O Brother! attain good health.
Without health how can you live?
Without health how can you earn?
Without health how can you succeed?
Possess the health through Hatha,
Unite the Ha with Tha,
Unite the moon with the sun,
Unite the Prana with Apana,
Drink the nectar at Sahasrara,
And live in the Immortal abode.
Hatha and Raja are inseparable,
Where Hatha ends Raja Yoga begins.
Hatha Yoga prepares you
For Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
No Hatha Yoga, no success,
No Hatha Yoga, no Samadhi.
No Hatha Yoga, no health.
No Hatha Yoga, no Veerya.
No Hatha Yoga, no beauty.
No Hatha Yoga, no long life.
Salute Ganapathi before you begin.
Practise Sirsh, the King of Asanas
And remove all diseases.
Develop thyroid through Sarvang
And digest food through Paschimottan.
Mayur can digest even poison.
Ardha Matsyendra can make the spine elastic.
Bhujang, Salab and Dhanur
Can give you a good motion
And eradicate constipation.
Preserve Veerya through Sirsh-Sarvang
And avoid wet-dreams.
Relax the muscles in Savasana
Combine forward backward bending exercises
Never neglect the spinal twist
If you wish all-round development.
The fat in the belly the Paschimottan reduces.
The spine the Hala makes supple and elastic.
Drowsiness the Vajra surely will drive.
The effect of Sarvang the Matsya will add.
Pranayam removes all diseases
And the gastric fire it increases.
A little Kumbhak will give you longevity
Strength, vigour, vim and vitality
And awaken Kundalini in Muladhara.
Sitali can cool your brain and body
And purify the blood.
Bhastrika will remove
Asthma and consumption.
Bandha Traya can make you beautiful.
Suitable is morning for the practice.
Do Asanas to begin with and then Pranayama.
Spend fifteen minutes a day
For practice of Asana and Pranayama.
This will suffice to keep you healthy.
Be regular in your practice.
Drink a little milk in the end.
Wait for one hour for bath.
Be moderate in eating and sleeping.
Hot curries, onions, and garlic abandon,
With empty stomach practise Yogic Exercises.
?Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh, India.