noble truths. Patanjali sets out to show the nature of the mind, so that we may understand it and tame it for the purposes of reaching a meditative state.

Hatha yoga is a very different approach. It emerged between the 4th and 6th centuries in India in response to the decline of Buddhism and the rise of tantric cults and practitioners of magic. Some cults specialised in doing non-Hindu activities like eating meat and practicing ritual sexual intercourse to try to reach altered states of consciousness. But because of these dodgy practices they fell into disrepute.

Indian mythology has it that Lord Shiva is the master of yoga and two of his disciples were Matsyendra and Goraksha. They were founders of hatha yoga which ditched dodgy tantric practices and magic, and began a totally new relationship with the body. It was no longer to be ignored as a mere vehicle for the soul, but revered, cared for and worked upon. Because for most people it is easier to make progress by working on the mind through body practices than on the mind directly.

From Ascetism to a manual for working with the body to begin the journey towards self realisation.

In the 15th century these hatha yoga practices were formalised into the most famous manual of hatha yoga, the hatha yoga pradipilka, by sage Swatmarma. The main thrust of the HYP is to cleanse and purify the body physically and energetically to prepare it for the high practices of Raja Yoga-meditation-as set out by Patanjali. So

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not in opposition to Patanjali, but a whole new approach to yoga which is meant to precede it.

For the first time, a path in yoga which involves purifying the body by practices of asana, shatkarma, pranayama, mudra and bandha in order to bring about a healthy body, balance and awakening in subtle energy(prana) and steadiness of mind. It was revolutionary development in yoga to work on the mind via the body, and needed a completely different view of the body to that which had gone before.

It was at this time that Matsyendranath founded the Nath cult which believed that, before taking to practices of meditation, you must purify the body and its elements. This is the theme of hatha yoga.

One outstanding personality on hatha yoga, Swatmarama compiled Hatha Yoga Pradikipa which can be translated as ‘Light on Hatha Yoga’. He compiled the entire wisdom of hatha yoga in Sanskrit.

Swatmarama completely eliminated the yama(moral codes) and niyama(self-restraints) which are the starting points in the Buddhist system as well as Patanjali’s raja yoga as he was very much aware of the practical difficulties every person faced in relation to yama and niyama.

In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika he begins by saying that you should first purify the whole body. Therefore, Shatkarma comes first, i.e. neti, dhauti, basti, kapalbhati, traka and nauli. Hatha yoga begins with these practices.

The main objective of hatha yoga is to create an absolute balance of the interacting activities and processes of the physical body, mind and energy. When this balance is created, the impulses generated give a call of awakening to the central force(Sushumna nadi) which is responsible for the evolution of human consciousness. If hatha yoga is not used for this purpose, its true objective is lost.

The different organs and systems of the body do not subsist merely on food and vitamins. The main source of energy in life is these plus/minus or positive/negative charges. Therefore, the science of physical and mental harmony is known as hatha yoga.

I believe the time has come when teachers in every part of the world must understand and transmit the true spirit of hatha yoga.

B ) Briefly describe each of the following:

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1.Nadis – tiny energy channels running throughout the body, like the nervous system but not the nervous system. Prana or subtle energy (also known as Ki or Chi) flows around the body through the network of nadis.

For the body to be healthy there should be a free flow of prana, so a big purpose of yoga is to remove blockages in the nadis. Where there are blocks, energy stagnates and disease can arise. HYP page 274

Ida & Pingala nadi. Pingala relates to the right nostril in the physical body and the left hemisphere of the brain.

Sun/male/. Ida to left nostril, right brain and moon/female. Very important nadis criss crossing the most important nadi, sushumna, which corresponds in the physical body to the spine. Sushumna nadi lies dormant in most people and becomes active with yogic practices, especially pranayama which focuses on working with the energy body. HYP pg 493 describes the importance of sushumna nadi, calling it “the main freeway from the depths of the earth to the heights of heaven”.

When the breath flows equally in both nostrils, sushumna is said to be flowing equally – eg danda.

2.Granthis – psychic knots or safety valves.

These lie along the path of sushumna nadi.

Kundalini Tantra pg 117 “they represent levels of awareness where the power of maya, ignorance and attachment to material things is especially strong. Each aspirant must transcend these barriers to make a clear passageway for the ascending kundalini”.

Because it would be dangerous to raise energy up sushumna nadi too quickly, there are three psychic knots which stop energy passing through certain points. They are at the navel/perineum, the heart and the centre of the head.

a. Brahma Granthi – earthly bondage – perineum – at the region of mooladhara chakra. This knot must be released for kundalini to enter and ascend through sushumna nadi. It implies attachment to physical and sensual pleasures, material

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objects and excessive selfishness. Also the ensnaring power of tamas – negativity, lethargy and ignorance.

b.Vishnu Granthi at the heart knot at the heart at anahata chakra. It is associated with the bondage of emotional attachment and attachment to people and inner psychic visions. Connected to the guna, rajas – passion, ambition and assertiveness. Even the urge to preach our version of spirituality is caused by this knot.

c.Rudra granthi (Shiva), located between the eyebrows at ajna chaka and the last blockage between send of ego and I-ness and connection to everything through saharara chakra - enlightenment. Can get attached here to siddhis (yogic powers), psychic phenomena and ego. This knot is rarely undone and only when the individual ego and duality are transcended.

As the kundalini rises, and yogic practices progress, the knots untie themselves when the practitioner is ready. The spiritual awakening of most religious figures follows a trajectory resembling this rise of kundalini. When this last knot is undone, one hits the bliss state, sublimating the petty self with the universal one. In yoga untying these knots is as important as rousing kundalini – the two must go hand in hand. The path has to be cleared or you will be lost, unable to reach the destination.

3.Chakras

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The 7 chakras lie along the central line of sushumna nadi and are intersected by ida and pingala nadi. The chakras are swirling vortexes of energy, or energy junctions where energy flowing around the body in the nadis comes together – like a major road junction.

Each chakra’s energy is of a different density and vibration, moving from denser and more gross at the base of the spine, to less dense and more subtle higher up the spine. HYP pg 160.

The 7 chakras are divided 3 below the heart and 3 above. The 3 below are the lower chakras more related to our animal past and present and the 3 higher ones are more to do with what makes us uniquely human and the capacity to rise above our instincts etc and pursue spiritual and moral goals.

The heart mediates between these two halves of the chakra system, showing how important it is to be heart centred, and live and work with love and compassion. Everything we do or think without a heart element could be questionable?

Mooladhara/base chakra – perineum/cervix, red. Four petalled lotus, excretory and reproductive glands. Mool means root.

Swadhisthana – two fingers up (so very close), organge/vermilion six petal lotus. Sacral plexus, urinary and reproductive systems.

Manipura – behind navel, yellow, ten petal lotus, solar plexus, Digestion, agni, prana storehouse.

Anahata – centre of chest, heart centre, blue (sometimes green), 12 petals, heart, respiration, thymus gland, emotions of love/hate compassion/cruelty.

Vishuddhi – throat, purple, 16 petals, neck, thyroid gland, speech, truth, communication.

Ajna – eyebrow centre, silvery grey, two petals. More manas shakti than prana shakti. Command centre, pineal gland, third eye through which subtle world can be perceived and gateway to liberation.

Sahasrara – crown of the head, pituitary gland. Thousand petals on this lotus. When kundalini shakti passes beyond ajna to saharara, duality and ego cease to exist.

Symbology of Mooladhara Chakra – pg 139 of Kundalini Tantra.

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4.Kundalini

Kundalini, meaning serpent, is the name given to the latent spiritual energy lying dormant at the base of the spine, coiled three and a half times around mooladhara chakra and blocking the entrance to sushumna nadi. Yoga practices, specifically those aimed at mooldadhara chakra, rouse kundalini. This awakening can be a major event in a person’s yogic life.

In Kundalini Tantra, Swami Satyananda Saraswati warns of the importance of doing practices to awaken ajna chakra at the same time as Mooladhara chakra so that we have the intelligence and discriminatory judgement to handle this awakening.

Kundalini is also known as kundalini shakti – the female principle and the energy that moves. The purpose of kundalini is to rise up the spine, awakening each chakra in turn and eventually uniting with Shiva, and turning into pure consciousness at the top of the energy system. Then Shiva and Shakti unite. In tantric images, this state of enlightened bliss is depicted as a man and a woman entwined in an embrace.

HYP pg 160 “When kundalini shakti reaches sahasrara chakra then the last traces of karma and ego are destroyed. As the kundalini moves up sushumna the various samskaras stored in each of the chakras are pulled forth into manifestation

c) What is the purpose of Kriya?

“These six fundamental cleansing teachings are the most important aspects of hatha yoga and are the original hatha yoga. However, today asana and pranayama are more widely known and few people are now proficient in the Shatkarma.(pg187).

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“ The effects of shatkarma can be summed up in one word – purification. When the different systems of the body have been purified, the overall result is that energy can flow through the body freely”(pg189).

So the physical cleansing techniques of shatkarma enable energy to flow more freely around the nadis and charkras. Like some of the advanced pranayama techniques, shatkarma must always be learned from a properly qualified teacher, and there not many who have studied this area of practice. An exception is the Satyananda or BIhar school of yoga.

As you will see, there are variations on each of the six shatkarmas, but the basic six are:-

a.Dhauti – internal cleansing (pg190)

A piece of warm, wet and clean cotton cloth between one and one and a half metres long and as wide as the tongue, is slowly swallowed into the stomach until just the end hangs out of the mouth. Then nauli (stomach churning is done) and after 5-20 minutes the cloth is slowly removed.

b. Basti – yogic emena (pg 197)

This involves sucking up water into the large intestine to wash out the bowel. Traditionally done in a river with a piece of bamboo inserted in the anus. Can now be done with a catheter and a bucket of water.

c.Neti – nasal cleansing (pg202)

Salt water is poured in one nostril and exits the body through the other, sensing out the nasal tract. A variation, sutra neti, involves pushing a cotton thread up one nostril and out through the mouth and “flossing” the nose.

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d.Trataka – concentrated gazing(pg208)

The eyes are fixed unblinking on an object or symbol 2-3 feet away at eye level. This is said to reveal the subtle form of the object. Traditionally done with a candle but this is contraindicated now because of possible damage to the retina.

e.Nauli – stomach churning (pg215)

In uddiyana bandha, the rectus abdominus muscle is isolated and contracted on alternate sides to give a ripping massage to the abdominal organs. This practice is good for digestive disorders and stokes the gastric fire.

f.Kapalbhati – skull shining(pg220)

Breathing practice using rapid and rhythmic contractions of the abdominal muscles to expel air from the body, with the inhale happening autimatically as the muscles relax (some books disagree on the method of kapalbhati and your translation may seem more like bhastrika, the bellows breath). Said to invigorate the brain and awaken dormant centres responsible for subtle perception.

D ) Describe one kriya you would teach, giving purpose, preparation, method and precautions.

I would like teach Nauli. When I saw my teacher’s Nauli demonstration for the first time, it was such a fascinating moment in my several year’s yogic experience. The only concern about teaching Nauli is that I can’t avoid showing my bare abdomen for demonstration but it could bring students’s interest in Kriya.

Another reason that makes me prefer Nauli most is that we don’t need any other visual aids which can cause side effects i.e cloth, water...etc apart from our body itself. However it will take longer than other kriyas to experience a proper Nauli as we must be able to perform uddiyana bandha properly to attempt Nauli.

1.Purpose

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‘Nauli is foremost of the hatha yoga practices. It kindles the digestive fire, removing indigestion, sluggush digestion, and all disorders of the doshas, and brings about happiness.’ Pg219

Indigestion is one of the main chronic ailments applying to all of us with a modern life style of driving, seating on a chair for long .

Asana and pranayama practice definitely generates energy, but the HYP commentary claims that nauli activates the system in a much shorter time and with greater force. Its effects are particularly noticeable on the digestive and excretory systems. It generates heat in the body, stimulates digestion, assimilation and absorption, thereby reducing excretion. It balances the endocrine system and helps control the production of sex hormones. I think it also builds muscles awareness, core strength, stimulates and moves prana.

2.Precaution

However, nauli cannot be practiced by everyone. Those who are suffering from heart disease, hypertension, hernia, gastric or duodenal ulcers, or who are recovering from some internal injury or abdominal surgery, during the pregnancy, menstruation and having food in the stomach, cannot do it.

3.Preparation

Before attempting nauli you must be able to perform uddiyana bandha(abdominal retraction lock)properly.

(The rectius abdomini are the two long vertical muscles situated in front of the abdomen, which run from under the centre of ribcage near the diaphragm to the pubic bone. Though these are the muscles you are manipulating in nauli, the external oblique and traverse abdomini are also utilizes.)

At first nauli is practiced with the hands just above the knees and the body bent forward. Once this is perfected you can practice in a more erect position, hands placed on the upper thighs.

4.Method

‘Lean forward, protrude the abdomen and rotae (the muscles)from right to left with speed. This is called nauli by the siddhas.’pg215

Nauli is the practice of contracting and isolating the rectus abdomini muscles.

When the rectus abdomini muscles are rotated from left to right(anticlockwise), it is called dakshina nauli. When they are rotated from right to left(clockwise), that is vama nauli. When the muscles are pulled together and the middle group of muscles protrude, it is madhyama nauli.

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Stage 1 : Vama and Dakshina Nauli(left and right isolation)

Vama Nauli Dakshina Nauli Madhyama Nauli

Stand with the feet 45 to 60 centimetres apart. Bend the knees and rest the palms of the hands just above the knees, thumbs on the insides of the thighs, fingers touching the outsides, or as shown in diagram. Keep the head up and the eyes open. Breathe in deeply through the nose and exhale quickly through the mouth, slightly pursing the lips. Perform jalandhara bandha(throat lock) while maintaining bahiranga(external) kumbhaka(breath retention). Suck the abdomen and stomach in by performing uddiyana(abdominal) bandha. Lift the right hand slightly off the knee, keeping all the pressure on the left hand and knee, but do not lean to the left side. This will automatically isolate the rectus abdomen muscles on the left. Then release uddiyana bandha, raise the head slowly, stand up and inhale slowly. This is Vama nauli. Practice in the same way on the right side. This is dakshina nauli. In between each round of nauli, release uddiyana(abdominal) first, then jalandhara(throat), raise the head, stand erect and then breathe in very slowly through the nose. Take a few normal breaths before practising the next round.

E ) References

‘Hatha yoga Pradipika’ commentary by Swami Muktibodhananda under the guidance of Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Teaching note from Wiki by Paul Fox

Iimages from iGoogle