Our transformation begins with the very attitude we have when we start a posture. From tomorrow, get up at five o’ clock in the morning, have a cold shower, and start your sadhana at 5:30, What is Hatha Yoga every day. Unless your imagination is running wild because you have no control over it, if you close your eyes, the world is gone for you. If you eat something very good, if something hurts, if something is nice, if you really want to experience something, you close your eyes. If you close your eyes and try to forcefully remove something from your mind, you will never be successful. As an experiment, try to resist the things that you want. You will see in India, if somebody dies, they will take an organic string and tie the big toes together as this prevents certain things from entering the system. I am assuming you are smarter than me because you have come to me, and after all the things I do - no sweetness, no promise of heaven, no miracles, not even a pleasant word, no hug - you are still here. So, assuming you are smart, it is a lifetime of work. Much of the success of Hatha Yoga consists of methods best calculated to allow the Vital Force to work freely and without hindrance, and its methods and exercises are largely devoted to that end.

Yoga began in India around 2,000 years ago as a series of spiritual breathing exercises. The word "karma" literally means "action." Using action as a means to one’s spiritual growth is known as Karma Yoga. Because Krishnamacharya’s students would become some of the most influential teachers of yoga in the west, he is called the "father of modern yoga" and much of what we think of as yoga in the west descends from his version of hatha yoga practice. Today, modern physics is proving to you that as you sit here, every subatomic particle in your body is in constant transaction with everything else in the existence. Vibration, constant vibration. Change, constant change. Unlike some more static styles of yoga, Hatha flow encourages a constant state of mindful motion, challenging both your physical and mental stamina. Once you become more flexible, it will stay there. As we continue our yoga journey, remember: each practice, be it Hatha or Hot Yoga, is a step towards a more balanced and harmonious self.

When the physical dimensions of Yoga were first taught, it was expounded as to how to align this human system to the cosmic geometry. We will consider the matter of air, sunlight and water in other chapters and will consider the matter of nourishing food first. Every day, such mutilated human beings come to me and say, "Sadhguru, I’m interested in enlightenment." First fix the wounds, or at least stop causing further wounds, because you have a very sharp knife. They used to say, "Ignorance is bliss" - if that was true, the world should be blissed out by now. By contrast, a dog for example perceives the world through its sense of smell. To establish this sense of completeness, it is important to keep the toes together. When the big toes touch, you do not take in what is around you, plus you become a complete circuit by yourself.

In certain asanas, either the big toes should be together or your muladhara should be supported. Sadhguru: When you bend forward, your heels should always touch because the muladhara should be tight. This natural tendency arises spontaneously from the intuitive knowledge of our true nature. This has always been the nature of your mind and the human mind as such. The whole system of yoga is about experientially exploring the nature of your body and your mind. "moon") attains the union of mind-body-spirit through a practice of asanas (yoga postures), pranayama (yoga breathing), mudra (body gestures), bandha (energy locks or seals) and shatkarma (internal cleansing). Hatha is defined as - in simple terms - a practice of physical yoga postures, say Yoga Journal. What Kind of Clothes Should You Wear For Yoga? Then alone can you have success in Hatha Yoga. But if you want to know the whole intricacy of what makes it happen, why it happens the way it happens, why a particular asana has a particular effect, then it is lifetimes of study. That is why the yogic system is designed the way it is. That is why the yogic system is an experiential exploration without trying to go into it intellectually.