Hatha Yoga Goals
Targeted
Goals:
The intentions of Haá¹ha Yoga in various Indian
traditions have involved siddhis (“special powers”) and magical powers. Apart
from these bodily benefits like reducing age effects, shining and healthy body
and medicine free life, spiritual liberation (“moksha” or “mukti”) is the
ultimate goal.
Moreover, some traditions such as the "Kaula
tantric" sect of Hinduism and Sahajiya tantric" sect of Buddhism
followed more esoteric goals such as alchemy, magic, cheating of death
(“kalavanchana”) and entering another's body (“Parakaya pravesha”). Such fringe
practices are secondary in the mainstream of Hatha Yoga and ultimate goal is
liberation in Indian religions. The majority of historic Haá¹ha Yoga texts do
not define any importance to special powers (“siddhis”). Indian traditions
considered the pursuit of magical powers to be a distraction or obstruction of
Hatha Yoga's ultimate goal of spiritual liberation, self-knowledge and freedom
from rebirth ("mukthi") or ("moksha").
Haá¹ha Yoga practice is multifaceted and needs
certain disciplines. For example, section 1.16 of the Haá¹hayogapradipika states
that those who interested in this practice needs enthusiasm and fortitude
(“sahasa”), courage (“dhairya”), patience, essence
for knowledge (“jnana thathwa”), resolve, determination (“nishkaya”),
renunciation and solitude (“thyaga”). In the Indian and
Tibetan traditions, Haá¹ha Yoga assimilates concepts of ethics, diet, cleansing,
breathing exercises (“pranayama”) and meditation.
Preparation
for Hatha Yoga:
For the preparation for Hatha Yoga, first the
physical body requires cleansing. The purification of the body is called “Shatkarma
kriyas”. Second is the practice of right diet for the body is known
as “Mitahara”.
Mitahara:
Mitahara is derived from the word “Mith” which means
“measured” or “restricted”. It is equivalent to acceptance of universal meals
standards.
Many of the Haá¹ha Yoga scriptures lay down foremost
emphasis on diet (“Mitahara'') requirements. This means that there is a need
for a "calculated diet" or "moderate food" to meet the
energy requirements of the human body.
The comprehensive text Haá¹hayogapradipika
from sections 1.57 to 1.63 elaborately discuss about Mitahara.
Section 1.58 says that,
“Susnighdhamadhurahascha chathursdhashe vivarjitha, bhujyathe
shiva sampreethai mithahara sa uchhyathey”
It says practitioner should eat oleaginous and sweet
food on a quarter empty stomach. One should eat not for the sake of pleasing
the five senses ("Pancha Indriyas") of the body, but for the
satisfaction of the “Supreme Self” or "Almighty God" who resides in
every human being.
Hathayogapradipika suggested that taste addiction
should not guide one's eating habits, but rather the best diet is palatable,
nutritious, pleasing and sufficient to meet the needs of one's body and one's
inner being. It recommends that one "eat only when hungry" and
"do not overeat or overeat to fill the stomach. Keep it one-fourth empty
and three-quarters full with quality food and clean water." It also explains
the main reason for not achieving the goal of yoga towards the overeating of
food.
Gheranda
Samhitha from
sections 5.16 to 5.32 explains the importance of proper diet to the body. The
Geranda Samhitha 5.22 explains that,
“Annen Pooryethartha thoyen nu thrithiyakam
utharasya thuriamsham samrakshayeth vayu charaney”
This states the practitioner (“sadhaka”) only fills
half of his stomach with food and one fourth by pure water and he should leave
one fourth for the movement of air ("vayu"). It also says that eating
food is a form of devotion to the temple of the body, just as it is an
expression of love for "Almighty God".
In Shiva Samhitha sections 3.20 and 5.25
includes "mitahara" as a vital part of a holistic Haá¹ha yoga
practice.
In Goraksha Shataka, eating controlled food
is one of the three main parts of a comprehensive and effective practice. The
text does not provide details of the foodstuff and recipes. The text says that
food should not be unclean or sweet. It is not advisable to overeat, leave
one-fourth of the stomach empty, whatever one eats one should please Supreme
God "Lord Shiva".
Now coming to the Upanishads, the “Yogakundali
Upanishad” 1.3 to 1.4 says that,
“Susnightham dhurahar schathurthashava sheshak,
bhujyathey shiva sampreetheiy mitahara sa uchhyathey”
This states that “One should eat not for the sake of
pleasing the five senses ("Panchendriyas") of the body, but for the
satisfaction of the "Almighty God" who resides in every human being”.
In “Jabaladharshana Upanishad” says that
eating of excess food will result in the failure of yoga practice.
Most of the hatha yoga texts place major emphasis on
diet "mitahara", which means "measured diet" or
"moderate eating”.
In “Amrithananda Upanishad” 27th
verse says that,
“Athyahar manaharam nithyam yogi vivarjayeth”
This says that one should always avoid eating too
much and eating too less.
In Bhagavad Gita 6th chapter 16th
verse explain about the failure of yoga, Lord Krishna says to Arjuna in the
following words,
“Nathyasnathasthu yogoschi na chaikantha manashnatha
na chathi swapna seelasya jagratho naiva charjuna”
This states that,
“He who eats too much and eats too little will
not succeed in yoga”.
In Bhagavad Gita 6th chapter 17th
verse Lord Krishna provides the solution for this problem as follows,
“Yukthahara viharasya yukthacheshtasya karmasu
yuktha swapnavabodhasya yogo bhavathy dhukhaha”
This states that “Yoga eliminates miseries of the
human being whose food and regimen are proper”.
Proper food is
necessary for the control of the five senses, the most powerful senses of human
being, especially the tongue.
The food we take
is transformed in 3 ways according to “Chandhogya Upanishad”. In 6th
prapathaka 5th khanda 1st verse says that,
“Annamashtitham
thredha vibhajyathe thasya ya sthavishto dhadushtath pureesham bhavath yo
madhyamasthan mamsam yonishtastham manah”
“Annamayam hi
somya manah”
This means that
the gross part of the food we eat is digested and becomes faeces, the medium
part becomes flesh and the subtle part becomes mind. Food is material cause of
the mind, restricted food leads to controlled mind.
Bhagavad
Gita divides food into 3 “Gunas” namely Satva, Rajas and Tamas. Yoga can only be practiced by a mind
dominated by "satva guna".
This
is described in Bhagavad
Gita 17 chapter 8th verse as follows,
“Ayu satva balarogya sukha preethi vivardhana
rasya snigdha sthira hrydhya ahara satvika priya”
It
states that proper food increase lifespan
("Aayu"), purity
("Sathva"), strength
("Bal"), health
("Arogya"), happiness
("sukha") and cheerfulness
("preethi"). Satvic people like savoury (“rasya”), the oleaginous
(“snigdha”), the substantial (“sthira”) and the agreeable (“hridhaya”).
Restrictions
for food have two aspects, first is the avoiding food detrimental for yoga
second is the taking food conducive for yoga.
Foods are to be avoided:
Haá¹hayogapradipika 1st chapter 59th
verse says as follows,
“Katvamla
theeshkshna lavanoshna hareethashak syvir thailthil sharshapamadhya mamsan,
ajadhimamsadhadhi mamsan ajadhimamsadhadhikakra kulsthyakol pinyakahidgu
lashnunadhama paddhyamahuh”
This
verses says that these foods are to be
avoided:
Bitter
(“Katu”):
Bitter
vegetables include bitter gourd, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale,
radishes, cauliflower, cilantro, spinach, cocoa, coffee, green tea, and dark
chocolate.
Sour
(“Amla”):
Sour flavor is found in citrus fruits, sour
milk products such as yogurt, cheese, sour cream, sourdough bread, wine,
vinegar, pickles, sauerkraut, soy sauce, and often alcohol. Sour foods make the
mouth wet, increase saliva flow, and stimulate the emotions.
Pungent
(“Theekna”):
Eating
chillies may harm your health and can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain,
dizziness, nausea and vomiting.
Salt (“Lavana”):
Sodium
has been linked to adverse health effects, including increased blood pressure.
Hot food:
Food
causing heat in the body like molasses (“ushna”), common kitchen foods like
onion, garlic, pepper, ginger and other spices create heat in the body. Root
vegetables such as spinach, beans, potatoes and broccoli are inherently hot and
are generally not recommended and cause heat in the body.
Leafy Vegetables
(“Haridashak”):
Some leafy vegetables are spinach (palak),
fenugreek leaf (methi), amaranth leaf (chaulai), curry leaf (kadi patta), and
coriander leaf (dhania), Sour gruel (“Siveer) like kanchikam, Oil (“Thyl”),
Sesame seed (“Thil”), Mustard (“Sushrap”), Alcohol (Madhya”), Fish (“Matsya”),
Meat (mutton, Chicken), Curd (Dhahi”), Buttermilk (“Thakra”), Kulastha seeds,
Black pepper and Berry (“Kola”), Saffron and cake made of sesame oil
(“Pinyak”), Asafoetida (“Hingu”), Garlic and Onion (“Lashunadham”).
Foods which are harmful:
Haá¹hayogapradipika 1st chapter 60th
verse says as follows,
“Bhojanamahitham
vidhyadh punarasyoshneekritham rukhyam, athilavanamlayuktham kadhashanashokotktam
varjyan”
This
says the foods which are harmful for the
body.
Food
heated again (“puna ushneekrith”), dry (“rukhyam”) without oil or fat
components (this is the opposite of “snigdham”), excess salt (“athilavanam”),
food mixed with sour ingredients like tamarind (“amlayuktham”), bad food
prepared in unhygienic conditions, stale food, balance of food eaten by
somebody (“kadhashan”), leafy vegetables (“shaka”), pungent food mixed with
chilly (“uthkadam”) and food with excess leafy vegetables (“shakolkad”).
Gheranda
Samhitha 5:30 says as follows,
“Kaadinyam
dhuritham puthimushnam parushitham thatha, athisheetham cha athichokshnam
bhakshya yogi vivarjayeth”
This
says that the practitioner (“yogi”) should avoid hot and cold food, hard food
which is not easily digested, sinful food, decomposed and stale food.
These foods are recommended
for the body:
Haá¹hayogapradipika 1st
chapter 62nd verse says as follows,
“Godhamshaliya vashashti kashobhanannam
ksheerajya khanda navaneet siddhamadhunni shuntipatolak faladhi kapachashak
muddgadhi dhivyamudhakam cha yameendra padhyam”
This says the foods recommended,
Wheat (“gehoo” or “Ghodham”), Rice (“Shali”),
Barley (“Yav”), Rice harvested in 60 days (“Shashtik”, for example Santhi rice
in Hindi), Auspicious, nice and nicely cooked food (“Shobhanannam”), Milk
(“Ksheer”), Ghee (“Ajya”), Candied sugar (“Khand”), Butter (“Nananeet”), Sugar
Candy (“Misri” or “Seetha”), Honey (“Madhu”), Dry Ginger (“Shundi”), Vegetables
Point Gourd (“Phalolkafal”), Five Vegetables called Pachashakam (This include
“Jivanthi”, “Vathua”, Mulyakshi, Meghanada and Punarnava), Green Gram Beans or
Moong Daal, Pigeon Peas (“Arhar Daal”) and Pure Water (“Divyamudhakam”).
These foods are also
recommended for the body:
Haá¹hayogapradipika 1st
chapter 63rd verse says as follows,
“Pushtam sumadhuram snigdham ghavyam
dhathupraboshanam manobhilashitham yogyam yogi bhojanamchareth”.
The Practitioner (“Yogi”) should eat
nutritious, sweet, and oleaginous food (mixed with oil), milk and milk products,
foods with rich minerals (“dhatus”) and the foods which is prepared in a
delicious way (“manobhilashitham”).