The basics of Patanjali’s Hath Yoga or Astang Yoga

The science of Hatha yoga is attributed to Shiva – one of the trinity in the Hindu pantheon. Sage Patanjali systematized the art of Yoga around 500 BC and wrote the first textbook on the subject called Yoga Sutra.
The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root word “yuj” which means to bind, conjoin, attach. Yoga is the art of bringing an incoherent and scattered mind into a coherent state of making a communion of the jivatma, or human soul, with paramatma, or supreme soul. When the mind, intellect, and self are in full control, one is liberated from the feelings of sorrow and pain, and a state of bliss or enlightenment is achieved. And that is what Yoga is all about.
Patanjali describes Yoga as consisting of 8 limbs or parts – hence he named it Ashtanga (Eight) yoga. These 8 limbs are:

Yama (moral commandments)
Niyama (self purification by discipline)
Asana (body posture)
Pranayama (control of the breath)
Pratyahara (control of mind from the domination of senses)
Dharana (concentration)
Dhyana (meditation)
Samadhi (a state of super consciousness where the individual becomes
one with the universal spirit).

Yama and Niyama control our passions and emotions. Asanas keep the body and soul healthy and strong and in harmony with the nature. These three parts – Yama, Niyama, and Asanas represent outward quests or Bahiranga (External) Sadhana .

The next two stages – Pranayama and Pratyahara – teach us to regulate breathing and help us to free our senses from objects of desire. These constitute inner quests or Antaranga (Inner) Sadhana.

The final three stages – Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi – take us to the inner most compartment of our soul. The idea is that the supreme spirit is within us – known as Antaratma. Therefore, these final stages are called Antaratma sadhana.

Each topic in Aashtanga yoga is very broad in its scope. In this topic, we shall concentrate on the third limb, viz., Asana. Asana are not mere gymnastic exercises. They are body postures that develop agility, balance, endurance, poise, and great vitality of body and mind.


ASANA

Asana have evolved over 1000s of years to exercise every organ system in the body. There are supposedly 8,400,000 asana. The system of asana is truly very ingenious. The central idea is to devise a body posture in such a way that a particular organ system is exercised and toned by compressing, or stretching, or twisting certain body parts while being in perfect balance. The real importance of asana lies in the way they train and discipline the mind. The yogi conquers the body by the practice of asana and makes it a fit vehicle for the spirit, particularly for the supreme soul.
The naming system of asana is very significant and it embodies the principle of evolution. Some asana are named for vegetation. Others are named after insects, aquatic animals, amphibians, birds, quadruped, and other animals, human embryonic state, legendary heroes, sages, and the gods of the Hindu pantheon. The different body postures taking these different forms of life symbolically underscore the importance of life, no matter what bodily form it takes, because of the Universal Spirit that exists in all of them

In my next post I will write the details of ‘YOGASANA’ .

References: 1. Patanjali Yogsutra (Shankar Bhashya Tika)
2. The Raj Yoga – by Swami Vivekananda