HATHA-YOGA (Haṭha-Yoga), Skt.; this yoga was originally a technique of Rāja-Yoga as taught by Patañjali; with its help, the centers of psychic energy (chakra) are activated and thereby raise the kundalinī to higher states of consciousness. Its most important practices are the āsana and prānāyāma, control of the prāna-stream. Its main goal is to unite ha (the breath of the sun, known as prāna) with tha (the breath of the moon, known as apāna). The Hatha-Yogi thereby attains spiritual powers, and the kundalinī begins to rise through the six chakras. Hatha-Yoga utilizes various bodily postures and purification exercises. Its chief goal as pursued by modern-day adherents is physical health. When Westerners speak of yoga, they almost invariably mean this type, which is represented by many schools and teachers. The path of Hatha-Yoga is not to be confused with the traditional path of yoga, which aims toward liberation and union with God.
HATHA-YOGA-PRADĪPIKĀ (Haṭha-Yoga-Pradīpikā), Skt., lit. “light of severe yoga”; a standard work on Hatha-Yoga by Svātmārāma (sixteenth century). In four chapters comprising 395 verses, the disciplines of Hatha-Yoga are related to Rāja-Yoga and the two paths are shown to complement each other. Svātmārāma concludes that Rāja-Yoga begins where Hatha-Yoga leaves off.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Documents on Hatha–Yoga
Books on Hatha–Yoga
External Links: Yoga / Hatha yoga / Bhagavad Gita / Hatha Yoga Pradipika