This is an extract based of the rare treatise “Hatha yoga narrative” The treatise is written as a conversation between a student named Adia with his beloved teacher Shakti (she is known as Beloved Beauty). Adia is asking her questions about yoga and she is answering them. The most part of the dialogue belongs to Shakti. In the first part you will get to know the theory and the main principles of hatha yoga. In the second part you will be demonstrated how to practice the main exercises of this yoga. These static exercises are called asanas. As it is stated in the ancient treatises, if the person practices asanas, eventually he/she will burn the entire negative karma and gain positive karma. We would recommend you to learn as many exercises as possible from this text, and then choose a selection of seven poses for your daily practice. It is advisable to change the set of poses not more often than once a week. So, in a few months you will try all pose, demonstrated here. If you just started practicing hatha yoga, the length of your sessions can be from 40 minutes to one hour, depending on your abilities. We wish you success in mastering your hatha yoga skills.

Hatha yoga narrative

Adia asked Shakti:

- How did this science about body and breathing start?

She replied:

- Initially Shiva (the lord of life and death) gave the theory of hatha yoga to people. He has this science at his fingertips and accomplished plenty of achievements in hatha yoga.

Adia said:

- Tell me this science and where do you know it from?

The girlfriend said:

- Shiva himself taught me.

And here is the story about Hatha yoga.

She said:

- There are as many poses in hatha yoga as there are living beings of different kinds in the world. Before people got a human body, they would go through a whole series of lives inside the bodies of animals. During the evolution a person would live millions and millions of lives in the bodies of the animals, before he/she deserves to be born in a human body. While living in the body of an animal, the soul does or does not fulfill the commandments of this animal. And anything which was not fulfilled by the soul in the body of an animal would be transferred to the human body as karma. And if, as a snake, the soul perfected the reptile body and succeeded in it, then it has all positive features in the human body, from those times when the soul had a reptile body. If being in the reptile body the soul had not fulfilled its entire destiny, the faults will be transferred to the human body. And a person may suffer certain illnesses or a lack of flexibility, or lack of some other abilities, which the soul should have generated in the body of an animal. That is why there are some weaknesses and imperfections in a precious human body, from the times of being in the bodies of the animals. Shiva by his merit showed us a way of how to fix deficiencies, which built up for millions of lives in the body of an animal, during one human life. This method is called asanas. By practicing asanas the person neutralizes all impurities, the seeds of disease and other impressions that take a long time to accumulate in bodies. By doing asanas a person first of all neutralizes negative tendencies. As such, while he/she is practicing yoga the diseases become not a priority. But as soon as practicing is stopped, they return. At the next stage the practitioner completely recomposes the body. The body becomes perfect. And even if in future he/she will not practice regularly, the body will not devolve back. Same as rolling a heavy stone up the hill: before the top it can slip back, but after the top it is rolling in the right direction by itself. The so called “top” is siddhi in asana. It means perfection in doing asana. If you reached siddhi in asana, no matter if you continue practicing yoga or not, you will always get a positive effect from the asana. Just as a clay processed in fire no longer gets wet from water, so the body “burnt” in yoga is no longer affected by diseases.

She said:

- There is a law of relations between rough, fine and the finest. Working with a physical body, you get effects on the fine body level. Manipulating with the fine body, you get effect on the physical body. Prana is a connection between the bodies.

Adia asked:

- How should one do hatha yoga?

She replied:

- Shiva gave hatha yoga and those who practice this yoga gain omniscience. He gave it to those who are tired of endless disputes about the Supreme nature of the Universe.

Shiva said:

- You may not know what yoga is and you may not have any knowledge at all. But if you practice it, you will gain omniscience (including knowledge of yoga).

In order to reach success you must practice every day accurately, vigilantly and consistently. Only by this way one can gain success in yoga. Idle discussion is useless. By doing asanas, you will not only clear your body and align it, but you will also understand the law of the equals, which says that for the yogi the whole Universe is person’s body and person’s body is the body of the Universe. By changing your body you will change the Universe. And by making changes in the Universe, you change your body. And there is no difference if it’s inside your body or outside.

Out of all multiple forms of living beings, which the soul went through, Shiva has chosen 64 thousand living beings and 64 thousand asanas. 85 of them are used in modern time. 35 out of the 85 are more important. And out of those 35 the most important are 3. Out of those 3 the most important is one – siddhasana. Start learning yoga from simple to complex. Master one exercise, then the next one, until you have a group of exercises. Make one group, and then make another one, then the third one, etc, until all 85 exercises are included in one or another group.

Practice hatha yoga every day. Preferably at the same place and at the same time. If you cannot do all exercises of the group, do what you can. If you cannot do it for the usual period of time, do as long as you can. If conditions do not allow, at least think of what you had to do. If you forgot even to think about it, do it the following day.

Adia asked:

- What should I beware of, when study?ng hatha yoga, to avoid any mistakes during practice?

The girlfriend replied:

- Be careful of your laziness, avoid downward thoughts. The principles of yoga comprehension are the following. The first principle is the principle of perfection. The second one is the principle of the energy. The principle of perfection is: no matter how you are doing yoga exercise, you are doing it perfectly well, even if it does not look exactly as it was prescribed to do. The fact of doing the exercise makes it perfect by itself, and you will get better each time when you are doing it. It is an intermediate perfection. In time you will reach unchanged final perfection.

That is why the expression «to do exercise incorrectly» is meaningless. The most important thing is to practice regularly and for a long time and be sure that in your own Universe at this moment of time and in these circumstances you do the asana perfectly. The principle of energy says that in the same way as a small ball in the funnel will always roll down the neck, when we do any asana the energy itself transforms the body. There is no need to worry about doing it correctly. The main thing is to reproduce the pose, by doing it honestly, for a long time and regularly. Wake up the energy and the energy will do the yoga.

Adia asked:

- What is success in doing hatha yoga?

The girlfriend replied:

- It’s a habit to practice yoga every day. A habit is inertness in behavior and thoughts. Negative habits are our worst enemies. But Shiva in his kindness gave people those asanas, and if it becomes a habit to practice them, they bring the greater good to your life and then give you freedom. Laziness, gloomy mind, uncertainty, anxiety, intellectual weakness, nervousness, poor digestion, unhealthy complexion, terrible illnesses, dark karma and many other things can be pulled through by a habit to practice yoga. If you feel that you cannot live a day without practicing yoga, it means that you are going in the right direction. It’s a sign on your way.

Adia asked:

- Are there any other signs of success on the way?

She replied:

- Feeling healthy, stable mind, beautiful body, nice complexion, strong digestion, ability to stay still, ability to fix eyes on the object, no idle talk, first signs of superpower, happy feelings, deep magic dreams, hyper sexuality – these are the signs of success in yoga.

Adia asked:

- What obstacles could be in hatha yoga and how to avoid them?

The girl friend replied:

- Unusual sound during practice, such as idle talk, squabbles, when there is someone else in the room where you are practicing; when someone keeps interrupting you with questions, lack of healthy nourishing and fresh food; when the air is contaminated with noxious fumes of the city; endless arguments and intruding your views upon illiterate; attempts to over-persuade fools; letting into your practice curious idle people. One of the barriers is when you don’t practice in one place and at the same time. Too much work or too much idleness, using energy incorrectly for all sorts of things, overloading your body, not taking care of your body, not letting yourself to have a rest and joy, using too much energy for sex, doubting yourself, doubting the practice – these are just a few of the obstacles.

Adia asked:

- What are the consequences of practicing hatha yoga and are there any negative consequences. If yes, how can we neutralise them?

She said:

- No matter what exercise you are doing, your internal feeling and common sense must be your main benchmarks. And if you feel that the pressure should be reduced, then reduce it, and when necessary - increase it. Remember the principle of Energy. The Energy will tell you how to do the exercise. It transforms your body, it gives you the feeling what to do and what should not be done. It will warn you of the negative impact. Listen to it. At the early stage of yoga practice, when your body is going through the cleaning process and the canals are still dirty, there is an effect of “ups and downs”. It looks like a person walking on the hills: first it’s hard to go up and then it’s easy to run down. In the same way yogi is eager to practice yoga at first, and then hardly make oneself to do it. Periods of time between peaks and troughs become longer, and falls become less. After one year or more the practitioner gets to a smooth level without exaltations and deep falls. And if he/she keeps on this level for a year or more, the sensation of rise starts increasing. But it may cause total change of life. If the practitioner keeps going for half a year, he/she starts building up a habit. One should be particularly careful with doing breathing exercises in hatha yoga. In this case you should be more attentive and use more common sense than ever in yoga. You can neutralise negative consequences by reducing tension, replacing one exercise by another, taking more time to rest, creating comfort in your life, eating healthy food, using medicine, doing cleaning manipulations, making sex in line with sexual yoga. Study the yoga treaties, think them through, communicate with yoga practitioners, live among them, find a competent teacher, ask him/her everything, serve him/her in all the ways, and get sanctification from the teacher. Using common sense, listen to your inner feelings, follow the rules and you will avoid all negative tendencies of your karma. On the contrary, unreasonable, neglectful and foolish student can get an injury even by eating soup, without mentioning more complicated things.

Adia asked:

- Tell me about asanas, what types are they, what are they called, how to practice them and what diseases they cure?

Part two

Adia asked:

- Tell me, what does the word Hatha mean and how to understand it?

The girlfriend replied:

«HA – is farther, THA – is mother. HA – is mother, THA – is farther. HATHA – is their union, their baby.

HA – the sun, THA – the moon, HA – the moon, THA – the sun. HATHA means eclipse.

HА means day, ТHА means night, HA – is night, THA – is day. HATHA means dawn and sunset.

HА means inhale, ТHА means exhale, HA – is exhale, THA – is inhale. HATHA means no inhale and no exhale, when inhale takes over exhale and exhale takes over inhale.

HА is vowels, ТHА means consonants. HA – means consonants, THA – means vowels. HATHA means mantra.

HA – is right, THA – is left. HA – is left, THA – is right. HATHA means the middle.

HA – is white, THA – is red. HA – is red, THA – is white. HATHA means sky-blue.

HA means to perceive, THA means to act. HA means to act, THA – to perceive. HATHA means to achieve the highest result.

HA – tension, THA – relaxation. HA –relaxation, THA – tension. HATHA – live journey.

HA – means pushing yourself, THA means letting yourself. HA – means letting yourself, THA means pushing yourself. HATHA – getting the highest achievement in your life.»

Adia asked:

- What do you mean by that?

The girlfriend answered:

- In this yoga you can do exercise by HA method or by THA method. You can practice all exercises by mother’s method (method of wisdom, method of energy, method of feelings) or by father’s method of overcoming yourself (method of consciousness, method of firmness). It says in treaties that in the same way as for a child to be born mother and father are needed, for yoga comprehension the exercises must be done by mother’s method of energy and father’s method of consciousness.

She said:

- That is why the word «HATHA» can be interpreted as a union of thoughts and feelings, as a union of mother and father, union of consciousness and energy, union of left and right, union of vowels and consonants, union of day and night, union of inhalation and exhalation, union of decreasing and increasing, union of active and passive, union of asceticism and pleasure, or as something in between two extremes. Give up extremity and you will bring Hatha Yoga into action. It’s a great way to become free from suffering and ignorance.

Adia asked:

- What does it mean to practice exercises by feminine method of Energy? And what does it mean to practice by the male method of Consciousness?

She replied:

- When you do exercise for a long time and without much effort, when you surrender to sensation, when you let the energy to wake up and bend the body in the right way to the hatha yoga pose – this is called mother’s method of energy, method of wisdom, method of sensation. Do not worry about correctness of the pose. Make the pose approximately and wait when the energy bends your body in the right way. The energy as a caring mother will lead you to perfection. Trust the energy of your body as you would trust your mother. This is a method of energy, wisdom, sensation – female method.

She said:

- Now listen about the masculine method of consciousness, when practicing hatha yoga exercises. Do the exercise for a short period of time. Let it be just the time of one breath. Flex all your body, bend your will, use maximum effort, and see yourself as a perfect yogi. Change from pose to pose as dancing Shiva. This is called a method of consciousness, father’s method, method of pushing and forcing, conquering inertness and powerlessness of the body.

Adya asked:

- How should I learn the new poses and how to practice those which I already know?

A girlfriend replied:

- Wise people say that the best thing is to start learning poses by the method of energy. As caring mother is feeding a new-born child, the method of energy allows the beginner in yoga to become confident of the exercises. Let it be at least one exercise a day. Then, in a same way as a child, breast-fed by the mother starts playing with the father, the beginner in yoga should start learning exercises by father’s method of consciousness.

She said:

- Chose 5-7 exercises for your daily practice and do each of them during 20-30 breaths by the energy method. Or do maximum amount of poses in the same period of time, so they go one after another, by the method of consciousness.

She said:

- If the yogi has already mastered the exercises, he/she can do the group of exercises every day. At first, by the method of energy (for a long time), and then the same exercises by the method of consciousness (for a short time, with effort). This good yogi can also use both methods simultaneously. He/she can start doing by the method of energy, being reflected by sensations, and finish by the method of consciousness, by making an effort. Or he/she can do it vice versa: to start with the method of consciousness, with effort, and finish by the method of energy, by letting him/her to enjoy the feeling during the practice. And later this good yogi will determine for himself/herself what exercises to do by mother’s method of energy and what to do by the father’s method of consciousness, and what exercises to do by both methods. And only by joining these two methods the yogi can get the final result in hatha yoga. Oh, Adia, listen carefully to my words, and you will avoid many obstacles on the way to hatha yoga and reach the highest sensation of happiness.

Adia said:

- You told me about two methods of practicing hatha yoga. Tell me about the negative sides of each of them?

She replied:

- A person, who is practicing this yoga only by the method of energy, tends to become inert and passive. If he/she is practicing only by the method of consciousness he/she is slipping into fanaticism, excessive activity and imposing own views on others. Only in the middle of these two methods there is a narrow path of achieving the highest result in yoga. That is why the wise people say: take away the extremes and you will have success, balance mother’s method with father’s method and you will become immortal perfect hatha yogi. Think about it again and again, Adia. Give up extremes, they give no result. Before you start practicing sit straight, calm your mind and wish happiness to all living beings in the universe. Then think about all yoga teachers and ask them for protection and help in learning yoga. Think about exorbitant Absolute. Then start practicing.

Последнее изменение: понедельник, 6 февраля 2017, 18:38