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Practices
While the tension that exists between these two ways of understanding
the ultimate aim of Hatha Yoga does not seem to greatly affect the way the actual
practices are described, it does influence the way they are approached, especially
in higher stages of practice. For instance, the following passage from Brahmananda's
commentary on the Hatha Yoga Pradipika demonstrates how Hatha practice is framed
as a means to steadying citta when its connection with Raja-Yoga is emphasised.
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In the practice of asanas, all physical
acts come to an end, and the actions are confined to prana, and the organs of sense.
By kumbhaka (retention of breath), the movement of prana and the sense organs is
arrested and there remains the mental activity. By pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and
samprajnata samadhi, mental activity ceases and the actions are confined only to the buddhi [intellect]. By extreme vairagya (absence of attachment)
and long practice of samprajnata samadhi, the acts of the buddhi (intellect) are
abandoned and the yogi attains his original unchangeable state, which is the final
beatitude. (Jyotsna: 4.11)
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contrast, when its historical association with the Tantric tradition is emphasised,
Hatha-Yoga is regarded more as a kind alchemy that seeks to transmute the 'impure'
matter of the human body into a living expression of the Divine. The difference
here is that rather than being conceived as something to be renounced, the body
is itself believed to be capable of illumination.
Common to both approaches is that the foundation of Hatha practice lies in the cultivation
of prana, the purification of the nadis, and the awakening of the dormant kundalini
through practices such as asana, pranayama, mudra and bandha. This requires that
there be a relationship of some kind between the physical and subtle bodies. Indeed
the origin of these practices is often attributed to accounts of what happens spontaneously
in the physical body when the dormant kundalini is stirred. If subtle aspects of
the human body are able to influence its physical behaviour, then the logic of Hatha-Yoga
is that similar physical actions formalised into specific practices should influence
the subtle body in a comparable way. If something like this was not the case these
practices would not have the effects attributed to them.
The relationship between the gross and subtle aspects of the human body is by no
means straightforward though. Traditional accounts of this relationship posit the
existence of a series five increasingly subtle kosas (from kus = 'to enfold') or
'sheaths', the prana-maya-kosa being the closest in kind to the anna-maya-kosa which
is the 'food sheath' or physical body. Prana, the nadis and cakras are said to constitute
the prana-yama-kosa, and even though there a number of claims in contemporary literature
on Yoga about correlations between the network of nadis and cakras and specific
physiological structures in the physical body, these remain speculative.
Prana
 Some
contemporary understandings of prana are reminiscent of Vivekananda's rather inflationary
and eclectic version insofar as they treat it as the energy permeating the universe
at all levels: physical, mental, intellectual, sexual, spiritual and cosmic. On
this interpretation prana is the prime mover of all activity of any kind, and all
physical energies such as heat, light, gravity, magnetism and electricity are also
said to be species of prana.
More traditional accounts regard prana as, most notably, the air perceived in the
mouth and nostrils which is the breath that sustains all life. Associated with this
'life breath', though more subtle and pervasive, is prana as the principle of vitality
that underlies and supports all organic processes. In this sense it is analogous
to the English expression 'spirit' which derives from the Latin term 'spirare' which
also means 'to breathe', and refers to an incorporeal principle of life that mediates
between an individual's body and soul.
Prana is traditionally thought to be responsible for maintaining physiological functions
through the five major (pranadi) and five secondary (nagadi) pranas or 'vital airs'
or vayus, each with their own specialised function. These are all thought to be
different processes and manifestations of the one prana, just as the various limbs
comprise the one body. The Siva-Samhita (3.3-5) hints at there being innumerable
modes of prana, but names only the ten principal ones which are also listed in the
Gheranda-Samhita (2.60).
The five major pranas or vayus ('life breath') are:
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Prana (not to be confused with the term prana as the genus of which this prana would
be a species) is the 'rising current', pervading the upper-half of the torso or
thoracic region, and is thought to be responsible for drawing the life-breath into
the body, mostly through the act of inhalation. All the processes which affect absorption
or inward movement of the subtle 'vital air' force are said to be due to prana.
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Apana ('out-breath') is the descending current, associated with exhalation, excretory
and reproductive functions, and which pervades the lower-half of the torso, including
the area around the navel and the abdomen, as well as the anal and genital regions.
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Udana ('up-breath') is the rising current in the throat, associated with speech
and belching (which in India has traditionally been looked upon as a positive sign
that the food or drink is being digested properly), though also pervading the extremities
of the body in the head, arms and legs.
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Samana ('mid-breath') is the midcurrent, pervading the middle portion of the torso
between the navel and lower ribs. It is believed to stoke the gastric fire (jatharagni),
aiding digestion and maintaining the harmonious functioning of the abdominal organs.
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Vyana ('through-breath') is a diffuse current that is thought to pervade the whole
body and to be responsible for distributing the energy derived from food and breathing
through the arteries, veins ands nerves, regulating and coordinating the musculature,
as well as the other pranas.
The five secondary pranas (upapranas) or nagadi vayus are as follows:
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Naga relieves pressure on the abdomen by belching.
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Kurma controls the movements of the eyelids to prevent foreign matter entering the
eyes, as well as controlling the size of the iris, thereby regulating the intensity
of light for sight.
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Krkara prevents substances from passing up the nasal passages and down the throat
by making one sneeze or cough, as well as inducing appetite.
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Devadatta causes yawning and induces sleep.
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Dhanamjaya circulates throughout and maintains the integrity of the whole.
According to the Siva-Samhita (3.6), prana and apana are the 'highest agents' of
the ten species of prana described above due to their association with the process
of breathing. Their incessant activity in this respect is regarded as the principal
cause of the restlessness of the mind, and their suspension the main purpose of
Hatha practice.
Another position, advocated by Swami Satyananda, holds that the most important prana
or vayu is samana. On this account prana-vayu is related to ida-nadi, apana to pingala-nadi,
samana with susumna-nadi, and udana with the ascension of kundalini. Here the importance
of samana-vayu is due to its location in the region of the body where the suspension
and unification of the prana- and apana-vayus is thought to take place.
These minor differences aside, the efficacy of the practice of asanas, mudras, bandhas
and pranayamas lies in their capacity to prevent the dissipation of the vayus, and
then to unify and retain them within the central channel of susumna-nadi in order
to awaken the kundalini.
The retention of the various pranas for longer periods is also believed to be a
way of slowing if not halting the otherwise relentless slide towards death and decay.
As long as vayu stays in the body jiva (life) remains. Its departure [results in
the] death (of the body). Therefore vayum nirodhayet (suspending the flow of prana)
should be practised. (Goraksa-Sataka: 91).
The purifucation and balancing of the pranas through these practices is also said
to improve one's capacity to work, think, digest, taste, feel, experience, etc.,
as well as developing clarity of awareness generally.
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