Hatha Yoga is a Sheltering Monastery for those Afflicted by Suffering | Hatha Yoga Pradipika 1.10-16

Living in such a place, the yogi should practice yoga all the time as instructed by the guru.

Photo by Jared Rice

Chapter I

I.10 Hatha yoga is a sheltering monastery for those afflicted by the three types of suffering and is a foundational support for all other practices of yoga.

11 The siddhi who desires success in yoga should keep the practice of hatha yoga very secret as it is potent when kept secret and ineffective when publicly revealed.

12 The hatha yoga practitioner should live alone in a small matha, a bow's length away from rocks, water, and fire in a virtuous land that is prosperous and free from disturbances.

13 The matha should have a small door and no windows. It hold be level with no holes in the floor. It should not be too high, too low, or too long. It should be well smeared with cow dung and free of insects. Outside, it should be beautiful with a raised seat and a well, surrounded by a wall. These characteristics of a matha have been laid out by previous siddhis as conducive to yoga practice.

14 Living in such a place, the yogi should practice yoga all the time as instructed by the guru.

15 Yoga fails for 6 reasons: over eating, over exertion, excessive talking, observance of inappropriate disciplines, keeping company that exhibits a lack of self control, and unsteadiness of body and mind.

16 Yoga succeeds for 6 reasons: zeal, determination, courage, true knowledge, conviction, and renunciation of inappropriate people.

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