Trying to make some note for myself, from reading books and browsing the net.
Here we go...
The word Hatha comes from two Sanskrit words. "ha" means sun and "tha" means moon. The word "ha" refers to the solar nadi (pingala) in the subtle body and "tha" the lunar channel (ida). When the two components of the word are placed together, "hatha" means "forceful", implying that powerful work must be done to purify the body. Yoga means to yoke, or to join 2 things together, hence hatha yoga is meant to join together our sun (masculine, active) energy with our moon (feminine, receptive) energy, thus producing balance and greater power in an individual. Traditional Hatha Yoga is a holistic yogic path, including moral disciplines, physical postures asanas, purification procedures shatkriyas, poses mudras, yogic breathing pranayamas and meditation.
Hatha is concentrating on the practice of postures (asanas) and breath control (pranayama) to energize the body. Asana is greatly emphasized in Hatha Yoga because posture is believed to be a key towards achieving true meditation. If one has already mastered his postures, then can be able to achieve higher levels of meditation and concentration. (In simpler word, can sit comfortably in a long time)
Breathing exercises through Pranayama is also essential towards achievement of balance. "Prana" means life force and "Ayama" means to prolong- to prolong one's life force. Hatha Yoga is based on the belief that mastery of one's breathing techniques is a key towards the higher stages of meditation. It opens up channels to the brain and regulates the elements that enter and exit throughout one's body.
Hm... Only now I know, Hatha is preparing one for meditation.
Namaste.
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