These teachings on Hatha Yoga are by the Indian Saint, Anandamayi Ma, described as the most perfect flower the Indian soil has produced. Celia has re-written and expanded upon these teachings below to assist with your understanding and insight.
If one practises Hatha yoga merely as physical exercise, the mind will not be transformed at the very least.
Hatha means doing something by force.
There is quite a difference between “being” and forcefully “doing”.
- Being allows the life current or prana to flow through us, allowing for the spontaneous manifestation of what is due to be manifested.
- Doing allows for sustained effort to become effortless being. What is attained through continuous practice is eventually transcended. Spontaneity arises. When spontaneity arises, hatha yoga is genuinely understood.
The physical fitness resulting from Hatha Yoga may aid spiritual endeavour, and then in no way is it wasted. Unless Hatha yoga aims at the Eternal, it is nothing more than gymnastics or used for enjoyment (bhoga). If one is not in contact with the touch of the Infinite, or effortless being, then the yoga has been fruitless. Effortless being lies as a path to the Infinite.
A competent teacher will either purposefully speed up or slow the process according to the nature and propensity of the seeker of truth (the sadhaka). The teacher or guide must know the path themselves and have first-hand knowledge of the stages on the path and understand that which may unfold for the student of hatha yoga. A teacher must have some level of insight and awareness into effortless being to allow for a student to truly progress on the path.
Once the touch of the Infinite is there for the seeker of truth (the sadhaka), all becomes smooth, and one becomes caught in the current and falls into grace. From this point onwards, this true state of being can never be completely forgotten. One enters the rhythm of one’s true nature, eventually complete union with all. This return to oneness, the simplicity of being, is real yoga or union. Service, devotion, meditation, and contemplation will all assist the seeker from this point on along the path.
Hatha yoga may be harmful to students or practitioners of yoga if the spiritual aspiration is lacking. The practice may really increase one’s identification with the body and form. To see beyond form and enter into the formless dimension, practise asanas in accordance to nature’s own rhythms and rhythm of the breath. Then, you will understand that all proceeds spontaneously and smoothly, without force.
What are the signs to recognise this distinct change for the sadhaka into an effortless state of being? There is a sense of deep delight, play and constant remembrance of the oneness behind all that IS. Mind and bodily identification becomes significantly weaker.
The above change can also be distinctly observed in meditation. Once the movement of one’s true nature sets in, any knots in the heart will be unravelled. Perfectly correct asanas will form of their own accord as the current of prana is turned towards the Infinite. If not, the correct flow will not be there, and the back and body will ache. Through constant yearning for truth and union (yoga), all bodily knots will be untied, and the body’s natural rhythm will grow steady, calm and serene.
This is the essence of yoga – union – to become one with the Universe.
*Teachings extracted from The Essential Sri Anandamayi Ma text pages 100-102.
Yoga & Meditation Teachers
For those of you training to become yoga and or meditation teachers (incredible healers essentially), I feel this documentary will be extremely helpful for you.
It’s about understanding how life force (or kundalini Shakti) works through the body and mind.
What perhaps is most important is that through meditation and yoga you will learn to contain this energy yourself to assist and help others clear their samskaras, their physical and mental blocks and the personalities or ego that stands in the way of the life-force being freed up within.
But what is MOST important is that YOU get out of the way, and let the energy run through you. Best you keep reminding yourself gently that it doesn’t belong to you, that this miracle is part of all of life.
Deepen your understanding of these teachings with Eckhart Tolle
The last 15 minutes of this podcast explains the ancient teachings of yoga described above (Time stamp 27 minutes)
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/eckhart-tolle-essential-teachings/id1458654443?i=1000599880581
You Are the Present Moment
Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings
In this podcast Eckhart gives a brief talk on his signature teaching: the power of presence and then answers questions from the audience. He says the important thing to understand is the presence that inhabits our bodies is not something that is external to us, it is the essence of us. He says the secret and the mystery of the present moment is that we are the present moment.
If you would like to contact Celia to learn more about the meditation teacher training journey, please do visit our Meditation Teacher Training Page or find us on Facebook or Instagram or contact Celia directly.
