Haṭha Yoga does not arise in a vacuum. Although its classical texts—the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, the Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā, the Śiva Saṃhitā—appear between the 14th and 18th centuries, its fundamental principles are rooted in a much older tradition: the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali.
This article explores how Patañjali’s aphorisms establish the philosophical framework that Haṭha Yoga would inherit and develop with its characteristic emphasis on bodily and energetic practices.
The definition that underlies everything
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः
yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ
”Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind”
— Yoga Sūtra 1.2
This sūtra defines the goal that all yoga pursues, including Haṭha. The difference lies in the method: while Patañjali’s Rāja Yoga emphasizes direct work with the mind, Haṭha proposes first preparing the body and vital energy (prāṇa) as a path toward that same end.
The Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā expresses it clearly:
“Haṭha Yoga is a stairway for those who wish to ascend to Rāja Yoga”
— HYP 1.1
There is no contradiction between both systems; there is complementarity.
The eight limbs: the shared structure
Patañjali presents the Aṣṭāṅga Yoga (eight-limbed yoga) in sūtra 2.29:
yama-niyama-āsana-prāṇāyāma-pratyāhāra-dhāraṇā-dhyāna-samādhayo’ṣṭāv-aṅgāni
These eight components—ethical restraints, observances, posture, breath control, sense withdrawal, concentration, meditation, and absorption—form the backbone of both traditions.
What Haṭha Yoga does is develop and systematize the physical limbs (āsana, prāṇāyāma) that Patañjali mentions but doesn’t detail extensively. Where the Yoga Sūtras dedicate three brief sūtras to āsana, the Pradīpikā dedicates an entire chapter with detailed descriptions of postures.
Preparation of the instrument
The Yoga Sūtras establish a principle that Haṭha takes to its ultimate consequences:
sthira-sukham-āsanam
”Āsana is stable and comfortable”
— Yoga Sūtra 2.46
For Patañjali, āsana is a stable seat for meditation. For Haṭha yogis, achieving that stability requires systematic preparation of the body. Thus arises the detailed repertoire of postures, purifications, and breathing techniques.
The body becomes the laboratory where inner work is practiced.
The subtle anatomy
Both traditions share a vision of the human being that transcends the merely physical:
- Prāṇa: vital energy that animates the body
- Nāḍīs: subtle channels through which prāṇa flows
- Cakras: energy centers along the spine
Although Patañjali doesn’t describe this anatomy in detail, his references to prāṇāyāma and the effects of practice imply its existence. The Haṭha texts make it explicit and central.
Conclusion
The Yoga Sūtras provide the philosophy; Haṭha Yoga provides the technology. Reading them together allows us to understand why we practice what we practice, and what we’re really seeking when we get on the mat.
Each āsana, each breath retention, each purification—all are steps on that stairway that leads from body to mind, from movement to stillness, from effort to absorption.