Hatha Yoga – The origin

“Yoga is thousands of years old” …. Is that really true?

A brief overview of the three main historical scriptures that yoga practitioners refer to: Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Hathayogapradipika

Bhagavad Gita

3000 BC, the Vedas came into being with the Bhagavad Gita. It contains the three great paths of yoga: jnanayoga, bhaktiyoga and karmayoga. This translates as the yoga of knowledge, devotion and selfless service to others.

In the context of a war between two tribes, this is a teaching from Krishna to Arjuna. However, it is not about an earthly battle, but about the knowledge of mental and spiritual laws that Arjuna receives in a teaching. There is no mention of hatha yoga here.

Yoga sutras of Patanjali

The yoga sutras of Patanjali are given in the period 200 before or 200 after Christ, also in a summary of wisdom that had previously been passed down orally.

“Sutra” means a note-like record and notes in the sense of short mnemonics. Due to the very concise wording, they were interpreted by renowned authors, each of whom naturally brought a different point of view. Nevertheless, the yoga sutras are seen by many practitioners across styles as the essential foundation, as they are the first to describe raja yoga, the royal path of yoga. It is the fourth important path to the three paths of the Bhagavad Gita and is also known as the eight-step path, Ashtangayoga. I would like to go into this in more detail, as it is the first time that hathayoga is mentioned as a separate area.

The 8 stages are illustrated in the following diagram. They should be practiced one after the other, so that it only makes sense to progress once a stage has been perfected. 3. stage is the first stage in which the asana appears, initially only as a sitting posture.

1. Yamas are “abstinences” that regulate how we deal with the environment: Non-injury, truthfulness, non-stealing, brahmacharya = sexual abstinence, non-acceptance of gifts
2. Niyamas are personal rules of conduct or disciplines: purity, contentment, asceticism, self-study, worship of the divine
3. The third stage is asana, the still postures commonly known as hathayoga. The most important posture here is the seated posture, the lotus position, which is also required for other practices such as pranayama and meditation. However, they are not described in detail here, nor are there any drawings of body positions. In Patanjali’s sutras there are just two or three sentences that refer to the physical exercises, and exclusively to the sitting posture, which serves as the basis for the pranayama breathing exercises and for concentration and meditation: The first sentence reads: Sthira-sukham asanam. It means: “Sitting posture is what is firm and comfortable” Then: Tato dvamdvanabhighatah. “Once the sitting posture is attained, the dualities no longer hinder.”
4. This is followed by pranayama, the guided breathing exercises that were very important for the yogin and with whose help he was able to transport himself into altered states of consciousness.
5. Pratyahara means withdrawal of the senses. The sensory activity, for example in the facial area with seeing, hearing, smelling and tasting, is regarded as a gateway to the world which, according to yoga philosophy, causes attachment to the world. They should therefore be withdrawn. The picture shows an example of an exercise that is intended to stop the senses in their outflowing activity.
6. Dharana = concentration
7. Dhyana = mediation, contemplation
8. Samadhi = superconsciousness, enlightenment

The combined and simultaneous performance of the last three stages is called Samyama and, together with Prathyahara, is the inner path, while the first stages are intended to create the external conditions for this.

Rajayoga is geared towards character training and is structured like a ladder that leads from the bottom upwards in eight steps to the highest perfection and the goal of “becoming one with the divine”, samadhi, enlightenment. Each step should first be matured to perfection before the next is climbed.

Hathayogapradipika

The Hathayogapradipika, translated from Sanskrit by Svatmarama, appeared around 1500.

The book is actually quite easy to read. Rajayoga is described in much more detail here and now it becomes interesting for us because some of the terms and modes of action relating to asana practice are explained in concrete terms:

For example, the 7 chakras are named and described, the nadis (subtle channels: sushumna, ida, pingala), then kundalini and the effects of prana. This is followed by pranayama techniques with the so-called bandhas, which are so important for yogis in order to direct and collect the pranic energy. The cleansing exercises are also described in detail, as are the dietary instructions.

The chapter: “The rules of asana” begins with the worship of the god Siva, through whom the teachings of hathayoga were proclaimed. This is followed by a long list of all the yogis enlightened by hathayoga and a description of the conditions in the cell in which the yogi should practise.

You might expect familiar yoga exercises from today’s yoga classes, but the classical yoga exercises are somewhat different from those practiced today and in the West.

The sitting postures, of which there are many, are described first: Svastika, Gomukha, Virasana, Kurmasana. The sitting postures were very important for the yogi of the time, as he needed them as a basis for meditation and pranayama.

Then Kukkutasana, Uttanakurmasana and Dhanurasana (not the bow we know today) and Matsyanathasana (= twisting pose)

I will quote the Pascimatana (= head-kneeling position) in more detail so that anyone interested can get an idea of what these descriptions look like:

” 28. if one stretches out the feet like sticks on the ground, grasps the two tips of the feet with the hands and rests the forehead on the knees (in this position), this is called Pascimatana.”

” 29 This Pascimatana, which is outstanding among the Asanas, makes the breath pass through Pascima, promotes digestion and produces leanness of the abdomen and health in people.”

This is followed by Mayurasana (= a kind of “fish”) and Savasana, the relaxation pose, then Siddhasana, Padmasana, Simhasana and Bhandrasana.

Is yoga now thousands of years old?

This can be affirmed if one considers him in his philosophy of spiritual yoga paths. However, if you see it purely in terms of physical exercise practice, as is common today, this is not the case.

In the Middle Ages Svatmarama only described the asanas mentioned above in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. At that time, they were only practiced by individuals and in the context of philosophy as a path of spiritual training and were anything but widespread among the population. There are also other original sources of yoga that are rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism. As these are less well known, they are also less recognized by the general public.

Today, hatha yoga is socially acceptable and ubiquitous in both the East and the West and can be seen in many different forms. However, this development only began in India around 1900, as we will see in the following articles.

Indian state of mind

Today we look at this ancient wisdom with our current consciousness and Western understanding. But how can we really understand them? How can we understand the Indian state of mind and the philosophy developed from it, which is so completely different from what we can imagine?

For the Indian consciousness, for example, life after death is a natural part of existence. So much so that more importance was attached to it than to the present, tangible material life. You could also put it like this: Not for the present life much should be taken for itself, but for the afterlife much should be given away… We will come to this complex of questions in detail in our magazine/blog

A highly recommended book on the millennia-old history of yoga with its various currents of Buddhism, Vedanta and Samkhya philosophy, Tantra and chakra teachings and the confrontation of Eastern and Western ways of thinking is written by Helmtrud Wieland, a student of Boris Saccharow, and is called: The Spectrum of Yoga

Another highly recommended book for understanding the contents of the Bhagavad Gita is the book Erkenntnisgrundlagen zur Bhagavad Gita by Heinz Grill.

Continue to page: Krishnamacharya – Pioneer of Hathayoga