The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is an ancient Sanskrit text, based on the Hindu method of yoga and dating back thousands of years.  It's four chapters contain extensive information about asanas, pranayama, chakras, and other more advanced an less well known yoga topics.

If you want to learn Hatha Yoga or just learn about Hatha yoga, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika is an valuable source text, although not necessarily the easiest tome to read through.

Learning Hatha Yoga Without Reading The Yoga Pradipika

Most new yoga practitioners learn yoga without ever reading the yoga Pradipika or even knowing what it is.

One of the most common forms of yoga that is found in studios today is Hatha yoga.  Hatha yoga is a yoga that is based on a series of poses that utilize breathing and relaxation techniques as well as helping to balance the person who is participating in the class.  There are ways to learn Hatha yoga in a class as well as at home through videos or DVDs that help to explain and demonstrate the different poses.  Hatha yoga poses are very flexible because they can be modified to fit the expertise of the individual that is doing the poses.  In this way, the poses can become more difficult as the individual becomes more advanced in the practice.

Some instructors may have read the yoga Pradipika, but don't count on it.  Today yoga has become sufficiently mainstream that it has been removed from its historical and spiritual roots and is largely a physical fitness sports activity in many circles.

What Yoga Supplies Do You Need To Practice Hatha Yoga?

Learning Hatha yoga requires that the individual have some materials with him to practice it.  Although the following are not absolutely necessary, they can help you advance more quickly through the asanas to reach increasingly advanced levels of ability.

Hatha yoga is nice in comparison to other sports because there are very few materials that are necessary to participate.  But the following recommendations are useful guidelines:

The first thing needed is comfortable clothing.  Yoga pants and yoga tops can be very stylish (and pricey).  If you're working out at home, you may prefer your ratty old gym clothes, or even minimalist attire as the ancients might have worn.  But sometimes having something nice to put on when you do yoga, can help you feel more excited about your workout.

Although the clothing needs to be comfortable, the clothing should also be securely fastened or tight enough that shirts do not slide around when doing the various poses.  Some of the poses require that the individual turn upside down and the shirt that the person is wearing should not fall over the top of his head while doing so.  This is a safety issue.  For women, the more common apparel is tights and a comfortable sleeveless shirt.  For men, shorts and a tank top are also common.

Another piece of equipment that is essential to the practice of Hatha yoga is the yoga mat.  The yoga mat helps to give the individual padding for doing the poses that are on the ground and also help to give him traction when doing poses where the hands and feet are on the ground or when the feet are spread out, balancing.  The rubberized material of the yoga mat helps to ensure that when the hands and feet become sweaty, they do not slide and cause an accident.  It is also nice to own a mat rather than borrow one from the gym since there is a lot of sweating that occurs during the course of the class, and the poses require that the face get close to or be placed on the mat as well.  That way the individual is able to ensure that the mat is properly sanitized after each use rather than depending on someone else to properly do so after they are done with a class.

Although the Hatha Yoga Pradipika may not require any of this equipment, it's a good starting place for a safe, enjoyable, but still spiritually connected yoga practice.

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