Hatha Yoga

[nicholus]

Hi,

I want to know about "Hatha Yoga", what it is? Why is it so famous in west?
What are its benefits?
I'll really appreciate you for its explanation.

Thanks
Nicholus :)

[chahal]

Hatha Yoga is a very famous yoga and is very beneficial. "Hatha" is a word comprised of 'Ha' and 'tha', where Ha means "sun" and "tha" means "moon", Hatha is commonly translated as the yoga that brings union "of the pairs of opposites." Sometimes Hatha Yoga is also translated as the "forceful yoga", because it seems to require the most physical exercises of all yoga types, and for this reason it is very famous in western countries.

Hatha Yoga is first of all concentrating on the practice of postures (asanas) and breath control (pranayama) to energize the subtle channels (nadis). so, Hatha Yoga concentrates on the third and fourth steps of the eight-fold path of the Ashtanga yoga.

The purpose of the Hatha Yoga is to remove the obstacles to address the further steps of Pratyahara (sense-withdrawal), Dharna (concentration), Dhyana (Meditation) and Samadhi (Balance).


~Chahal~