Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga - This type of Yoga is the toughest and the strictest one to follow. The word 'hatha' is derived from two of the root terms namely 'ha and 'tha'. Here Ha stands for 'the sun' and 'tha' denotes 'the moon'. Now sun is the source of all the forms of energies and Moon also is the origin of the most powerful tides. Thus a combination of both these energies naturally means a 'union of force'. And the central idea to various disciplines of this Yoga is to maintain a perfect harmony in these positive and negative currents namely those of the sun and moon.

The basic trait of this school of Yoga is that a perfect physical form is given a lot of importance in it. The yogis following this branch of Yoga consider this perfection of the physical form only to be the sole mean of attaining spiritual perfection. To add more to it, a state of self realization is said to have been attained by taking the help of breath-control exercises and hand gestures.

Some people treat this Hatha Yoga as a slightly modified form of Raja Yoga only whereas its origin dates back to the 12th century when Gorakhnath founded the tradition of Kanphata Yogis.