In Natha Sampradaya the sadhana practice is presented by a mantra-yoga, hatha yoga, laya yoga and raja yoga, as well as аshtanga yoga (Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi) and shadanga yoga (steps from Asana up to Samadhi, excepting Yama and Niyama). Dr. Swami Hardas, who invented Swami Hardas Life System also includes some simple Sadhanas for well-being. However, to know and understand the traditional Sadhana of Natha Sampradaya and its benefits, one must read this article and practice not all but at least one Sadhana on daily basis. Definition of Sad ..read more

84 asanas; the 17th century Hatha Ratnavali provides a different list of 84 asanas, describing some of them. In the 20th century, Indian nationalism favored physical culture in response to colonialism. In that environment, pioneers such as Yogendra, Kuvalayananda, and Krishnamacharya taught a new system of asanas (incorporating systems of exercise as well as traditional hatha yoga). Among Krishnamacharya’s pupils were influential Indian yoga teachers including Pattabhi Jois, founder of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga, and B.K.S. Iyengar, found ..read more

An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose, and later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, to any type of position, adding reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, and balancing poses. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define “asana” as “[a position that] is steady and comfortable”. Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of the eight limbs of his system. Asanas are also called yoga poses or yoga postures in English. However, the ..read more

Karma yoga (Sanskrit: कर्म योग), also called Karma Marg, is one of the four classical spiritual paths in Hinduism, one based on the “yoga of action”, the others being Jnana yoga (path of knowledge), Raja Yoga (path of meditation) and Bhakti yoga (path of loving devotion to a personal God). To a karma yogi, the right action is a form of prayer. The three paths are not mutually exclusive in Hinduism, but the relative emphasis between Karma yoga, Jnana yoga, and Bhakti yoga varies by individual. Karma yoga is a path of devotion to the work. One loses his identity while working ..read more

Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga. The Sanskrit word हठ haṭha literally means “force” and thus alludes to a system of physical techniques. In India, haṭha yoga is associated in popular tradition with the Yogis of the Nath Sampraday through its traditional founder Macchindranath, who is celebrated as a saint in both Hindu and Buddhist tantric and haṭha yoga schools. Almost all Hatha yogic texts belong to the Nath Siddhas, and the important ones are credited to Macchindranath’s disciple, Gorakshanath. According to Lord Dattatreya, Yoga Śastra, there are two forms of ha ..read more

Gorakshanath (also known as Gorakhnath, Goraksanath) was a Hindu Yogi, the saint who was the influential founder of the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India. He is considered one of the two notable disciples of Macchindranath, the other being Chauranginath. His followers are found in India at the place known as Garbhagiri which is in Ahmednagar in the state of Maharashtra. The name of Gorakshanath is relevant to the incident of his birth, which was from the garbage of cow dung. Navnath Bhaktisar, the most popular spiritual pothi (holy book) also mention ..read more

In Natha Sampradaya the sadhana practice is presented by a mantra-yoga, hatha yoga, laya yoga and raja yoga, as well as аshtanga yoga (Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi) and shadanga yoga (steps from Asana up to Samadhi, excepting Yama and Niyama). Dr. Swami Hardas, who invented Swami Hardas Life System also includes some simple Sadhanas for well-being. However, to know and understand the traditional Sadhana of Natha Sampradaya and its benefits, one must read this article and practice not all but at least one Sadhana on daily basis. Definition of Sad ..read more

84 asanas; the 17th century Hatha Ratnavali provides a different list of 84 asanas, describing some of them. In the 20th century, Indian nationalism favored physical culture in response to colonialism. In that environment, pioneers such as Yogendra, Kuvalayananda, and Krishnamacharya taught a new system of asanas (incorporating systems of exercise as well as traditional hatha yoga). Among Krishnamacharya’s pupils were influential Indian yoga teachers including Pattabhi Jois, founder of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga, and B.K.S. Iyengar, found ..read more

Karma yoga (Sanskrit: कर्म योग), also called Karma Marg, is one of the four classical spiritual paths in Hinduism, one based on the “yoga of action”, the others being Jnana yoga (path of knowledge), Raja Yoga (path of meditation) and Bhakti yoga (path of loving devotion to a personal God). To a karma yogi, the right action is a form of prayer. The three paths are not mutually exclusive in Hinduism, but the relative emphasis between Karma yoga, Jnana yoga, and Bhakti yoga varies by individual. Karma yoga is a path of devotion to the work. One loses his identity while working ..read more

An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose, and later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, to any type of position, adding reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, and balancing poses. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define “asana” as “[a position that] is steady and comfortable”. Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of the eight limbs of his system. Asanas are also called yoga poses or yoga postures in English. However, the ..read more