Tantra is an ancient system and
‘technology’ of practice that is closely affiliated with yoga, and there is a
strong case to be made that ‘yoga’ as it emerged in the Upanishads was
initially an offshoot of tantra. Forms
of yogic practices such as asana, pranayama, trataka (concentration), yoga
nidra (yogic ‘sleep’or deep absorption) and kriya yoga (cleansing techniques)
can be found in ancient tantras that predate the Upanishads and Yoga Sutras by many centuries.
On that basis, it’s fair to say that the sages of hatha yoga – Goraknath and
Matsyendranath in the period to which we now turn – simply integrated the
monistic philosophy of the Upanishads with the practices of the tantras to
create the system we now know as yoga.
Yoga as a tantric practice is
based on the principle that one can attain higher states of consciousness associated
with the various chakras by manipulating the various forces and systems within
the physical and (via the prana) subtle body. Many hatha yoga practices also
attempt to stimulate the chakras directly, understanding that the chakras are the
intermediaries between the various subtle states of awareness – and that the
lower chakras are associated with the states of various physical organs of the
body. The various physical practices of hatha yoga – and of asana in particular
– work to stimulate, cleanse and improve the health of these organs so that the
chakras can more easily awaken, and the pranic pathways are strengthened,
cleansed and ‘opened’ for the balancing of the pranas and the rise of the
kundalini.
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