HATHA YOGA INTRODUCTION

Hatha yoga, or hatha vidya (the science of hatha yoga) is commonly misunderstood and misrepresented as being simply a physical culture, divorced from spiritual goals. Hans−Ulrich Rieker shows the error of this idea by explaining the changes which take place, through the practice of hatha yoga, in the practitioner's body, mind and self. He makes the reader aware of the subjective
transformation that occurs as the consciousness penetrates inwards towards the Self, and as the Self
diffuses outwards. He shows that hatha yoga is not just physical exercise, but an integrated science leading towards spiritual evolution. We are caught up in emotions like lust (kama), anger (krodha), greed (lobha), infatuation (moha), pride (ynadha) and malice (matsarya). Hatha yoga helps us to overcome these obstacles and hindrances to spiritual development. It is a biochemical, psycho−physiological and psycho−spiritual science which deals with the moral, mental, intellectual and spiritual aspects of man, as well as the physical and physiological. We can clarify our understanding of hatha yoga by first examining five
important underlying concepts: mind, knowledge, aims of life, health and afflictions.