Hatha Yoga Pradipika
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- Create Date：2021-06-08 08:55:00
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Muktibodhananda Saraswati
- ISBN：8185787387
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Summary
This affordable， definitive edition of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika contains the original Sanskrit， a new English translation， and full-page photographs of all the asanas。 The chakras， kundalini， mudras， shakti， nadis， bandhas， and many other topics are explained。 This is the first edition of the classic manual on Hatha Yoga to meet high academic， literary， and production standards。 It’s for people who practice Yoga， and for anyone with an interest in heath and fitness， philosophy， religion， spirituality， mysticism， or meditation。
From the Introduction:
Over the last half millennium， one book has established itself as the classic work on Hatha Yoga—the book you are holding in your hands。 An Indian yogi named Svatmarama wrote the Hatha Yoga Pradipika in the fifteenth century C。E。 Drawing on his own experience and older works now lost， he wrote this book for the student of Yoga。 He wrote this book for you。
Sample Verses:
Yoga succeeds by these six: enthusiasm， openness， courage， knowledge of the truth， determination， and solitude。
Success is achieved neither by wearing the right clothes nor by talking about it。 Practice alone brings success。 This is the truth， without a doubt。
When the breath is unsteady， the mind is unsteady。 When the breath is steady， the mind is steady， and the yogi becomes steady。 Therefore one should restrain the breath。
As salt and water become one when mixed， so the unity of self and mind is called samadhi。
He who binds the breath， binds the mind。 He who binds the mind， binds the breath。
Center the self in space and space in the self。 Make everything space， then don’t think of anything。
Empty within， empty without， empty like a pot in space。 Full within， full without， full like a pot in the ocean。
Don’t think of external things and don’t think of internal things。 Abandon all thoughts， then don’t think of anything。
Reviews:
“Beautifully printed and translated。 Wonderful pictures， too。”
—Dominik Wujastyk， Indology
“Accurate and accompanied by clear pictures， this translation of an informative Sanskrit text is a very useful addition to the growing literature on Yoga in Western languages。”
—Ashok Aklujkar， University of British Columbia
“Written over five-hundred years ago， the text is considered by many a seminal work on the practice of Hatha Yoga。”
—Chris Meehan， Kalamazoo Gazette
“His style is straightforward， clear， and elegant。 。 。 。 the people at YogaVidya。com are to be complimented for bringing this text to the general public and for doing so in a most attractive manner。 This is the book you want after you have finished with the popular texts。”
—Dennis Littrell， Amazon
“There is a certain magic at work here—it is as if an Indian yogi named Svatmarama has projected himself through time， expressing himself through Akers。 。 。 。 Part of the charm of Akers’s translation is that he breathes life into the ancient text by retaining its esoteric barriers and anachronisms， while at the same time clearly and simply presenting useful postures for students of Yoga。 The book is well illustrated with photographs that depict a model demonstrating the postures。 The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a must for serious students of Yoga， and for those of us not so serious， it is informative and entertainingly readable。”
—Michael Perkins， Woodstock Times
“Ably translated into English by Brian Dana Akers， The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is the classic source book on Hatha Yoga。 。 。 。 This faithful reproduction of the crucial text features the original Sanskrit side-by-side with the exacting English translation。 。 。 。 an impressive and highly recommended reference for students and devoted practitioners of Hatha Yoga。”
—Midwest Book Review
“One of the key texts that we recommend to all of our students and graduates。”
—Train Yoga Instructor Courses
“Your introduction and translation of the text is a delight to read。 I’m eager to teach it。”
—Christian Lee Novetzke， University of Washington
“One of the key texts of Yoga - I love this translation - it’s so readable and simple。”
—Sarah Raspin， Oak Tree Yoga
“A new， crisp， no-nonsense translation of this great classic on the practice of Hatha Yoga。 。 。 。 If one， like me， holds that the work of the translator is to be as discreet as possible， then this very faithful translation is probably the best available。 。 。 。 The publisher， YogaVidya。com， also produces a version of the Gheranda Samhita， and， I am told， is working on the Shiva Samhita。 Serious Yoga students watch out—these are serious translations of serious classics。”
—Christophe Mouze， Online Yoga Magazine
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Asanas
Pranayama
Mudras
Samadhi
From the Introduction:
Over the last half millennium， one book has established itself as the classic work on Hatha Yoga—the book you are holding in your hands。 An Indian yogi named Svatmarama wrote the Hatha Yoga Pradipika in the fifteenth century C。E。 Drawing on his own experience and older works now lost， he wrote this book for the student of Yoga。 He wrote this book for you。
Sample Verses:
Yoga succeeds by these six: enthusiasm， openness， courage， knowledge of the truth， determination， and solitude。
Success is achieved neither by wearing the right clothes nor by talking about it。 Practice alone brings success。 This is the truth， without a doubt。
When the breath is unsteady， the mind is unsteady。 When the breath is steady， the mind is steady， and the yogi becomes steady。 Therefore one should restrain the breath。
As salt and water become one when mixed， so the unity of self and mind is called samadhi。
He who binds the breath， binds the mind。 He who binds the mind， binds the breath。
Center the self in space and space in the self。 Make everything space， then don’t think of anything。
Empty within， empty without， empty like a pot in space。 Full within， full without， full like a pot in the ocean。
Don’t think of external things and don’t think of internal things。 Abandon all thoughts， then don’t think of anything。
Reviews:
“Beautifully printed and translated。 Wonderful pictures， too。”
—Dominik Wujastyk， Indology
“Accurate and accompanied by clear pictures， this translation of an informative Sanskrit text is a very useful addition to the growing literature on Yoga in Western languages。”
—Ashok Aklujkar， University of British Columbia
“Written over five-hundred years ago， the text is considered by many a seminal work on the practice of Hatha Yoga。”
—Chris Meehan， Kalamazoo Gazette
“His style is straightforward， clear， and elegant。 。 。 。 the people at YogaVidya。com are to be complimented for bringing this text to the general public and for doing so in a most attractive manner。 This is the book you want after you have finished with the popular texts。”
—Dennis Littrell， Amazon
“There is a certain magic at work here—it is as if an Indian yogi named Svatmarama has projected himself through time， expressing himself through Akers。 。 。 。 Part of the charm of Akers’s translation is that he breathes life into the ancient text by retaining its esoteric barriers and anachronisms， while at the same time clearly and simply presenting useful postures for students of Yoga。 The book is well illustrated with photographs that depict a model demonstrating the postures。 The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a must for serious students of Yoga， and for those of us not so serious， it is informative and entertainingly readable。”
—Michael Perkins， Woodstock Times
“Ably translated into English by Brian Dana Akers， The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is the classic source book on Hatha Yoga。 。 。 。 This faithful reproduction of the crucial text features the original Sanskrit side-by-side with the exacting English translation。 。 。 。 an impressive and highly recommended reference for students and devoted practitioners of Hatha Yoga。”
—Midwest Book Review
“One of the key texts that we recommend to all of our students and graduates。”
—Train Yoga Instructor Courses
“Your introduction and translation of the text is a delight to read。 I’m eager to teach it。”
—Christian Lee Novetzke， University of Washington
“One of the key texts of Yoga - I love this translation - it’s so readable and simple。”
—Sarah Raspin， Oak Tree Yoga
“A new， crisp， no-nonsense translation of this great classic on the practice of Hatha Yoga。 。 。 。 If one， like me， holds that the work of the translator is to be as discreet as possible， then this very faithful translation is probably the best available。 。 。 。 The publisher， YogaVidya。com， also produces a version of the Gheranda Samhita， and， I am told， is working on the Shiva Samhita。 Serious Yoga students watch out—these are serious translations of serious classics。”
—Christophe Mouze， Online Yoga Magazine
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Asanas
Pranayama
Mudras
Samadhi
Reviews
Rudrakshi Tomar
，
Best book to start with yoga。
Joe Heiderich
，
Here lies a powerful book to begin seeing the extent of the energy and strength in the body and mind。 Yoga/yogi; the deepest meaning sits in these translations。 Enjoy my friends！
Vismay Agrawal
，
The best book to learn in detail about Hath Yoga。
Danielle
，
There are a lot of great quotes you can pull from this book as a yoga teacher or yoga practicer to deepen your understanding of poses and spiritual connection。 This book is not what I thought is was and some of the wording can be offensive to women。 Granted this book was originally written for male monks in 1350， so you have to keep that in mind while going through the practices that would be considered be odd by today’s standard。 It’s a quick read， but I don’t think this book is for everyone。
Pollyanna Steiner
，
It's a classical text。 It's a classical text。 。。。more
Karin
，
"reading" this one has nothing to do with understanding what is it actually talking about。 I'll save it up for another lifetime most likely。 "reading" this one has nothing to do with understanding what is it actually talking about。 I'll save it up for another lifetime most likely。 。。。more
Guilherme Pereira
，
Técnicas do hatha yoga influenciadas pelo raja yoga （yoga sutras de Patanjali）。
Tibairé Useche
，
Aunque en toda formación de yoga te pidan leerlo muchas veces a la carrera，bien vale volver a este con calma， digiriendo su sencillez y profundidad a la vez。
Puneet
，
Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a classical scripture or you can say Manual， which covers multiple aspects of True and ancient Yoga i。e。 Hatha Yoga。 This scripture comes from the Nathas lineage， which is a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism， combining ideas from Buddhism， Shaivism and Yoga。 This scripture covers various Postures， breathing exercise and Mediation Exercises with the right commentary and benefits， which while at physical level promotes various body organs， but the intent is more to have Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a classical scripture or you can say Manual， which covers multiple aspects of True and ancient Yoga i。e。 Hatha Yoga。 This scripture comes from the Nathas lineage， which is a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism， combining ideas from Buddhism， Shaivism and Yoga。 This scripture covers various Postures， breathing exercise and Mediation Exercises with the right commentary and benefits， which while at physical level promotes various body organs， but the intent is more to have an effect of meditation at more subtler levels。 At occasions， i did felt the concepts were not easy to understand to a normal mind， but definitely helped me pick some yoga exercises which i can start doing on my own。 。。。more
Dharmbir Vashist
，
Nothing
Nancy Clementine
，
The knowledge in this book deep。
Paul
，
This translation includes the Sanskrit， Devanagari script， but does not include any transliteration or commentary。 It is certainly an opaque， historical text， but seems like is has plenty of usable， practical content to extract。 I’m hoping to find another version， though I have heard this one is quality as a translation， however， I don’t have the background to verify that for myself。 I think it was a fine enough starting point。
Irene
，
Essential reading and should be mandatory in YTTs along with Desikachar's The Heart of Yoga， Patanjali's Yoga Sutras， and Iyengar's Light on Life。 Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a medieval yoga text written by Yogi Swatmarama， and this edition by the Bihar School of Yoga is translated by Brian Dana Akers with commentary by Muktibodhananda Saraswati。 Some Goodreads reviewers have picked up on the medieval cleansing and purification rituals but it is important to remember two things before we react。 Hath Essential reading and should be mandatory in YTTs along with Desikachar's The Heart of Yoga， Patanjali's Yoga Sutras， and Iyengar's Light on Life。 Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a medieval yoga text written by Yogi Swatmarama， and this edition by the Bihar School of Yoga is translated by Brian Dana Akers with commentary by Muktibodhananda Saraswati。 Some Goodreads reviewers have picked up on the medieval cleansing and purification rituals but it is important to remember two things before we react。 Hatha yoga comes from tantra yoga。 It is going to be esoteric with an emphasis on ritualistic cleansing and purification practices with the body。 Also， all of the advanced purification practices are explicitly said to be done only under the guidance of your guru or teacher。 There are absolutely no recommendations for householder practitioners to drink their own urine。Other helpful things to remember when you go into this text:Hatha yoga was not meant for a sick bod but to awaken Kundalini Shakti。 A yogi is not the same thing at all as a yoga teacher。 We've overused this word so much it's become meaningless but to call yourself a yogi is such a sacred thing that takes years and years to become。 Yoga is always evolving but we can't divorce yoga from spirituality。 Spirituality is at the core of the practice。 I've learned so many terms and concepts in Hatha Yoga Pradipika and I expect to reread this again。 Thankful to Bihar School of Yoga for their amazing publications。 。。。more
Adam Paul
，
On the one hand this is a foundational text of modern yoga。 On the other， the language used is very stilted， sexist， sometimes repetitive， and often confusing。 I’d recommend only an edition with the Brahmananda commentary， as it provides helpful clarification and insight into some of the esoteric practices， and makes clear that some of the more ridiculous-sounding practices are written intentionally opaquely so that only a guru could instruct a student in them， and that many things are metaphors On the one hand this is a foundational text of modern yoga。 On the other， the language used is very stilted， sexist， sometimes repetitive， and often confusing。 I’d recommend only an edition with the Brahmananda commentary， as it provides helpful clarification and insight into some of the esoteric practices， and makes clear that some of the more ridiculous-sounding practices are written intentionally opaquely so that only a guru could instruct a student in them， and that many things are metaphors， and not literal。All that said， for understanding the origins of modern yoga， it’s essential reading。 。。。more
Tim Fontona
，
I learned quite a bit hatha yoga from this book。
J。L。 Vélez
，
This is a Critical Edition of the HYP。 Very easy to read。 It contains a very brief introduction to the text itself and then just plain scriptures in Sanskrit written in devanagari and its corresponding English translation below。 It contains no romanization of the Sanskrit texts。 Buy it if you are in need of a Critical Edition to use as a workbook to work on your Sanskrit translation skills or to just want to read the English translation。 Leave if you don’t know how to read Sanskrit and are in ne This is a Critical Edition of the HYP。 Very easy to read。 It contains a very brief introduction to the text itself and then just plain scriptures in Sanskrit written in devanagari and its corresponding English translation below。 It contains no romanization of the Sanskrit texts。 Buy it if you are in need of a Critical Edition to use as a workbook to work on your Sanskrit translation skills or to just want to read the English translation。 Leave if you don’t know how to read Sanskrit and are in need of the Sanskrit romanization for reading out loud or others。 It contains a few errors and mistakes yet very useful again， as a workbook。 。。。more
Amanda Comi
，
Really crucial context for anyone who practices yoga。 The more bizarre and cult like aspects which have been disregarded in contemporary practice are clearly laid out。 There’s a bit of jargon/vocabulary which I’m still not sure I follow， but overall it lays out important history and philosophy for anyone interested in yoga。
Meg
，
This is a strange one， for sure。 I read it while in yoga teacher training， and I certainly expected a beautiful and mystical tome of ancient yogic knowledge。 It was a little kooky， to be honest。 Almost every paragraph offered up perfect health forever if the yogi could just master one pranayama technique or one asana。 At one point， the book told me that if I could work on swallowing a damp piece of cloth two inches at a time over the course of several days， that I then could be a master of yoga This is a strange one， for sure。 I read it while in yoga teacher training， and I certainly expected a beautiful and mystical tome of ancient yogic knowledge。 It was a little kooky， to be honest。 Almost every paragraph offered up perfect health forever if the yogi could just master one pranayama technique or one asana。 At one point， the book told me that if I could work on swallowing a damp piece of cloth two inches at a time over the course of several days， that I then could be a master of yoga and be healthy the rest of my days。 The book also cautions strongly against any interaction with worldly and of-the-flesh women， which is one of my favorite misogynistic tropes in the classic era， because men equal brains while women equal bodies。 But it makes sense。。。 how IS a guy supposed to focus on swallowing cloth when he could be talking to a fun and attractive woman instead？！ Overall， it's a quick read and an interesting study of a historic text of yogic knowledge。 Just don't expect any real insight or depth from it if you are a yoga practitioner of the 21st century。 。。。more
Samantha Van Blerkom
，
I would absolutely not recommend this book to anyone without background context。 Even with a decent amount of study of Sanskrit terms， yoga & ayurveda and an open mind， this was WAY too extreme for my taste。 I’m hoping that the pretentiousness， sexist， and extreme practices were a byproduct of time， culture， and translation。 （I read the 1915 translation by Pancham Sinh。） But， I’m not willing to read an alternative translation to find out。 I feel like I just fell down a rabbit hole of the ranting I would absolutely not recommend this book to anyone without background context。 Even with a decent amount of study of Sanskrit terms， yoga & ayurveda and an open mind， this was WAY too extreme for my taste。 I’m hoping that the pretentiousness， sexist， and extreme practices were a byproduct of time， culture， and translation。 （I read the 1915 translation by Pancham Sinh。） But， I’m not willing to read an alternative translation to find out。 I feel like I just fell down a rabbit hole of the rantings of a mad man。 。。。more
Amanda
，
Excellent for historical background and understanding of Hatha yoga。
Ancillar
，
Don't waste your time。 Half this book is padding: vague language making equally vague promises。 One quarter describes obscenely stupid and dangerous "purification" rituals showing absolutely no regard for basic medicine （including - no joke - bulimia， tongue mutilation and at-home catheterization）; one quarter _might_ describe useful techniques if more detail were given， which - quite typically of mystic authors' "people who actually try this can't attack me for its uselessness if i can claim la Don't waste your time。 Half this book is padding: vague language making equally vague promises。 One quarter describes obscenely stupid and dangerous "purification" rituals showing absolutely no regard for basic medicine （including - no joke - bulimia， tongue mutilation and at-home catheterization）; one quarter _might_ describe useful techniques if more detail were given， which - quite typically of mystic authors' "people who actually try this can't attack me for its uselessness if i can claim later that they weren't doing it right because i didn't give enough detail in the first place" abject CYA cowardice - it almost always isn't。For detail， we are asked to refer to the commentary， a hodgepodge of confused， dogmatic， sex-negative， pseudo-moralistic， superstitious， self-contradictory junk magical thinking by a fundamentalist religious zealot bent on justifying absolutely every last morsel of nonsense in the text， not by a scholar exhibiting even the slightest whiff of critical thinking。On top of all of that， please note that this text is largely composed of only slightly dressed-up cuts-and-pastes from other， far more coherent samkhya， tantric and vedic commentaries and sources。 Start with Patanjali's yoga sutras if you're looking for the good stuff， then hit up the Upanishads。 Those two will give you a much better introduction to most of the good stuff which is only halfassedly referenced in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika。I encourage you to pause and go read Elizabeth de Michelis' excellent "history of modern yoga" as preparatory mental immunization if you insist on trying to get through this edition of this text。 。。。more
Aline Aleixo
，
O livro é uma mistura de alquimia e filosofia do yoga。 Algumas técnicas inusitadas， outras úteis à prática do hata yoga， misturadas a passagens belíssimas sobre o samadhi。 A leitura foi um passo importante na minha sadhana e ao qual pretendo retornar no futuro。
Dan Vinicalso
，
Hatha Yoga Pradipika is an amazing book！
Aaron Schuschu
，
A lot of yoga stuff I already read about in various Upanishads， but with drawings！ Though I’m not sure how much the commentary really had to do with the scripture。
Yasmin
，
Easy to read to begin with， interesting bits about pranayama which I'll be referring back to。 Eventually found it to be too intense for me， I couldn't access the information from the halfway point onwards。 Easy to read to begin with， interesting bits about pranayama which I'll be referring back to。 Eventually found it to be too intense for me， I couldn't access the information from the halfway point onwards。 。。。more
John Wayner
，
ancient wisdom is here for you to discover。
Ciayi Lim
，
It would be easier to understand if you know how to read and interpret Sanskrit because the flow of content is not too smooth or rather related to each other from the English translation。 Definitely， it is still a great referencing tool for any yogi or yoga instructor to master the concept and process of yoga。
Johnny Whitestone
，
yasssssss。 slay girl。。。this yoga book is totally awesome！
Jess Mackay
，
Easy to read and I learnt so much and this bool has enabled me to dive deeper into my practice
Elisa
，
Um livro belíssimamente editado; os comentários auxiliam muito na compreensão desse texto clássico do yoga。 Conforme orientado na contracapa， é indicado para quem já tem alguma aproximação com a prática e sua filosofia。 Para quem se interessa pela parte histórica e mesmo por conhecer práticas mais ortodoxas/clássicas， vale muito a pena lê-lo。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Hatha Yoga Pradipika
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Hatha Yoga Pradipika&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Hatha Yoga Pradipika&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0