FORCE
The word hatha means “force.” It refers to the powerful effects of its techniques that move energy upward through the body. These techniques include mudra, pranayama and asana. “Yoga of force” seems to be the original meaning for the term.
The word hatha means “force.” It refers to the powerful effects of its techniques that move energy upward through the body. These techniques include mudra, pranayama and asana. “Yoga of force” seems to be the original meaning for the term.
HA & THA
A few hundred years after the dawn of Hatha Yoga, a new and different explanation of the word came about. This involves the words Ha, which means “sun” and Tha, which means “moon.” Hatha, the explanation goes, is the uniting of the sun and moon, the masculine and feminine or any other dualities.
MODERN MEANING OF HATHA
Hatha Yoga has come to mean “the physical practices of yoga” – especially asana – which are different from the meditative or spiritual elements, often called Raja Yoga. This distinction is a blurry one, since Raja Yoga is part of Hatha Yoga in several old texts, specifically the influential Hatha Yoga Pradipika.
