Picture is Three Aspects of the Absolute by Bulaki (from Stories of the Nāth, 1823. Mehrangarh Museum Trust, Jodhpur, Rajasthan). See footer on this page for more information on the painting’s meaning.

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You can understand the nature of the experiences gained via these practices in many ways. The sense of connection & stillness can be understood purely scientifically, in terms of neuroscience & physiology. These practices were adopted & adapted across India by people of all persuasions - theist & atheist, dualist & non-dualist Hindus, Buddhists, Jains & Islamic sufis. The techniques do just work and can sit happily in numerous world views. However, the practices did, inevitably, originate in a specific cultural environment.

The cultural context that shaped pranayama-guided, inner body meditation

These techniques were developed in India over a thousand years ago by tantric practitioners who realised that the human body and the natural world around us provide an inspiring, vibrant focus for meditation. This is a life-affirming world view in which meditation connects with the natural world, rather than seeing the world & the physical body as something to escape or isolate from (which is the view of traditional meditation).

The supporting breathing practices (pranayama) also resonate with this view. The breath is conceived as a carrier of nature’s life-force (prana shakti). Cycling this energy (prana) with conscious breathing patterns is a direct way to cultivate a sense of connection between practitioner and nature (shakti, commonly embodied in a goddess form).

This dynamic, creative life-force is also, more subtlety, conceived as sound vibrations that coalesce to form the material world. The unspoken mantra repetition of practice (manasa) mirrors this process as the practitioner forms the inner body substrate during meditation.

There was, perhaps, another more practical reason to develop body-centric techniques. Tantra was a movement that expanded access to revelation beyond the ritual specialists, ruling elite & wandering ascetics. One way of doing this was to offer some individual, inner practices focused on the body. Anyone could do these and they could do them anywhere. To participate, you didn’t need to be a scholar, priest, courtier or king with plenty of time, resources and an inclination for study & contemplation. Nor did you need to be an ascetic dedicated to a path of arduous austerities.

Tantric techniques modify an earlier approach to meditation that can be found in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Inner focus on subtle body energies now became central, replacing Patanjali’s practise of meditation focus on an external object. Crucially, the intention of these shakti-oriented tantric practices is on connection (såmarasya) of the individual’s inner world with the external world, not on withdrawal from it.  Meditation techniques focus on equating the body with the cosmos, expansive and unconstrained.

These individualised, embodied practises were spread beyond tantric circles largely by texts ascribed to the Nāth Siddhas, Matsyendra & Gorakh. It is generally agreed that these legendary practitioners had roots in goddess-oriented (Kaula) tantra, but Gorakhnāth in particular moved away to create a version of practise without tantric ritual or tantric deities.

Nāth teachings became popular in the middle ages, reaching across sect, caste & religious boundaries. They were also included in non-sectarian hathayoga texts, where they became mixed with other practise views, particularly ascetic & Advaita Vedantin.

In this way, hathayoga became the prevailing practise-oriented approach across India, bringing Nāth-modified, Kaula tantric views with it, particularly inner, subtle body visualisation practises (energy channels, chakras & kuṇḍalinī). The hatha corpus also absorbed the teachings on breath & energy manipulation using mudras & bandhas featured in The Hundred Verses of Gorakh.

This original hatha is not the postural practise on the yoga class timetable today. There are a variety of medieval texts that identify as hatha, but it is safe to say that it is mainly a range of physical cleansing exercises (shatkarmas) and physical breath control (pranayama), some including meditative visualisations & focus on inner sound (layayoga); with the highlight being a transcendental elevation that is most commonly viewed as the awakening & uplifting of the energy of nature within (kuṇḍalinī).

Hatha means “forceful”. This is possibly a reference to the energetic kuṇḍalinī-raising practice. (Tibetan Buddhists also refer to the physical, pranayama part of their very similar tummo meditation as forceful). Forceful may also refer more widely to practices that harness will-power & physicality, rather than temple ritual, study of philosophy or surrender to the grace of an external deity.

Breathing Meditations is inspired by the inclusive, non-sectarian approach that can be seen in early Nāth & hathayoga texts. We use no deity forms and there is no religious view. We can, of course, venture into Indian philosophy & culture if desired, as this can help to bring the practice alive. But essentially, the practice is to be experienced.

There is a metaphysical backstory that helps to shape our practice and direct contemplation. This draws inspiration from the energetic qualities of the natural world (e.g. air, fire, sun, moon). This is the underlying source and it is universal in nature. To resonate with the practice, all you need is an appreciation of earth, nature & sky - a sense that will only deepen as we progress.