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There are many kinds of yoga: Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Rāja Yoga, Jñāna Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Kriyā Yoga, and so on. One part is called Haṭha Yoga. Many of you know of it, and many do not. The definition of Haṭha Yoga is presented in different ways. First, the word "haṭha" means willpower. It is the will to achieve something by any means. It is the power to endure thirst, cold, heat, and hunger. Consider a mountain climber: no matter how difficult the climb, their aim is to reach the peak. So "haṭha" means the will. Generally, four kinds of "haṭha" are spoken of. The first is called Bāl Haṭ, the haṭ of a child. When a child wants something, it has its own technique. If they want ice cream, sweets, or a toy, they will cry or act out until the parents relent and say, "Okay, you can have this." When they cry, you might not give it, but when they become nice, friendly, and smiling, then you agree. This technique to get what they want is called Bāl Haṭ. The second is called Strī Haṭ; "strī" means woman. When a woman decides to get something, she will achieve it. A man has no chance against her technique. They have their own way. Strī Haṭ is well known throughout history. The third is called Rāj Haṭ, the haṭ of a king. Whatever the king wanted, he achieved. Who dared to say "no" to the king? Today, all the wars going on in the world are also a kind of haṭ of the politicians. Now the politicians are the kings, but thanks to God, only temporarily—not generation after generation. The fourth is called Yog Haṭ, the haṭ of a yogī. What a yogī decides, he will achieve. A yogī does not depend on anyone. There is a story of a yogī walking in a forest with long hair. The wind was blowing from behind, so his hair kept falling over his face. He would put it back, but it would fall again. He kept saying to it, "Remain on the backside." When it did not listen, he simply turned and walked in the other direction, saying, "Here you are." A yogī decides his own way through willpower. These four examples clearly show there is a willpower to achieve. As soon as you depend on someone or something, your will is lost. In a more technical sense, the second definition of Haṭha Yoga, according to the Yoga Śāstras, relates to the body. In our body, we have 72,000 nāḍīs (energy channels). Out of these, three are the most important: Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumṇā. Iḍā is associated with the left nostril. It controls and represents our emotion and is the lunar principle. The right is called Piṅgalā. It represents our intellectual activities and temperament and is the solar principle. The third is called Suṣumṇā, the central nāḍī, which represents consciousness. These correspond to the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and central nervous systems. The left nostril is Gaṅgā, the right is Yamunā, and the center is Sarasvatī. These are the three holy rivers. The meeting point of these three nāḍīs is the Āgyā Chakra, at the center of the eyebrows. This is called Prayāg. "Prayāg" means meeting point. It is also called Triveṇī; "tri" means three and "veṇī" means river—the bank of three rivers. It is said that if you bathe in these holy rivers, you get liberation; your karmas are washed away. For a yogī, it means to purify and awaken these three nerves, to bathe in the Divine Consciousness in the Āgyā Chakra. The "Ha" represents Iḍā, the left nostril. The "Tha" represents Piṅgalā, the right nostril. Together, they become Haṭha. "Yoga" means union—uniting, balancing, harmonizing. When these two nerves are balanced, harmonized, and united, that union is known as Yoga. So Haṭha Yoga comes from these two nerves. This is the real Yoga, and it is achieved through Kriyā Yoga, through the Guru Mantra, practiced systematically through five steps. They are called Likhit, Bekrī, Upāṁśu, Mānasik, and Ajapā. If you have not succeeded in these five levels of mantra practice, you will have no perfection, and the mantra will not work as you expect. Therefore, these five different techniques must be practiced systematically. Then comes Prāṇāyāma: Sūrya Bhedan and Chandra Bhedan. "Bhedan" means purifying, going through, like boring a hole. It means you are purifying your nerve systems. Sūrya Bhedan and Chandra Bhedan Prāṇāyāma can also be called Nāḍī Śodhana Prāṇāyāma, but Nāḍī Śodhana is different from Bhedan. Śodhana is purification, while Bhedan is penetrating through, pushing your pure consciousness through these two nerves into the third, Suṣumṇā. Then Prāṇa and Apāna unite in the Maṇipūra Chakra. The central point of the universe is the cosmic Śakti. That union is called Yoga. That cosmic Śakti, the cosmic mother, is also called Nāda Bindu. "Nāda" means sound, and "Bindu" is the dot. That is Brahmā, the Supreme; that is called Śiva. Śiva means consciousness, Mokṣa, truth, light, and liberation. The center point of the universe is that Nāda Bindu. "Yathā brahmāṇḍe tathā piṇḍe"—as in the universe, so in the body. The center point in this body is the navel. Our life began from the navel, and the life force will end from the navel. That is the Bindu, that Śakti, Hara Śakti, Prāṇa Śakti. It is Sūrya Śakti, the solar energy. In our solar system, the sun is the center; in our body, the navel is the center. Awakening takes place in the Maṇipūra; that supreme consciousness, higher consciousness, begins to be realized from the navel. Nāḍī Śodhana, Sūrya Bhedan, Chandra Bhedan, and Anuloma Viloma are different techniques with different applications of consciousness. Nāḍī Śodhana is done without Kumbhaka (breath retention), while Chandra Bhedan and Sūrya Bhedan are done with Kumbhaka. Yoga is a science—a science of the body, mind, consciousness, and soul. When these two nāḍīs, Iḍā and Piṅgalā—called "Ha" and "Tha"—are purified and unite, that union is called Yoga. This is Haṭha Yoga. Now, the concept of Haṭha Yoga in the modern Western world is completely misunderstood. You think āsanas and Prāṇāyāma are Haṭha Yoga, but they are not. They are a part of Rāja Yoga: Yama, Niyama, Āsana, Prāṇāyāma, Pratyāhāra, Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna, and Samādhi. This is Rāja Yoga. None of you are doing Haṭha Yoga every day; you are doing Rāja Yoga. You are sitting on a train departing for Budapest, but on the train was written "Prague-Budapest," and you think you are going to Prague. When the train reaches Budapest, you will be surprised. You are practicing Rāja Yoga and thinking it is Haṭha Yoga because you have no knowledge. There is a story of a man who read articles saying it is good to have your own cow for milk. He had a big garden, so he sent his son to buy a cow. The son asked, "What is a cow, father?" The father said, "It has four legs, two ears, little horns, and gives milk." The son went to the village and said, "I want an animal which gives milk, has four legs, two ears, and two horns." The villagers realized he was rich but had no knowledge. They took the money for a cow and gave him a small goat. He came home with a goat instead of a cow. Similarly, you think you are practicing Haṭha Yoga, but you are doing Rāja Yoga. Therefore, you should correct yourself and read properly what Haṭha Yoga is and what Rāja Yoga is. Of course, Rāja Yoga is not a goat; Rāja Yoga is another cow. You can milk a cow anytime; you cannot milk a goat anytime. Therefore, Haṭha Yoga means the union of the three nerves: Iḍā and Piṅgalā uniting with Suṣumṇā. Then comes the practical part of Haṭha Yoga, called Ṣaṭkarma, the six kriyās. They are for the purification of the body and the awakening of the three nāḍīs. You know them all: Netī, Dhautī, Bastī, Naulī, Trāṭaka, and Kapālabhātī. These six kriyās are very powerful; they give you a challenge. Though there is no challenge or competition in yoga, these six kriyās challenge you to cure any disease—except for some very bad infections or anatomical defects. If you practice these Haṭha Yoga kriyās—Netī, Dhautī, Bastī, Naulī, Trāṭaka, and Kapālabhātī—every day, in one month you will see yourself as a completely different person. Your body will become its own doctor; your immunity will improve greatly. In one year, if you are 70 years old, you will look 40. But you must stay in one place, have organic food, and know what to eat. Haṭha Yoga is a blessing; Haṭha Yoga is something which is great. So take time to repair your body. Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar