Hatha Yoga

Mike Burley studied philosophy at Nottingham and has traveled extensively in India and Nepal. He teaches Hatha-yoga as well as Indian philosophy at the Devon School of Yoga.
Mikel Burley, a philosopher and hatha practitioner, places the soteriological system for Hatha-yoga in its proper context. He draws attention to its continuity and its initiatory pedagogical structure, as well as to the theoretical underpinnings to hatha practice. He focuses on the complex idea of a “subtle bodily mat”-which includes vital channels (nadis), centers and forces (prana). This matrix is crucial to the discipline as it acts as a bridge between the physical and mental realms. A wide variety of sources are used, including seminal texts from the Hatha tradition, such as Gheranda–Samhita and Hatha-Yoga–Pradipika. Primary and secondary works also come from related streams in Indian thought. The study is accessible to all levels of knowledge, including practitioners, specialists and laymen. Hatha-yoga focuses on the most basic of matters: the cultivation of an ethically and spiritually-oriented appreciation for humanity, the cultivation and maintenance of maximum health and perceptual acuity, and the pursuit of Self-realization. Hatha-Yoga is a profound and absorbing practice that contributes to our understanding of the subject.