 FORCE
The word hatha means "force." It refers to the powerful effects of its techniques that move energy upward through the body. These techniques include mudra, pranayama and asana. "Yoga of force" seems to be the original meaning for the term. HA & THA A few hundred years after the dawn of Hatha Yoga, a new and different explanation of the word came about. This involves the words Ha, which means "sun" and Tha, which means "moon." Hatha, the explanation goes, is the uniting of the sun and moon, the masculine and feminine or any other dualities. MODERN MEANING OF HATHA Hatha Yoga has come to mean "the physical practices of yoga" - especially asana - which are different from the meditative or spiritual elements, often called Raja Yoga. This distinction is a blurry one, since Raja Yoga is part of Hatha Yoga in several old texts, specifically the influential Hatha Yoga Pradipika.
3 Comments
6/23/2017 01:18:52 am
It was also mentioned in the book Yoga-Body that the term Hatha directly translates to "violence." I found this interesting and mentioned it to a few people who promptly disagreed. Is that just something that is lost in translation?
Scott
6/23/2017 05:30:36 am
Chris, you are right that the word can be translated as "violence" or "violent." The most recent research I have read uses context and other references to the word to draw as accurate a meaning as possible, settling on "force."
Louella Coughler
7/16/2018 05:32:02 am
I understand that what is practiced today is very far removed from the original handful of posture practiced by the Vedic Priests. the postures you have highlighted here are they the originals? What would they be out of curiousity? Leave a Reply. |
AUTHORS
Scott & Ida are Yoga Acharyas (Masters of Yoga). They are scholars as well as practitioners of yogic postures, breath control and meditation. They are the head teachers of Ghosh Yoga.
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