Category: hatha

Not only has there been a reversal of Hatha Yoga and Yoga, whereby Hatha Yoga (the ‘part’) has been labeled as ‘Yoga’ (the ‘whole”), but the whole process and scope of Yoga has been effected in our collective perceptions of Yoga.

Yoga is the whole, of which Kundalini is a part.
Yoga is the whole, of which Laya is a part.
Yoga is the whole, of which Mantra is a part.
Yoga is the whole, of which Astangais a part.
Yoga is the whole, of which Raja is a part.
Yoga is the whole, of which Tantra is a part.
Yoga is the whole, of which Bhakti is a part.
Yoga is the whole, of which Hatha is a part.
Yoga is the whole, of which Jnana is a part.
Yoga is the whole, of which Karma is a part.
Yoga is the whole, of which _______ is a part.”

-Yoda
“Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should not – for my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life greets it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us, and binds us. Luminescent beings are we, not this crude matter! You must feel the Force around you, everywhere. You must feel the water beneath the ship. ..”

-B.K.S. Iyengar
“The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj meaning to bind, join, attach and yoke, to direct and concentrate one’s attention on, to use and apply. It also means union or communion. It is the true union of our will with the will of God. ‘It thus means,’ says Mahadev Desai in his introduction to the Gita according to Gandhi, ‘the yoking of all the powers of body, mind and soul to God; it means the disciplining of the intellect, the mind, the emotions, the will, which that Yoga presupposes; it means a poise of the soul which enables one to look at life in all its aspects evenly.”

-Rodney Yee
“I believe yoga helps synthesize the mind, the body, the breath, the spirit… (but) it is not actually creating union, it’s cutting out the illusion of our separateness… Yoga is a way for us to listen to ourselves deeply and then begin to, from that listening be able to respond in a way that is fulfilling for our lives… All the meditation, the pranayama (breathing), the asanas (poses) are a way to come to some sort of clarity, even if it’s the clarity that you’re confused.”

-Yoga Definition – Answers.com
Hindu tradition in general recognizes three main kinds of yoga: jnana yoga, the path of realization and wisdom, bhakti yoga, the path of love and devotion to a personal God, and karma yoga, the path of selfless action. Other classifications exist. Patañjali’s yoga is known as raja, or “royal,” yoga. Hatha yoga, which stresses physical control and postures, is widely practiced in the West. Kundalini yoga, especially associated with Tantra, is based on the physiology of the “subtle body,” according to which seven major centers of psychic energy, called chakras, are located along the spinal column, with the kundalini, or “coiled” energy in latent form, located at the base of the spine. When the kundalini is activated by yogic methods, it ascends the spine through the main subtle artery of the sushumna, “opening” each chakra in turn. When the kundalini reaches the topmost chakra in the brain, samadhi is attained.