Glossary of Spiritual and Religious Words

H

Hatha Yoga

(Sanskrit) A series of exercises to stretch and loosen the physical body. Originally intended to be a form of exercise to prepare for meditation, Hatha Yoga does not contain any exercises for the awakening of the consciousness or the elimination of the ego.

"The Yoga that we require today is actually ancient Gnostic Christian Yoga, which absolutely rejects the idea of Hatha Yoga. We do not recommend Hatha Yoga simply because, spiritually speaking, the acrobatics of this discipline are fruitless; they should be left to the acrobats of the circus." - Samael Aun Weor, The Yellow Book

"The Tantric type of Hatha Yoga is extraordinary and leads the esotericist to the realization of the Innermost Self. However, Hatha Yoga without Tantra is like a garden without water." - Samael Aun Weor, The Doomed Aryan Race

"Many pseudo-esotericists and pseudo-occultists read the literature of Sivananda. There is no doubt that this man was truly a Guru-Deva who worked intensely for this suffering humanity. I truly confess that I never liked his Hatha Yoga. This type of acrobatics always appeared to me to be quite circus-like. I never found that someone could Self-realize by converting himself into an acrobat. Nonetheless, it is well known that this said yogi profoundly worked in strict secrecy with Sex Yoga. It seems that Hatha Yoga was only a bait in order to fish within the rivers of life." - Samael Aun Weor, The Gnostic Magic of the Runes

There are many forms of Yoga from India, including Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and more.  See: Yoga.