Hatha 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” that includes vital channels (nadis), centers and forces (prana), which is crucial to the discipline. This matrix is held to be a bridge between the physical and mental realms. A wide variety of sources materials are used, including seminal texts from the Hatha tradition, such as Gheranda–Samhita and Hatha-Yoga–Pradipika, as well primary and secondary works of related streams of Indian thinking. 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.