If you think asana is the be all and end all to your yoga, this book will open your eyes to another side of it all. See Also: Use Kundalini Yoga to Awaken your True Potential Why Should I Read It? Image Credit: Dietmut Teijgeman-Hansen on Flickr. It is thought to have purposefully left out information so that students would need an experienced guru to guide them through the fine detail of the practices.
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The translations explore the chakra system, prana and kundalini as well as the physiological effects of yoga, but the original book itself gave sometimes quite vague instructions on how to achieve practice Hatha Yoga.
Hatha Yoga is given as a path one takes to reach the path of Raja Yoga, the yoga of discipline and self-control. Hatha Yoga is the science of yoga, which purifies the physical body by means of shatkarma, asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha and concentration, as a prelude to Raja Yoga and samadhi. The word pradipika means to shed light, so we can think of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika as a guide to the mysterious world of Hatha Yoga. Some of these practices are still recognisable to us today – postures such as paschimottanasana for example – but there are others (making yourself sick, anyone?) that may seem a bit alarming at first. Key themes: The book is split into four sections, all of which explore practices to cleanse and purify the body.Ĭhapter 1 deals with asana, chapter 2 explores shatkarmas and the six key pranayama practices, chapter 3 looks at mudra and bandhas and chapter four comes to samadhi, or enlightenment.
Popular translations: The Bihar School book by Swami Muktibodhananda is a popular option. (some dates go as far back as the 6th century)įirst translated into English: There are many translations, but one of the earliest was thought to have been around 1914, by Pancham Sinh. If you’re uncertain that a book written around the 15th century retains much modern-day relevance, take a look…ĭate written: 15 th century approx. The Hatha Yoga Pradipida is an ancient amalgamation of knowledge about cleansing and purifying practices that is still widely referenced today.