I have been giving lots of thought lately to how western society likes to attach the word spirituality to the concept of hatha yoga even though Hatha is not necessarily a spiritual practice.
Part of this reason is due to awakening to the awareness of duality through yoga and the effects on the immaterial through practicing hatha yoga.
I have written a blog entry that poses the question to teachers. How do we continue to cultivate awakenings through hatha yoga and nurture the space to allow students to explore their spirituality?
I am not sure it is right to say Hatha Yoga is not necessarily a spiritual practice. It is if it is practiced in the traditional way, with the aim to awaken the Kundalini energy and spingboard into the higher Raja Yoga practice. However, as Hatha Yoga is practiced in the West, such as Power Yoga, Ashtanga Vinyassa etc, it is decidedly not spiritual.
I agree with Surya, hatha has always been a preliminary to raja, laya and other “higher” yogas.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that most people who teach yoga and run yoga studios are doing it to make money, so you have to look at it as a business. One market segment is going to be people who are into it purely for the physical/health aspects, and another segment is going to have some interest in the internal or philosophical aspects. Chances are that both of these segments are going to get turned off by the other. Fortunately there has always been an outer practice and an inner practice, and the dividing lines are fairly clear. I think a savvy business person or teacher has to make a conscious decision which segment he/she wants to serve. If you’re a studio owner trying to do as much business as possible, then I think it makes sense to have different classes and events that cater to different clientele.
I’m beginning to see that the mind / body / spirit connection is so subtle and so all encompassing it is difficult to separate one from the other. Even “just” stretching moves prana through the meridians or nadis, so all roads are, in a way, leading to the same destination.
"However, as Hatha Yoga is practiced in the West, such as Power Yoga, Ashtanga Vinyassa etc, it is decidedly not spiritual. "
I would not even refer to it as Hatha Yoga. Whatever is called Hatha yoga in the West, even the physical dimension of yoga is not being taught in it’s original spirit. The word hatha, Ha refers to the sun, tha refers to the moon. Hence, hatha yoga means the Union of the sun and moon - when two particular life energies collide together in the subtle body, the prana and the apana, as a reaction the kundalini starts ascending from the base of the spine. Unless what is called “Hatha yoga” is oriented towards this, it is not hatha yoga, in the same way that not everybody who twists and bends the body in a particular way can be called a yogi.
I agreed with previous post that it is not necessarily a spiritual practice and it is a traditional way with Kundalini energy.
To me Hatha[B]Yoga[/B] is spiritual, otherwise it is physical exercise using yoga inspired movements and not yoga. Of course there are many folks here in the West who exercise using yoga movements without actually practicing yoga - imho. In fact, many of the movements from Pilates are yoga based. And much of the ‘yoga’ taught by fitness instructors at the gyms is really just exercise.
HathaYoga, as I was taught by Yogi Hari, who teaches Saampoorna Yoga and lived on a Sivinanda Ashram for 20+ years, is, “control of the mind through the control of the energy, prana”. The purpose of HathaYoga, then is to connect mind and body so that one can reach higher states of awareness. It is not just so that one can have a cute yoga butt or a strong heart.
I agree with the poster who said that we are fully integrated beings, so separating mind from body is quite hard to do. If we recognize the integration of mind and body and if we practice yoga to reach higher states of awareness, then hatha yoga is much more than just exercise.
Namaste - Monique Danielle
“control of the mind through the control of the energy, prana”.
I think this definition is quite good. So if you are teaching say, ashtanga vinyasa yoga that emphasizes ujjayi (sp?) breathing, then you are teaching real yoga, whether the students realize it or not. Chances are they will notice the beneficial effects and seek out more information when they are ready. A good teacher has to be sensitive to the needs of the students. Maybe you put up a poster briefly describing the 8 angas, or one with the definition of yoga given above.
Amir said it well, ive been practicing kriya yoga, kundalini yoga, and hatha yoga for years from my guru, and the hatha yoga that is being taught here in the west is not even real hatha yoga. hatha yoga is concerned with kundalini awakening.
I find myself aligned with all of these comments and I identify with that what is being taught in the western yoga-esque subculture is very superficial. I have a desire to teach, but if I wanted to teach something that would give people only a better pysique, I would not be teaching yoga. I would be teaching an exercise class. However, I find that when I speak with studio owners ( I have another interview this week) many of them not only shy away from mentioning the spiritual aspects of a yoga system, but don’t want you really reccomending anything other than the students perform correct alignment to avoid injury. Very depressing.
Conflict is bad for business, and as soon as you start talking about ‘spirituality’, you open the doors for conflict. Especially in a yoga setting, chances are you’ll have some pissed-off hindu ready to tear your head off. They complain that yoga is too commercialized and divorced from its hindu roots, but they don’t want [I]you[/I] teaching it.
[QUOTE=JSK;72344] Very depressing.[/QUOTE]
Seeds are planted perhaps they will develop.
[QUOTE=Asuri;72362]Conflict is bad for business, and as soon as you start talking about ‘spirituality’, you open the doors for conflict.[/QUOTE]
If absolute spirituality is Truth there will be no conflict, unlike the dogma of religion and philosophy.
[QUOTE=ray_killeen;72367]If absolute spirituality is Truth there will be no conflict, unlike the dogma of religion and philosophy.[/QUOTE]
- ditto
I have to admit that I’m a little embittered by my experience with some of the members here, but I also have to admit that I don’t quite get what you’re trying to say. Unfortunately in this world neither spirituality nor truth are absolute. It’s not like physics or chemistry, where cause and effect can be demonstrated with certainty. In matters of spirit, what may appear to one man as absolute truth may appear to another as absolute falsehood, so in my humble opinion, it’s better to leave each to his own spirituality and just practice.
It’s difficult in matters of the spirit to separate it from religion and philosophy. At this moment I’m not at all certain that what I perceive as spirit is the same as what you perceive. That’s why there are so many different religions and different sects within religions. In order to speak freely without risking conflict you have to be fairly sure that there is a certain amount of agreement within the group that you’re speaking to.
I’d agree in theory that absolute truth coming from the mouth of one [I]should[/I] not create conflict in the mind of another, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Who can say where the error lies, in the speaker or in the hearer?
[QUOTE=Asuri;72391]Conflict is bad for business, and as soon as you start talking about ‘spirituality’, you open the doors for conflict. Especially in a yoga setting, chances are you’ll have some pissed-off hindu ready to tear your head off. They complain that yoga is too commercialized and divorced from its hindu roots, but they don’t want you teaching it.
I have to admit that I’m a little embittered by my experience with some of the members here, but I also have to admit that I don’t quite get what you’re trying to say. Unfortunately in this world neither spirituality nor truth are absolute. One man’s absolute truth is another man’s absolute falsehood, so in my humble opinion, it’s better to leave each to his own spirituality and just practice.[/QUOTE]
I’m sorry that you feel embittered and hope that my little ‘ditto’ comment didn’t make you feel ganged up on. That was not my intention at all. In fact I think that many of those commenting here share a common belief but just have different ways of identifying it or expressing it.
The way I understand it Ray’s comment, “If absolute spirituality is Truth there will be no conflict, unlike the dogma of religion and philosophy.” is a good point. BUT… at the same time you are correct - on the surface, my absolute truth may be absolutely false for others.
For example I believe in Jesus Christ — that is an absolute truth for me that many non-Christians would not agree with. At the same time I believe in yogic philosophy and the wisdom of many faith paths that many Christians would not agree with.
However, I believe that at the core of my ‘truth’ , your truth, Ray’s truth and so many others is a shared belief in a common good - call that what you will. Well… I wish I could better articulate what I’m trying to say but I’m late for a massage and have to go.
Love and light to all of you.
Unfortunately in this world neither spirituality nor truth are absolute. It’s not like physics or chemistry, where cause and effect can be demonstrated with certainty. In matters of spirit, what may appear to one man as absolute truth may appear to another as absolute falsehood, so in my humble opinion, it’s better to leave each to his own spirituality and just practice.
That is exactly the mindset I am working to disintegrate; that spirituality is something religious, philosophical, mystical or other-wordly. I argue not so, spirituality is a science and it can be studied, measured and demonstrated like any other science. The subject of spiritual science is the inner-nature of man, why does he desire, suffer, what motivates his need to know/inquire and want to live - and how can his inner-nature be cultivated, how can we end his suffering, bring him to knowledge and peace.
Assuming that this is true, the subject matter seems a little out of place in a yoga class. Asana and pranayama are things that can be demonstrated with a fair amount of certainty. Beyond that, it starts to get a little dicey. I think that if you know concrete, valid techniques for inner practices, that is fair subject matter, but students should know in advance what the class consists of. If you’re going to talk about the things mentioned above, to my way of thinking, that’s special subject matter that should be dealt with in the appropriate context, not necessarily during day to day practice.
I am not really talking about Yoga classes, but about the subject of spirituality itself in clinical settings. Asana and Pranayama can be demonstrated in clinical settings, and so can meditation. This is why it is through and through scientific, measurable etc