H AT H AYOGA

T H E YO G I P H I LOS O P H Y OF

PHYSICALWEL
LBEING -

W I TH NU M EROU S EXERCI S ES , ETC .

B y YOG I RA M A C H A RA K A
QJU ZZ WL G D )

E OF BREATH
.

“
AUTH OR OF S CI ENC YOGI PHIL ’
,
“
OSOPHY
AND ORI ENT AL OC C ULTI S M ,
” “
AD VANCED
”
C OU RS E, ETC .

P U B LI S HE D B Y

Y OG I P U B LI C A T I O N S OC I ETY
C H I C A G O, U . S . A .

THE LA T EN T LI G H T C U LTU R E, T in nev e l ly , S o . I nd i a

 C OPYRI GHT, 1 904

Y OGI PU B LI C ATI ON S OCI ETY

19 M i a a “ . w GO
M
 C ON TEN TS .

W hat is Hatha Yoga !

The Yogis Regard fO the Phys ical
’
r

Bod y

The Work o f the Divine Arc hitec t .

Our Frie n d The Vital Force

,

The Laboratory of the Body

The Life Fluid
The Cremato ry of the System
Nourishment
Hunger vs Appet ite
.

Prana Absorption from Food

About Food
The Irrigation o f the B ody
The Ashes of the Syste m
Yogi Breathing
E ff ec t of Correct Breathing 1 14

Breathing E xercises 1 18

Nostril Breathing I
v s . l\/ o ut h Breathi n g . 1 27

The Little Lives of the Body 1 32

Control of the Involuntary System . 1 42

3
 C ONTENTS .

Pranic Energy
Prani o Exercises
Science of Relaxation
Rules for Relaxation
U se o f Physical Exercise
Yogi Physical Exercise
The Yogi Bath
The S o lar Energy 2 14

Fresh Air 2 20

Nature s Sweet Rest orer

’
—
Sleep
Regeneration
The Mental Attitude
Led by the Spirit
 PUBL IS HER S NOTICE
’
.

Our original intention when we arranged for the ,

publication of this bo ok a n d in fact al m ost up , ,

until it went to press was that it should be in a , ,

“
m easure suppleme n tary t o our little book S cienc e of
, ,
”
B reaf h by the same author that is to say it should
,
—
,

“ ”
take up the subject of Hatha Yoga with the exc ep
tion o f that phase of the subj ect ( breathing etc ) ,
.

which has been covered in that book But at the last .

m om ent we decided that it would be a m istake t o

“ ”
publish a bo ok on Hatha Yoga with such an impor
tant part of the subj ect as Yogi Breathing omitted ,

even though that subj ect had been covered in another

book To o m it that impo rtant phase of the subj ect
.

would be working an inj ustice t o those who purchased

the new bo ok as m any of such purchasers would
,

nev er have read the first book and would be j ustified ,

in expecting that the present b ook would treat of all

phases of the general subj ect S O we decided to .
,
“
incorpo rate in the present volu me those parts of S ci
”
enc e of B reath which belonged strictly to the subj ect
“ ”
of Hatha Yoga omitting such portions as belonged
,

rather to the other branch of the Yogi Philosophy i e , . .

,

Raj a Yoga We m ention these facts that the pur

.

chasers o f this bo ok who have also rea d our former

,

book m ight not accuse us of filling a new book with

,

parts of an old o ne We advertised this book intend

.
,

ing t o give only the supplem ental parts as above ,

“ ”
stated and the po rti ons of S cienc e of Breath which
, ,

have been added thereto have been inserted at o ur ,

“ ”
own expense and in the nature o f good m eas u re or
, ,
“ ”
the bak er s do z en
’
.
6 PUBLISHE R S N OTICE
’
.

It is probable that at so m e future ti m e we will

, ,

make arrangem ents with the sam e author to take up

“ ” “ ”
t h e Raj a Yoga portions of S cienc e of Breath and ,

to a mplify and e n large upon same adding to the foun ,

dati on already built j ust as he has done in the present

,
“ ”
book upon the Hath a Yoga foundation c ontained in
the little book first published by us If this c ourse is .

“ ”
followed the present book HA TH A YOGA will be
, , ,
“ ”
th e first o f a series o f Yogi Books taking up in , ,

succession the di ff eren t phases of the great Yogi Phi

,
“ ”
lo s ophy the little book Science of Breath serving as
,

an introduction to the series and as a handy little ,

book for beginners or those j ust becoming interested

,

in the subj ect .

“ ”
—
I IA T H A YOGA the present book deals altogether
, ,

with the ph ysical The psychical m ental and spiritual

.
,

phases of the s ubj ect belon g to the other branches Of

“ ”
the work Hatha Yoga
. however will be a , ,

splendid foundation upon which the student may build ,

as a sou n d strong healthy body is necessary for one

, ,

to do his best work and study as the auth or o f this ,

book has so well e xplained in the text .

We have asked the author to write a pre face to this

book but this he decli n es to do as he feels that the
, ,

book should speak for itself and he does not like the ,

“ ”
idea o f ( as he expresse s it ) i ntrudi n g his pers onality
upon his readers holding that truth sh ould be self
,

evident a n d needi ng no personal touch to m ake it “

truth This notice t herefore will take the place of a

.
, ,

preface in this case .

YOG I PU BLI CA TI ON S OCI ETY .

Chicago Ill , .
 TO TH E
HE ALTH Y M A N A N D W OMAN
B OOK
TH I S

IS RES P ECTF U LLY D ED I CATED .

THEY H AVE DONE CERTAI N TH I N GS ( CON S CI OU S LY OR SUBCON

S CI OU S LY )I N ORD ER To BRI N G TH EM S ELVE S FROM I N F AN CY TU

HEALTHY , N ORM AL M ATU RI TY . AN D IF Y OU ( H O M AY NOT
W

)
BE s o H EALTH Y A ND N ORM AL W I LL DO J U S T THES E

S A ME TH I N GS , TH ERE I S N o REA S ON W H Y YOU,

Too, S H OU LD N OT BE J U S T A S ARE THEY.
AND TH IS LI TTLE BOOK I s OU R ATTEM PT
To TELL Y OU J US T W H A T THIS

HEALTH Y M AN AND W OMAN

D I D I N ORD ER To BE J U S T

W H AT THEY ARE .

A
RE D I T, A ND TH EN Go A ND D o LI K EW I S E,
s o F A R A s Y OU AR E ABLE .

YOU D OUBT TH E TRU TH or OUR S TA TEM EN TS , FI ND S OM E

HEALTH Y M AN OR W OM A N, AND W ATCH H I M , OR H ER, CLOS ELY,

AND S EE W H ETH ER H E, OR S H E, D OES NOT Do TH E TH I NGS
W E H AVE POI N TED OU T To YOU To D o I N TH I S BOOK
— AND W HETH ER H E, OR S H E, D OES N OT LEAVE

U NDONE TH E TH I N GS W E H AVE AS KED YOU

To AVOI D . W E ARE W I LLI NG To S W
M I T OUR TEACH I N GS To TH I S SE
m m TES T APPLY ' '
ll .
 CHAPTER I .

WH AT IS HATHA YOGA .

Th e science of Yoga is divided i nto several branches .

Am ong the best k n ow n a n d leadi n g divisions are ( I )

Hatha Yoga ; ( 2 )Raj a Yoga ; ( 3 )Karma Yoga ; ( 4 )
Gnani Yoga This book is devot ed only to the first
.

named and we will not attempt to describe the others

,

at this time although we will have something to say

,

upon all of these great branches of Yoga i n future ,

writings .

H atha Yoga is that branch of the Y o ga Philosophy

which deals with the physical bo dy its care its well — —

bei n g it s health its strength and all that tends to

— — —

keep it in its natural and norm al state of health It .

teac hes a natural mode of living and voices the cry

which has been taken up by m a n y of the Western
world : Let us get back t o Natu re excepting that
“
,

the Yogi does not have t o g et back for he is already

there for he has always clung close to nature and her
,

ways and has not been dazzled a n d befooled by the

,

mad rush toward extern als which has caused the mod
ern civilized races to forget that such a thing as nature
existed Fashions and social ambitions have no t
.

’
reached the Yogi s consciousness he s m iles at these
—

things and regards the m as he does the pretenses of

,

childish games h e has not been lured fro m nature s

—
’

arm s but continues to cuddle clo se up to the bosom of

,

his good mother who has always given h im nourish

ment warm th and protection Hatha Yoga is first
, .
,
IO HATHA YOGA .

nature ; second nature and last N ATU RE When c on

, , , .

fronted with a choice o f methods plans theories etc , , ,

.
,
“
apply t o the m the touchstone Which is the '

”
natural way and always choose that which seems
,

to confor m the nearest t o nature This plan will be a .

good one for our students to follow when their atten

“ ”
tion is directed to the m any theories ; fads ; meth
o d s ; plans and ideas along health lines with which
,

F or i n
,
M n “

the Western w o rld is being floo ded

.

stance if
!
“

they are asked to believe that they are I n danger o f

‘‘ ”
losing their magnetis m by coming in contact with ,

the earth and are advised to wear rubber soles and

,

“
heels upon their shoes and to sleep in beds ins ulat
,

”
cd with glass feet to prevent nature ( mother Earth )
,

from sucking and drawing out of the m the magnetism

which she has j ust given them let the students ask ,

“ ”
th emselves What doe s Nature say abo ut this ! Then ,

in order to find out what n ature says let them s ee ,

whether nature s plans cou ld have c ontemplated the

’

manufacture and wearing of rubber soles and gla s s ,

feet for beds Let them see wh ether the str ong m ag
.

netic men full of vitality do these things let them

, ,
—

see whether th e m ost vigorous races in the world have

done these things let them see whether they feel de
—

bilit ated fro m lying down o n the grassy sward or ,

whether the natural i m pulse of m an is not to fli n g

r eclining on the bosom o f their good mother earth and ,

whether the natural impulse of man is not to fli n g

,

himself upon the gr assy ban k let the m see wheth er —

the natural i m pulse of childhoo d is not to ru n bare

foot ; whether it dOes not refresh the feet to take o ff
the sh oes ( rubbe r soles and all )and walk around bare
footed ; whether rubber bo ots are particularl y con
 WHAT I S HATHA YOGA ! II

duc ive to magnetism and vita lity and s o on We ,

.

give this merely as a n illustration not that we wish to ,

waste ti m e in discussing the m erits or demerits of rub

ber soles and glass bed feet as a preservative of mag
,

net is m A little observation will teach the m an t hat

.
-

all of nature s a n s wers show him that he gets much of

’

his magnetism from the earth and t hat the earth is a ,

battery charged with it and is always willing and

,

anxio us to give forth its strength to man instead of ,

being devoid of it and to be dreaded as being anxious

and likely to draw the magnetism from man its ,

child So m e of these latter day prophets will next be

.

teaching that the air draws Prana from people in ,

stead Of giving it to the m .

So by all m eans apply the nature tes t t o all theories

, ,

of this kind our own included and i f they do not

— —

square with nature discard them the rule is a safe

“

—
,

one Nature k n o ws what it is about she is your

.
—

friend and not your enemy .

There have been m any and most valuable works

written on the other branches of the Yogi Philosophy ,

but the subj ect of Hatha Yoga has been dismissed

with a brief reference by mo st of the writers upon
Yoga This is largely due to the fact that in Indi a
.

there exists a horde of ignorant m endicants of the

lower fakir class who po se as Hatha Yogi s but who
, ,

have n ot the slightest conception of the underlyi n g

principles of that branch o f Yoga These people con .

ten t them selves with Obtaining control over som e o f

the involuntary muscles o f the body ( a thing po s
sible to anyone wh o will devote t o it t he ti m e and ‘

trouble necessa ry for its acco mplish ment ) thereby ac ,

quiring the ability t o per for m ce rtain abnorm al

12 HATHA Y OGA .

tricks which they exhibit t o a m use and ente rtain ( o r

disg ust )Western travelers Some o f their feats are
.

quite w onderful when regarded from the standpoint

,

of curiosity and the performers would be worthy ap

,

“ ”
p lic ant s for paying positions in the di m e m useums
o f America indeed their feats being very similar to
,

“ ”
some performed by some of the Western freaks We .

hear of these people exhibiting with pride such tricks

and acquired habits as for instance the ability to re
,

verse th e peristaltic action o f the bo wels and intes

tines and the swallowing movem ents of the gullet so
, ,

as to give a disgusti n g exh ibition of a complete re

versal of the normal processes of those parts of the
body so that articles introduce d into the colon may
,

be c arried upward and ej ected fro m the gullet by this ,

reversed movement of the involuntary m uscles etc , .

This from a physi c ian s point of view is m ost inter

,
’
,

esting but to the layman is a mo st disgusting thing

, ,

and one utt erly unworthy of a m an Other feats of .

these s o called Hatha Yogis are abo ut on a par with

—

the instance which we have reluctantly given and we ,

know of no thing that they perform which is of the

slightest interest or benefit to the man or woman seek
ing to maintain a healthy normal natural bo dy These
, , .

mendicants are aki n to the class of fanatic s in India

“
who assum e the title Yogi and who refuse to wash
the body for religi o us reason s ; o r wh o sit with up
,

lifted arm until it is withered ; or wh o allo w their

fin ger nails to grow until they pierc e their hands ; or
who sit so still that their birds build nests in their hair
or who perform other ridiculous feats in order t o po se,

“ ”
as holy men before the ignorant multitude and in , ,

c id entally to be fed by the ignorant classes who c on

,
 WH AT I S HATHA YOGA ! 13

sider that they are earning a future reward by the act .

These people are either rank frauds or self deluded -

fanatics and as a class are on

,

, a par with a certain class

of beggars in American and European large cities who
e xhibit their self inflic ted wounds and bogus deformi
-
,

ties in order to wring penn ies from the passer by wh o

,
-
,

turns his head and drops the coppers in order to get

the thing out of his sight .

The people whom we have j ust mentioned are re

garded with pity by the real Yogis who regard Hath a
Yoga as an important branch of their phil o sophy be ,

cause it gives m an a healthy body a good ins tru —

m ent with which to w ork a fitting te mple for the —

Spirit .

In this little boo k we have endeavored to give in a

,

plain simple form the underlying principles of Hatha

, ,

Yoga— g ivi ng the Yogi plan of physical life A n d we .

have tried to give you the reason for each plan We .

hav e found it n ecessary to first explain to you in the

ter m s of Western physi ology the various functions of
’
the body and then to indicate Nature s plans and
,

methods wh ich Ol e should adhere to as far as po ssi

,
‘

“ ”
ble It is not a doctor bo ok and contains nothing
.
,

abo ut m edicine and practically noth ing abo ut the

,

cure of diseases except where we indicate what one

,

should do in order to get back to a natural state Its .

keynote is the Healthy Man its m ain purpose t o help —

people to conform to the stan dard of the nor mal m an .

But we believe that that which keeps a healthy man

healthy will m ake an unhealthy m an healthy i f he ,

follows it Hatha Yoga preaches a sane natural

. , ,

norm al manner of living and life which i f followed , ,

will benefit any one It keeps clos e t o natur e and ad

.
14 HATHA Y OGA .

vo c at es a r eturn t o natural m etho ds I n preference t o

those which have grown U p around us in our artificial
habits o f living .

This boo k is si m ple very si mple s o si mple in

— —
,

fact t hat m any will mo st likely throw it aside because

,

I t contai n s nothing new or startling They have prob .

ab ly hoped for some wonderful recital of the far famed

freak tricks of the m endicant Yogis and plans
whereby these feats could be duplicated by those who
would read it W e m ust tell such people that this boo k
.

is not that kind of book We do not tell you how to as

.

sume seve n ty four kinds of postures nor how to draw

-
,

linen through the intesti n es for the purpose of clean

i n g them out ( co n trast this with nature s plans ) or
‘
’

’
how to stop the heart s beating or to perform tricks ,

with your i nternal apparatus Not a bit of such .

teaching will you find here We d o tell you how to.

co mmand a rebellious organ to again fu n ction prop

erly a n d several other things about the control over
,

an i nvolu n tary part which has gone on a strike but ,

we have m entioned these things only in the line of

”
m aking m an a healthy being not t o m ake a freak —

of him .

We have not said much about disease We have .

preferred to hold up to your gaze the Healthy Man

a n d Woman asking you to look well at the m a n d see
,

what makes them healthy and keeps them healthy .

Then we call your attention to what they do and how

they do it Then we tell you to go and do likewise
.
,

if you would be like them Th at is all we try to do

. .

“
But that all is about everything that m ay be done
for you you m ust do the rest yourself
—
.

In other chapters we tell you why the Yogis take

,
 WHA T IS HATHA YOGA ! 15

c are Of the body and also the underlying principle o f

,

t he Hatha Yoga that belie f in the Intelligence be

—

hind all Life that trust in the great Life Princ iple t o
—

carry on its work properly that belief that if w e will

—

but rely on that great principle and will allow it t o

,

wo rk in and through us all will be well with our bod

ies Read on and you will see what we are trying t o
.
,

say t o yo u will get the m essage with which we hav e

—

been charged to deliver t o you In answer t o the

.

“
question with which this chapter is headed : What is
,

Hatha Yo ga we say to you : Read this b o ok to the

end and you will understand s om e little about what
,

it really is to find out all it is put into practice th e

—

precepts of this boo k and you will get a goo d fai r

,

start on the road t o that kn owledge y ou seek .

 CHA PTER II .

“
Bow
TH E YOGI S REGA RD PH YS I eA r
’
F OR T H E ,

To the c asual Obse rver the Yogi Phi los ophy pre
, s

s ents the apparent anomaly o f a teaching which wh ile ,

holding that the physical b o dy is m aterial and as

nothing when compared to the higher principles of
Man at the s ame time d evotes m uc h care and im
,

po rtance t o the instruction o f its stud ents in the direc \

tion of the careful attention nourishm ent training

, , ,

exercise and I mprovement of that p hysical body In .

fact one whole branch o f the Yogi teachings Hatha ,

Yoga is devoted to this care o f the physical bo d y and

, ,

goes into considerable detail regardi n g the instruction

of its students in the principles o f this physical t rain
ing and develop ment .

So m e Western travelers in the Orient wh o hav e

seen the care which the Yogis besto w upon their bo d
ies and the ti m e and attention whi c h they devote to
,

the task have j umped to the conclusion that the Yogi

,

Philosophy is merely an Oriental fo rm of Ph ysical

Culture a little more carefully studied perhaps but a
, , ,
“ ”
syste m having nothing spiritual in it So much for .

seeing m erely the outer form s and n ot knowing

,
“ ”
enough to look behind th e scenes .

We scarcely need to explain to our students the real

reason for the Yogis care for the body nor need we
’

apologize for the publication of this little bo ok which

has for its end the instruction Of Yogi students in the
care and scientific devel op ment of the physical bo dy .

36
 H A l HA YOGA
’

18 .

rea so n the Oriental system of Ph ysical Culture for ms

,

a part of th e Yogi sc i ence of Hatha Yoga .

The Western Physical Culture enthusiast develops

his body f or his body s sake often believing that the
’
,

bo dy is He The Yogi develops the body kn owing it

.

t o be but an instru ment for the use o f the real part

o f himself and solely that he m ay perfect the ins tru
,

m ent t o the end that it be used in the work of Soul

growth The Physical Culturist contents h imself with
.

m ere mechanical movements and exercises for devel

oping the m uscles The Yogi throws Mi n d into the
.

task and develops not only the m us c le but every organ

, ,

cell and part of his body as well Not only does he do

, .

this but he Obtains control over every part of his

,

bo dy and acquires m astery over the involuntary part

,

of his organis m as well as over the voluntary some ,

thing o f which the average Physical Culturist kn ows

p r actically n othin g .

We trust to point out to the Western student the

way o f the Yogi teachings regarding the perfecting of
the physical body and feel assured that he who will
,

follow us carefully and conscientiously will be amply

rewarded for his time and trouble and will acquire the ,

feeling of m astery over a splendidly developed phy

s ic al body of which body he will feel as proud as
,

does the master violi n ist of the Stra divarius which zre
s p o nd s almost with intelligence to the touch o f his

bOW o r as does the master artisan over some perfect

‘

tool which enables hi m t o create b eautiful and usefu l

thing s fo r the world .
 CHA PTER III .

TH E WORK OF T H E D I V I N E ARC H I TEC T .

The Yogi Philosophy teaches that Go d gives to each

individual a physical m achine adapted to his needs
’
,

and als o supplies him with the means of keepi n g it in

order and of repairing it if his negligence allows it to

,

becom e ineffi cient The Yogis recogn ize the hu man

.

body as the handiwork of a great Intelligen ce They .

regard its organis m as a working m achi n e the con ,

c ept io n and operation of which indicates the greatest

wisdo m and care They kno w that the body IS be

.

cause o f a great Intelligence and they kno w that the

,

sa me Intelligence is still operating through the physi

cal bo dy and that as the i n dividual falls in with the
,

working o f the Divine Law so will he continue in,

health and stren g th They also know that when Man

.

runs contrary to that law inharmony and disease re

,

s ult
. They believe that it is ridiculous to suppose that
this gr eat I ntelligence caused the beauti ful hu m an
bo dy to exist and then ran away and left it to its fate
, ,

for they k n ow that the Intelligence still presides over

each and every function o f the body and m ay be ,

safely trusted and not feared f

That Intelligence the m anifestation o f which we
,

“ ” “
call Nature or The Life Principle and similar
nam es is constantly on the alert to repair damage
, ,

heal wounds knit together broken bones ; to throw o ff

,

harmful m aterials which have ac cumulated i n the sys

te m ; and in th ousands of wavs to keep the m achine in
ao HATHA Y OGA .

good running Order Much that we call disease is

.

really a benefic ent action o f Nature designed to get rid

o f p oi sonous substances which we h ave allowed to
enter and rem ain in o ur s yst em I .
~

Let us see j ii st what this body means Let us s up

’

po s e a soul seeking a tene m ent in which t o work out

this phase o f its existence Oc cultists know that in
order to m anifest in certainways the so ul has n
.

eed of
a fl eshly habitation Let us see what the soul requires
.

in the way of a body and then let us see whether

,

Nature has given it what it needs .

In the first place the soul need s a highly organized

, .

physical instrument of thought and a central stati o n

,

from which it may direct the workings o f the body .

Nature provides that wonderful i n strument the h u ,

m an brain the po ssibilities o f which we at this ti m e

, , ,

but faintly recognize The portion of the brain wh ich

.

Man use s in this stage of his development is but a

tiny part o f th e entire brain area The unused p or tion
-
.

is awaiting the evolution of the rac e .

Secondly the soul needs organs design

,
ed to receive
and record the various for m s of impressions from
without Natur e steps in and provides the eye the
.
,

ear the nose the organs of taste and the nerves where
, ,

by we feel Nature is keepi n g other senses in r es erve

.
,

until the need of them is felt by the ra c e .

Then m eans Of comm unication between the brain

,

and the di fferent parts of the body are needed Nature .

”
has wired the body with nerves in a wonderful man
“

ne r The brain telegraphs over these wires instru o

.

tions to all parts of the b ody sending its or ders to c ell

,

a n d organ a n d insisting upon immediate obedience

,
.

T h e brain receives telegra m s f ro m all parts of t h e

 THE DIVINE ARCHITECT . 21

b ody warning i t of danger ; calling for help ; m aking

,

complaints etc , .

Then the body m ust h ave m eans of moving around

in the world It has outgrown the pla n t like i nherited
.
-

“ ”
tendencies and wan ts to move on Besides this it
,
.

wants to reach out after things and turn them to its

own use Nature has provided limbs and m uscl es
.
, ,

and tendons with which to work the li mbs

, .

Then the body needs a frame work to keep it in

shape to protect it from shock ; to give it strength and
,

firmn ess ; to prop it up as it were Nature gives it , .

the bon y fram e known as the skeleton a m arvelous ,

piece of m achinery which is well worthy of your

,

study .

The soul need s a physical means of communicati on

with other embodied souls Nature supplies the means .

of co mmunication in the organs of speech and hear

ing .

The body needs a system o f carrying repair mater

ials to all of its system to build up ; reple n ish ; repair ;
,

and stre ngthen all the several parts It also needs a .

similar system whereby the waste refus e m atter may ,

be carried to the crematory burned up and sent out ,

of the system Nature gives us the life carrying blood

.
-

—
the arteries and vei n s through which it flows to and
fro perfor mi n g its work the lungs to oxygenize the
—

blood and to burn up the waste matter .

The b o dy needs m aterial from the o utside with ,

which to build up and repair its parts Nature provides .

mea n s of eating the food ; o f digesting it ; of extract

ing the nutritious ele ments ; of converting it into shape
for absorption by the system ; o f ex creting the waste
p ortions .
22 HATHA YOGA .

And fi nally the bo dy is provided with means o f re

, ,

p r o duci ng its kind and pr o viding other so uls with

,

fl eshly tene m ents .

It is well worth the time of anyone to study s om e

thing Of the wonderful m echanism and workings of
the hu m an body One gets from this study a most con
.

vinc ing realization of the reality of that great I nt elli

g ence in nature h e sees

—
the great Life Principle in
Operation —
h e sees that it is not bli n d chance or hap ,

ha z ard happening but that it is the work o f a m igh t y

,

INTELLIGENCE .

Then he learns to trust that Intelligence and to ,

know that that which brought hi m into physical being

will carry hi m through life that the power which
—

t oo k charge of him then has charge of hi m now and

, ,

will have charge of hi m always .

As we open ourselves to the inflow o f the great Life

Principle so will we be benefited If we fear it or
, .
,

trust it not we shut the do or upo n it and must nec es

,

sarily s u ff er .
 CHAPTER IV .

OU R FRI EN D ,
TH E VI TA L FORCE .

Many people m ake the m istake of considering Dis

ease as an entity a real thi n g an Opponent of
— —

Health Th is is incorrect Health is the natural st ate

. .

of Man and Disease is simply the absence of Health

, .

If one can comply with the laws of Nature he can n ot

be sick When s o me law is violated abnormal condi
.
,

tions result and certain symptoms ma n ifest them

,

selves and to which s ymptoms we give the name of

,

some di sease That which we call Disease is simply

.

the result Of N ature s attempt to thro w o ff or dis

’
,

l odge the abnormal condition in order to resum e nor

, ,

mal acti on .

We are so apt to consider and speak of Disease as , ,

“ ” “ ”
an entity We say that it attacks us that it
.
—

“ ”
seats itsel f in an orga n that it runs it s course —
’

“ ” “ ”
t hat it is very malign ant that it is quite m ild —

“ ” “ ”
that it persistently resists all treat ment that it —

yields readily etc etc We speak Of it as if it were

—
.
, .

an entity possessed Of character disposition and vital ,

qualities W e consider it as something which takes

.

p os s es s ro n of us and uses its power for our d es t ruc

tion
. W e speak of it as we w ould a wolf in a
sheepfold a weasel in the chicken roo st a rat in
— —

the granery and go about fighti n g it as we would

—

o ne Of the animals above m entioned W e seek to .

kill it or at least to scare it away

, .

Nature is not fickle or unreliable Life m anifests .

 '

24

itsel f within the body in pursuance to well estab

lish ed laws and purs ues its way slowly rising until
, , ,

it reaches its z enith then gradually going dow n the

,

decline until the time co mes for the bod y to be thrown

Off like an o ld well used gar m ent when the soul steps
,
-
,

o ut o n its m ission o f further developm ent Nature .

never intended that a man should part with his body

until a ripe Old age was attained and the Yogis know ,

that if Nature s laws are Observed from childh oo d the

’
,

death of a young or m iddle aged person fro m disease

wou ld be as rare as is death fro m accident .

There is within every physical body a certain vital ,

force which is consta n tly doing the best it can for us ,

notwithstanding the reckless way in which we violate

the cardinal principles of right livi n g Much of that .

which we call diseas e is but a defensive action of this

vital force a remedial e ff ect It is not a downward
—
.

action but an upward action on the part of the living

organis m The action is ab n ormal because t h e con
.
,

d it io ns are abnorm al and the whole recuperative ef

,

fort Of the vital force is exerted toward the res t ora

tion o f normal conditions .

The first great principle of the Vital Force is s elf -

c

p r e s er vati on This
. pri n ciple is ever in evidence w h er ,

ever life exists U nder its action the male and female
.

are attracted the embryo and infant are provided with

—

nourish m ent the m other is caused t o bear heroicall y

—

the pains o f maternity the parents are i mpelled to

—

shelter and protect their Ofl s pring u n der the most

adverse circumstances Why ! Because all this mea n s
—

the instinct Of rac e pres ervation

-
.

But the instinct of preservation of individual life is

equally strong All that a man hath will he give
.
26 HATHA YOGA .

ion If we break a bone all that we or the surgeon

.
, ,

m ay do is to place the bones into j uxtop os ition and

,

keep the m there while the great Vital Force knits the
,

fractured parts together If we fall or our muscles or.

,

ligaments are torn all that we can do is to Observe cer

,

tain things in the way of attention and the Vital Force ,

starts in to do its work and drawing on the syste m ,

for the necessary m aterials repairs the da mage , .

All physicians know and their schools teach that , ,

if a man is in goo d physical condition his Vital Force ,

will cause hi m to re c over from almost any condition

excepting when the vital organs are destroyed W h en .

the physical system has been allowed to run down re ,

c o v ery is m uch more di ffi c ult if i n deed not impo s , , ,

sibl e as the efficien c y of the Vital Force is i mpaired

,

and is comp elled to work u n der adverse conditions .

But rest assured that it is doing the best it can for

you always u n der the existi n g conditions If Vital
, , ,

Force cannot do for you all that it aims to do it will ,

not give up the attempt as hopeless but will acc o m ,

mo dat e itself to circu m sta n ces and m ake the best of it .

Give it a free ha n d and it will keep you in perfect

health restrict it by irrational and unnatural meth
—

Od s o f living and it will still try to pull you through

, ,

and will serve you u n til the end to the best of its abil ,

ity in spite Of your i ngratitude and stupidity It will

, .

fight for y ou t o the fi n ish .

The principle of acc o mmo dation is mani fested all

through all forms of life A seed dropp ed into the .

crevice of a rock whe n it begins t o grow either be

,

com es squeezed i nt o the shape of the rock or if it be , ,

strong enough splits the rock in twain and attains its

,

normal shape S O in the case of Man wh o manages

.
, ,
 TH E VITAL FORCE . 27

to live and thrive in all cli mates a n d conditions the , ,

Vital Force has accomm odated itself to the varyi ng

conditions and where it could not split the rock it
, , ,

sent out the sprout in a som ewhat distorted shape but ,

still alive and hardy .

No o rga n ism ca n becom e diseased while the proper

conditions for health are Observed Health is but life .

under no rm al condition s while disease is life under ah,

norm al condition s The conditions which caused a m an

.

to grow to a healthy vigorous manhood are necessary

,

t o keep him in health a n d vigor Given the right c on .

dition the Vital Force will do its best work but given
, ,

imperfect conditi ons the Vital Force will be able to

manife s t but imperfectly and more or les s of what ,

we call dis ease ensues We are living in a civiliza

.

tion which has forced a more or less un n atural m ode of

life upo n us and the Vital Force finds it hard to do as
,

well for us as it would like We do n ot eat naturally .

drink naturally ; sleep naturally ; breathe naturally ;

“
or dress naturally We have done those things which
.

we ought not to have done and we have left undone ,

those things which we ought to have d one and there ,

”
is no Health within us o r we might add as littl e —
, ,

health as we can help .

We have dwelt upo n the matter o f the friendliness

of the Vital Force for the reason that it is a m atter
,

usually overlooked by those who have not made a study

of it It forms a part o f the Yogi Philosophy of
.

Hatha Yoga and the Yogis take it largely into cO

, n
sideration in their lives They know that they have a .

good friend and a strong ally in t he Vital Fo rce and ,

they allow it to fl ow freely through them and try to ,

inter fere as little as p o ssible with its operati ons They .

 H AT H A Y OGA
’

28 .

kno w that the V ital Force is ever awake t o th ei r well

being and health and they repose the greatest confi
,

dence in it.

Much o f the success of Hath a Yo ga consist s of

m ethods best calculated t o allow the Vital Force to
work freely and without hindrance and its m eth ods
,

and exercises are largely devoted t o that end T o .

clear the track Of obstructions and to give the chariot

,

of the Vital Force the right o f way on a smooth clea r

road is the ai m of the Hatha Yogi Follow his pre
, .

c ept s and it will be well with your body .

 TH E LABORA TORY OP TH E BODY .

This little book is not intended for a te xt book up on -

physiology but inasmuch as the maj ority of p eop le

,

seem to have little or no idea of the nature functions ,

and uses of the various bo dily o rgans we think it as

,

well to say a few words regarding the very important

o rgans of the body which have to do with the diges

tion and assimilation o f the food which nourishes the

bo dy which per fo rm the labor atory work o f the sys
—

te m.

The first bit o f the hu m an machin ery o f digestion

to be c o nsidered by us are the teeth Nature has pro
.

vided us with teeth to bite our food and grind it into

fine bits thus rendering it of a convenient size and

,

consistency t o be easily acted upon by th e saliva and

the di gestiv e j uices Of the sto m ach after which it is
,

reduced to a liquid for m that its nourishing qualities

may be easily assimilated and absorbed by the bod y .

This seem s t o be m erely a repetition of an oft told t ale -

,

but how many o f our readers really act as if they knew

for what purpose their teeth had been given the m !
They bo lt their foo d j ust as if teeth were merely for
show and generally ac t as if Nature had provided
,

the m with a gi zz ard by the ai d Of which th ey could

, ,

like the fowl grind up and break into s mall bits the
food that th ey had bo lted R emember friends that
.

your teeth were given you fo r a pu rpo se and also con,

sider the fact that i f Nature had intend ed you to b olt

29
3G HATH A Y OGA.

your food s he would h ave provided y ou with a gi z

z ard instead Of with teeth W e will have mu ch to say
.

ab out the proper us e Of the teeth as we go along as it , ,

has a very close connectio n with a vital principle Of

Hath a Yo ga as you will s ee after a while
, ,
.

The ne xt organs to be co nsidered are the Saliva ry

Glands These glands are s i x I n number o f which
.
,

four are located under the tongue and j aw and tw o ,

in th e cheeks in the front Of the ears one on each ,

side Their best known function is to m anufacture

.
,

generate or secrete saliva which when needed fl ows

, , ,

out through numerous ducts in di ff erent parts O f the

m outh and m i xes with the foo d which is bei n g chewed
,

or m asticated The food being chewed into s mall parti

.

cles the saliva is able t o m ore thoroughly reach all

,

porti ons of it with a correspondingly increased e ff ect .

The saliva m oistens the food thus allowing it t o be

,

mo re easily swallowed this function howeve r being a

, , ,

m ere incident to its more important ones Its best .

know n function ( a n d the o ne which Western science

teaches is its m ost important o ne)is its chemical Offi ces
“

which con vert the starchy food matter into sugar thus ,

perform ing the first step in the process o f digestion .

Here is another o ft told tale You all know about

-
.

th e sali va but how m a n y Of you eat in a manner which

,

allows Nature to put the saliva to work as she had

designed ! You bo lt your food after a few perfunctory
chews and defeat Nature s plans toward which she has
’
,

gone t o s o m uch trouble and t o perfor m which she has

,

built such beautiful and d elicate m achinery But N a .

“ ”
ture m anages to get back at you for y our contem pt
and disregard Of her plans Nature has a good m emory
—

and always m ake you pay you r debts .

 LAB ORAT ORY O F THE B ODY .
31

We must not forget to mention the tongu e that —

faithful friend who is so ofte n made to perform the

ignoble task Of assisting in the utterance of angry
words retailing of gossip lying nagging sw earing
, , , , ,

and la s t but not least complaining

, .

The tongue has a most important work t o pe rfor m

in the process of nourishing the body with fo od Be .

s ides a number of m echanical movements which it

performs in eating i n which it helps to move the food

,

al ong and its similar service in the act Of swallowing it ,

is the organ of taste and passes critical j udgm ent upon

the food which asks admittance to the stomach .

You have neglected the nor mal uses of the teeth ,

the salivary gla n ds and the tongu e and th ey have ,

consequently failed to give you the best service If you .

but trust them and return to sane and normal m ethods

Of eating yo u will find the m gladly and cheerfully

res po nding to your trust and will once more give you
thei r full share of servic e They are good friends and
.

s ervants but need a little confidence trust and resp onsi

, ,

bility to bring out their best points .

After the food has been chewed or m asticated and

then saturated with saliva it passes down the throat
int o the stomach The lower part Of the throat which
.
,

is called the gullet performs a peculiar muscular con

,

traction which pushes downward the particles of food

, ,
“ ”
which act form s a part Of the process o f swallowing .

The process of converting the starchy p ortion o f the

foo d into sugar or glucose which is begun by the
, ,

saliva in the m outh is continued as the foo d passes int o

,

and down the gullet but nearly or entirely ceases

, , ,

when the food once reaches the sto m ach which fact ,

must be considered when one studies the s ubj ect of the

3 2 HATHA YOGA .

adv antage of a deliberate h abit of eating as if the , ,

foo d is hastily ch ewed and s wall ow ed it reaches the ,

stom ach o nly partially a ff ect ed by the s aliva and in an

i m perfect con dition for Natur e s s ubsequent wor k
’
.

Th estomach itself is a pear shaped bag with a capac

-

ity Of about one quart o r m ore in some cases The .

food enters the stomach from the gullet o n the upper

left hand side j ust below the heart The foo d after
-
, .

wards leaves the sto mach Ou the l o wer right hand and -

enters the sm all intestine by m eans of a peculiar sort

o f valve which is s o w onderfully constructed that it
,

all ows the matter from the sto mach t o pass easily
through it b ut refuses t o allo w anything to w ork back
,

fr o m the intestine int o the stomach This valve is .

“ ” ”
known as the Pyloric Valve or the Pyloric Orifice ,
”
the word Pyloric being derived from the Greek w ord
“ ” -
which m eans gatekeeper and indeed this little valve
acts as a most intelligent gat ekeeper always On the ,

watch never asleep

, .

The stomach is a great c he mical lab o ratory in which

the food undergoes chem ical changes which allow it to
be taken up by the syste m and changed into a nourish
ing material which is c onverted into rich red blo od ,

which courses all over the b ody building up repairing

, , ,

stre n gtheni n g and adding to all the parts and organs .

”
The inside Of the stomach 18 covered with a lining
of delicate muc ous m e m brane which is filled with min
,

ute glands all of which Open into the stomach and

'

around which is a very fine network o f m inute blood

vessels with re markably thin walls from which is m anu
,

fac tured o r secreted th at w onder ful fl uid t he gastric

, , ,

juice Th e gastric j uice is a p owe rful liquid acting

.

as a s olv ent u pon what is called the nitr ogen ous por
34
HATHA Y OGA .

m aintain in their sto m achs they would ceas e t o s h rug

their s houlders and look bored when ever the subj ect
of rational and sane habits of eat i ng are m entio ned .

This putrefying ferment arising fro m abnorm al

,

habits of eating often becomes ch ronic and results in a

,

c o ndition which m a n ifests itsel f in the sy mpto m s of

“ ”
what is called dyspepsia o r si milar troubles It re
, .

m ains in the stomach for a long ti m e after the m eal ,

and then when the next m eal reaches the stom ach the
fermentation c ontinues until the stom ach actually be
“ ”
co m es a perpetually active yeast pot This condition .
,

of course results in an i m pairment of the normal func

,

t io ning of the stomach the surfac e Of which becom es

,

sli my s o ft th in and weak The glands become

, , .

clogged and th e whole digestive apparatus Of th e

stomach becomes im paired and broken down In such .

event the half digested food passes out into the s m all
intestine tainted with the acids arising from fermenta
,

tion and the r e sult is that the whole syste m becomes

,

gradually poison ed and imp er fectly nourish ed .

Th e food m as s saturated with the gastric j uic e which

-
,

has been poured upo n it a n d kneaded and churned into

it leaves the stomach by the Pyloric orifice o n the l ower
,

right hand side of the st om ach and enters the sm all

-

intestine .

The s m all intestine is a tube lik e can al ingeni ously

-

coiled upon itself so as t o occupy but a comparatively

s m all space but which is really from twenty to thi rty
,

feet in length Its i n ner walls are lined with a v elvety

.

substance and throu gh the greater part of its length

,

this velvety li n ing is arranged in transverse shelf like -

”
fo lds which m aintain a sort Of winking motion sway
, ,

ing backward and forward in the i ntestinal fluids re ,

 LA B ORAT ORY OF TH E B ODY .
35

tarding the passage of the food and providing an in

creased surface for secretion and absorption The vel .

vety conditio n O f this mucous lining is caused by

numerous minute elevations something like the surfa c e

,

of a piece of plush which are known as the i ntestinal

,
“ ”
villi the Office of which will be explained a little fur
,

ther on .

As soon as the food mass e nters the small intestine

-

it is met with a peculiar fluid called the bile which ,

saturates it and is tho roughly mixed up with it The .

bile is a secretion of the liver a n d is stored up ready

for use in a stro n g bag known as the gall bladder
, .

About two quarts Of bile per day is used in saturating

the foo d as it passes into the small intestine Its pur .

pose is t o assist the pa n creatic j uice in prepari n g the

fatty p arts of the food for absorption a n d also to aid in
the prevention of deco mposition and putrefaction o f
the food as it passe s through the sm all i n testine and
th e neutralization of the gastric j uice which has already

p erfor m ed its work The pa n creatic

.
j u i ce I s secreted
bythe pancreas an elongated organ situated j ust behind
,

the sto mach and its purpose is to act upon the fatty
,

p ortions of the food and to render them possible of

absorption fro m the i ntestines along with the other
parts Of the food nourishment Ab out one and one-half .

pints is used d aily in this w ork .

Th e hundreds of thousands Of plush like hairs -

.

upon the velvety lining Of the small intesti n e ( above

“ ”
alluded to ) and which are known as villi maintain
, ,

a constant wavi n g motion passing through a n d in the

,

soft semi liquid food which is passi ng through the small

,
-

int estine They are constantly in m otion licking up

. ,
 HATHA YOGA .

and ab s orb ing the nourish ment that is contained in the

’

food mass and trans m itting it t o the system

- .

The s everal steps whereby the fo od is c onve rted into

blood and 18 carri ed t o all parts o f the syste m are as
follo ws : Mastication insalivation deglutition stom ach
, , ,

and intestinal di gesti on absorption circulati on and

, ,

assi m ilati on Let us run ov er th em again hastily that

.

we m ay not forget the m .

Masticati o n is performed by the teeth it is the —

ch ewing pr ocess the lips tongue and c hecks assisti n g

—
,

in the work It breaks up th e food into small particl es

.

and enables the saliva t o reach it more th oroughly .

Insalivation is the process Of saturating the m asti

c at ed food with the saliva which p ours into it from the

s alivary glands The saliva acts upo n the c oo ked starch

.

in the foo d changi ng it into de xtrine and then into

,

gluc ose thus re n dering it s oluable

, This che m ical .

change is rendered possible by the action of the pytaline

in the saliva acting as a ferment and changing the
chemical constitution o f th os e substances for which it
has an aflinity .

Digestion is perfor med in th e st omach and small in

t es t ines and consists in the c o nversion of the food
mass int o products capable of being absorbed and assi m
ilat ed . D igestion begins wh en the food reaches the
sto m ach The gastric j uice then pours out copiously
.
,

and becom ing mixed up with and churned into the

,

food mass it dissolves the connective tissue of m eat

, ,

r el ease s fat from its envelopes by breaking the m up

md trans fo rms some of th e albu minous m aterial such ,

as l ean m eat the gluten of wheat and white of eggs

, ,

into albu minose in which form they are capable Of

,

being abs o rbed and assimilated The transformati on .

 LA B ORAT ORY OF TH E B ODY .
37

occasioned by stomach digestion is accomplished by the

che m ical action of an organic i n gredient of the gastric
j uice called pepsi n in co nnection with the acid in
, ,

redient s Of the gastric j uice

g .

Wh ile the process of digestion is being perfor m ed

by the stomach the fluid portion Of the food m ass both -
,

that which has e n tered the sto mach as fluids which

have been dru n ken as well as the fluids liberated from
,

the solid food i n the process of digestion is rap idly ,

taken up by the absorbe n ts of the s tomach and is car

ried to the blood while the more solid portio n s of the
,

food mass are churn ed up by the muscular action of the

-

stomach as we have stated I n about a half hour the

,
.
-

solid portions Of the foo d mass begi n slowly to leave the

-

sto mach in the form of a grayish pasty substance called , ,

chym e which is a mixture of some of the sugar and

,

salts of the food of transformed starch or glucose Of

, ,

so ftened starch of broken fat and connective tissue

, ,

and of albumino se .

The Chym e leaving the stomach ente r s the s mall

, ,

intestine as we have described and comes in c ontact

,

with the pancreatic and intestinal j uices and with the

bile and intestinal digestion ensues These fluids dis
, .

solve most of the food that has not already been s o ft

ened Intestinal digestion resolves the chym e into three
.

substances known as ( I )Peptone fro m the digestion

, ,

o f albu minous particles ; ( 2 )Chyle from the e mulsion ,

of the fats ; ( 3 )Glucose from the transformation of

,

the starchy ele ments of the foo d Th ese substances .

are to a large e x tent carried into the bl oo d and becom e

, ,

a pa rt of it while the undigeste d food passes out of the

,

s mall intestine th ro ugh a trap d oor-like valv e into the -

38 HATHA YOGA .

large bowel called the c olon . Of which we shall sp ea k

bye s and v
bye .

Absorption by which name is known the pro ces s by

,

which the above named products of the foo d resulting

‘

-
,

from the digestive process are taken U p by the veins

,

and lacteals is e ffected by end os mo s rs Th e water and

, .

the fluids lib erated from the food m ass by the sto m ach -

digestion are rapidly absorbed and carried away by the

blood in the po rtal vein t o t he liver The peptone and .

gl ucose from the s mall intesti n es al s o reach es the

portal ve i n to the liver through the bloo d vessels Of
the intestinal villi which we have described This blood
,
.

reaches the heart after passing through the liver where ,

it undergoes a process which we will speak o f when

we reach the subj ect of the liver The Chyle wh ich is .
,

the re maining product of the food m ass in the intestines -

after the peptone and glucose have been taken up and

carried to the liver is taken up and passes through the
,

lacteals into the thoracic duct and is gradually ,

veyed to the bl oo d as will be further described in our

,

chapter on the Circulation In our chapter o n the .

“

circulation we will ex plain how the bl oo d carries the

nutriment derived fro m the dige s ted foo d to all parts
of the bo dy giving to each tissue cell organ and part
, , ,

the m aterial by which it builds up and repairs itself ,

thus enabling the b ody to grow and devel op .

The liver secretes the bile which is carried to the

.
,

s m all intestine as we have stated It also st ores up a

,
.

substance called glycogen which is formed in the liver

,

from the digested materials bro ught to it by the po rtal

vein ( as above explained ) Glycogen is stored up in
.

the liver and is afterwards gradually transform ed i n

, ,

the intervals of digestion into glucose or a substanc e

,
 LAB ORAT ORY OF TH E B ODY .
39

si milar to grape sugar The pancreas secretes the pa n

.

creatic j uices which it pours into the s mall intestine

, ,

to aid in i ntestinal digestio n where it acts chiefly upon

,

th e fatty portions of the food The kidneys are lo

.

c at ed in the loins behind the intestines

,
They are two .

in number and are shaped like beans Th ey purify the .

blood by removi n g from it a poisonous substance called

urea and other waste products The fluid secreted by
.

th e kidneys is carried by two tubes called ureters t o , ,

the bladder The bladder i s located i n the pelvis and

.

serves as a reservoir for the urine which c onsists Of,

waste fl uids carrying with it refuse matte r of the sys

te m
.

Before leavi ng this part of the subj ect we wish t o

‘

call the attention of our read ers to the fact that when
the food enters the stomach and small intestines im
properly masticated and insalivated when the teeth —

and salivary glands have not been given a chance to

do their work properly d igestion is i n terfered with and
—

i mpeded and the digestive organs are overworked and

are rendered unable to accomplish what is asked of
the m It is like asking one set of workmen to do their
.

own work in addition to th e work which should have

been previou sly performed by another set of men it is —

asking the railroad engineer to perform the duties of

fire men as w ell as his own to keep t he fire gomg on
—

an up grade and run the locomotive on a dange rous bit

Of road at the sa m e ti m e The absorbents Of the stom
.

ach and intestines must absorb s omething that is their —

business and if you do not give them the proper ma

—

terials they will absorb the fer m enting and putrefyi n g

40 H ATHA Y OGA .

m ass in the stom ach and pass it along to the bl ood .

The blood carries this poor m aterial to all parts Of the

bo dy including the brain and it is n o wond er that
, ,

people complain of biliousness headach e etc when

, , .
,

they are being self poisoned in thi s way

-
.
42 HATHA YOGA .

reaches the heart which sends it out on its errand Of

,

nourishing the body .

The blood starts on its j ourney through the arteries ,

which are a series of elastic ca n als havi ng divisions ,

and subdivisions beginning with the mai n ca n als which

,

feed the sm aller Ones which in tur n feed still smaller

,

ones until the capillaries are reached The capillaries .

are very s m all blood vessels m easuri n g about one

three thousandth of an inch in diameter They resem
-
.

ble very fin e hairs which resemblance gives them their

,

name The capillaries penetrate the tissues in meshes

.

of network brin gi ng t h e blood in close contact with

,

all the parts ; Their walls are very thi n and the nu t ri
tious ingredients of the blood exude through their walls
a n d are taken up by the tissues The capillaries not .

o n ly exude the nourish ment from the blood but they ,

also take up the blood on its return j ourney ( as we

will see presently )a n d generally fetch a n d carry for
the system includi n g the absorption of the n ourish
,

ment of the food fro m the intestinal villi as described ,

i n our last chapter .

Well to get back to the arteries They carry the

, .

rich red pure blood fro m the heart laden with health
, ,
.

giving nutrition and life distributing it through large

,

canal into smaller from s maller i nto still smaller until

, ,

finally the tiny hair like capillaries are reached a n d the

-

tissues take up the nourishment and use it for building

purposes the wonderful little cells Of the body doing
,

this work m ost i n telligently ( We shall have some .

thing to say regarding the work of these cells bye ,

and bye ) The blood having given up a supply O f

-
.

nourish m ent begins its return journey to heart taking

, ,

with it the waste pr od ucts dead cells broken d own , ,

-
 TH E LIFE FLU ID .
43

tiss ue and other refuse Of the syste m It sta rts with .

th e capillaries but this retur n j our n ey is not m ade

,

through the arteries but by a switch o ff arra n geme n t

,
-

it is directed i n to the smaller vei n lets of the venous

s yste m ( or system Of from whence it passes
to the larger vei n s and on to the heart Befo re it .

reaches the arteries agai n on a new trip however , , ,

something happe n s to it It goes to the crematory of

.

the lu n gs in order to have its waste matter a n d i mpuri

,

ties bur n t up a n d cast Off In a n other chapter we will

.

tell you about this work Of the lu ngs .

Be fore passi n g o n however we must tell you that

, ,

there exists a n other fluid which circulates through the

system This is called the Lymph whi c h closely re
.
,

sembles the blood i n compositi o n It contai n s some of .

the i ngredie n ts of the blood whi c h have exuded from

the walls of the blood vessels and some of the waste
-

products Of the s ystem whic h after bei n g clea n sed

, ,
“ ”
a n d made over by the lymphatic sy stem re en ter the
-
,
-

blood and are again used The ly mph circulate in

, .
'

thin vei n like canals so small that they can n ot be

-
,

readily seen by the human eye u ntil they are i nj ected ,

with quick silver These can als empty into several Of

.

the large veins a n d the lymph then mi n gles with the

,

“ ”
returning blood on its way t o the heart The Chyle
, .
,

after leavi ng the small i n testi n e ( see last lesson)mi n

‘

gles with the lymph fro m the lower parts of the body ,

and gets into the blood in this way while the other ,

products Of the digested food pass through the portal

vein and the liver on their j ourney s o that although —
,

they take di ff erent routes they m eet agai n in the cir

,

c ulat in
g blood .

So you will s ee the blood is the con stituent of the

, ,
44 H ATHA YOGA .

body which di rectly or indirectly furnishes nourish

, ,

m ent and life to all the parts of the body If the blood .

is po or or the circulation w eak nutrition o f s ome part s

, ,

Of the bo dy mus t be impaired and diseased co n ditio n s ,

will result Th e blood supplies about one t en th Of

.
-

man s weight Of this amount about one quarter is

’
.
-

distributed in the heart lu ngs large arteries and veins ;

, ,

about one quarter in the liver ; about o ne quarter in the

- -

m uscles the remaining quarter bei n g distributed among

,

the rem aining organs and tissues The brain utilizes .

abo ut one fi fth Of the entire qu antity Of blood

-
.

Remember always I n thinking about the blood that

, , ,

the blood 18 what yo u m ake it by the food you eat a n d ,

the way you eat it You can have the very best ki n d
.

Of blood and plenty of it by selecting the proper foods

, , ,

and by eating such food as Nature i n tended you to do .

Or on the other hand you m ay have very poor bl ood

, , ,

‘
and an ins uflic ient quantity of it by foolish grat ifica ,

tion Of the abnormal Appetite and by improper eating ,

( not worthy of the na m e )o f any kind of food The .

blood is the life and y ou make the bl oo d that is the

— —

m atter in a nut shell -

.

N ow let us pass on to the c remato ry o f the lungs

, .
,

and see what is going to happen to that blue impure ,

venous blo od which has come back from all parts of

,

the body laden with impurities and waste matter Let

,
.

us have a l ook at the c r ematory .

 CHA PTER VII .

TH E CREM ATOR Y OF TH E S YS TEM .

The Organs of Respiration consist of the lungs and

the air passages leading to them The lungs are two in .

number and occupy the pleural chamber Of the thorax

, ,

o n e on each side of the median line bei n g separated ,

from each other by the heart the greater blood vessels ,

and the larger air tube s Each lung is free i n all d irec
.

tion s except at the root which consists chiefly of the

, ,

bro n chi arteries and veins co n necting the lungs with

,

the trachea a n d heart The lu n gs are s po ngy a n d

.

porous a n d their tissues are very elastic They are

, .

covered with a delicately co n stru c ted but stron g sac ,

k n own as the pleural sac one wall of whi c h closely ,

adheres t o th e lung and the other to the i nner wall

,

of the chest and which secretes a fluid which allows

,

the inner surfaces of the walls to glide easily upo n

each other in the act of breathi n g .

The Air Passages con sist of the interior of the n ose ,

p hary n x larynx wi
,
n dpipe or,trachea and the br o n ,

chial tubes When we breathe we draw in the air

.
,

through the nose in which it is warm ed by co n tact with

,

the mucous membrane which is richly supplied with,

blood and after it has pass ed through the ph arnyx and

,

laryn x it passes into the tra c hea or wi n dpipe whi c h ,

subdivides into numerous tubes called the bro n chial

t ubes ( bronchia ) which in turn subdivide into and
, , ,

terminate in m inute subdivisions in all the small air

s paces in the lungs of which the lungs c ontain m illions
, .

45
4 6 H ATHA YOGA .

A w riter has stated th at i f the air cells of the lungs

were spread out Over an unbroken surface they would ,

cover an area of fourteen thousand square feet .

Th e ai r 1 5 drawn into the lu n gs by the action of the

diaphragm a gr eat strong flat sheet like muscle
, , , ,
-
,

stretched across the chest separating the chest box from ,

-

the abdomen The diaphragm s action is almost as

.
’

automatic as that of the heart although it may be trans ,

formed i nto a semi volu ntary muscle by an e ffo rt of

-

the will When it expands it i n creases the size Of the

.
,

chest a n d lu n gs and the air rushes into the vacuum

,

thus created When it relaxes the chest and lungs co n

.

tract and the air is expelled fro m the lu n gs .

Now before con sidering what happe n s to the air i n

,

the lu n gs l et us look a little i nto the matter Of the

,

circu lation of the blood The blood as you know is .

, ,

driven by the heart through the arteries i n to the c apil

,
“
,

laries thus reaching every part of the b ody which it

, ,

vitalizes nourishes and streng thens It the n returns

,
.

by mea n s of the capillaries by a n other route the vei n s , ,

to the heart fro m whence it is drawn to the lungs

, .

The bloo d starts on its arterial j ourney bright red

‘
,

and ric h laden with life givi n g qualities and properties

,
-
.

It retur n s by the venous route poor blue a n d dull , , ,

bei n g laden down with the waste matter Of th e system .

It goes out like a fresh stream from the mountains ; it

returns as a stream Of sewer water This foul stream .

goes t o the right auricle of the heart When this .

auricle becomes filled it c o ntracts and forces the stream

,

of blood through an opening in the right ve ntricle Of

the heart which in turn sends it on to the lungs where
, ,

it is distributed by millions o f hair like bl oo d vessels -

to the air cells of the lungs of which we hav e s po ken ,

.
 CREMAT ORY OF TH E SYSTEM .
47

Now let us take up the story of the lu ngs at this point

,
.

Th e foul stream of blood is n ow distributed amon g

the m illio n s o f ti n y air cells in the lu ngs A breath o f .

air is inhaled and the Oxygen of the aI r comes in c on

tact with the impure bloo d through the thi n walls of the
hair like blood vessels of the lu ngs which walls are
-
,

th ic k e nough to hold the blood but thin enough to ,

admit the oxyge n to pe n etrate them When the Oxy .

gen comes in co ntact with the bl ood a form of com ,

bus t io n takes place and the blood takes up oxygen and

,

releases c arbon ic acid gas ge n erated from the waste

products a n d po iso n ous matter whi c h has been gathered
up by the bloo d from all parts of the system The .

blood thus purified and oxyge n ated is carried back to

the heart again rich red an d bright and lade n with
, , ,

life givi n g properties and qualities U pon rea c hing the

-
.

left auricle of the heart it is forced into the left ve n

,

triele from whe n c e it is agai n forc ed out through the

,

arteries o n it s mission of life to all parts of the sys

‘

tem It is estimated that in a si ngle day of twe nty

.

four hours 3 ,
pi nts Of blood traverse the capillaries
Of the lungs the bloo d corpus c les passi n g in si n gle file
,

a n d being exposed to the Oxygen of the air on both o f

their surfaces When one considers the m inute details
.

of the process alluded to he is lost in wonder and admi

,

ration at Nature s i nfinite care and i n telligence

’
.

It will be seen that u n less fresh air in sufficient quan

tities reaches the lungs the foul strea m of venous ,

blood cannot be purified and conseque ntly not on ly is

'

the body thus robbed o f nourishme nt but the waste ,

products which should have been destroye d are re

turned to the circulation a n d poison the system a n d ,

d eath ensues Impure air acts in the sa me way o nly

.
,
4s H ATH A YOGA .

in a less ened degree It will also be seen that i f o ne

.

does not breathe in a suffi cient quantity of air the work ,

of the blood cannot go on properly and the re s ult is ,

that the body is insu fficiently nourished and disease

ensues or a state of imperfect health is experienced
, .

The blood of o n e who breathes improperly is of course , .

o f a bluish dark color lacki n g the rich red n ess of

, ,

pure arterial bloo d This often shows itself in a poor

.

complexion Proper breathing a n d a conseque n t good

.
,

circulatio n results in a c lear bright complexion

, , .

A little reflection will show the vital importan ce of

Correct breathing If the blood is not fully purified
.

by the rege n erative process Of the lu ngs it returns to ,

the arteries in a n ab n ormal state ins ufli c iently purified ,

and imperfectly cleansed of the impurities which it took

up on it s return j our n ey These impurities if return ed
.

to the system will cer tai n ly ma n ifest in some for m of

disease either in a form of blood disease or some dis
,

ease resulti n g from impaired fu nctioning of some i usuf

fi c iently n ourished o rgan or tissue .

Th e blood whe n properl y exposed to the air in the

,

lu n gs not only has its impurities co n sumed a n d parts

, ,

with its nox i ous carbo n ic acid gas but it also takes up ,

a n d absorbs a certain quantity of Oxygen which it car

ries to all parts of the body where it is n eeded in order ,

that Nature may perfor m her processes properly .

When the Oxygen comes i n contact With the bloo d it ,

unites with the h aem oglobin Of the blood a n d is carried

to every cell tissue m uscle a n d organ which it invig
, , ,

orates and strengthe n s replaci n g the wornout cells and

,

tissue by new m aterials which Nature co nverts to h er

use Arterial blood properly exp o sed to the air c on
.
, ,

tai n s about 2 5 per ce n t of free o xygen .

 HATHA Y O GA .

nal organs and m uscles which feature is generally over

,

looked by the Western writers o u the subj ect but which ,

the Yogis fully appreciate .

In imperfe c t or shallow breathi n g only a portion of

,

the lu n g cells are brought i nto play and a great po rtio n

,

of the lu n g capacity is lost the system su ff ering i n

,

proportio n to the amou n t of u n der oxyge n ation The

-
.

lower animals i n their native state breathe naturally

, , ,

and primitive man u n doubtedly did the sa m e Th e .

abnormal man ner of livi n g adopted by civilized man

the shadow that follows upo n civilizatio n has robbed —

us of our natural habit of breathing and the race has ,

greatly su ffered thereby Ma n s only physical salva

.
’

“ ”
t ion is to get back to Nature .
 CH APTER VIII .

N OU RI S H M E N T .

The hu m an body is constantly undergoing change .

Atoms of bo n e tissue flesh muscle fat and fluids are

, , , ,

constantly bei n g worn out a n d removed from the sys

tem and new at om s are constantly bei n g manufactured
,

in the wonderful laboratory of the body and the n sent ,

to take th e place of the wor nout and discarded m aterial .

Let us consider the physical bo dy of man and its

mechanism as a plan t and indeed it is akin to the
,
—
, ,

life of the plant in its nature What does th e p lant .

require to bri n g it up from seed to sprout fro m sprout ,

to plan t with flower seed and fruit ! The answer is

, ,

si mple fresh air su n light water and nourishi n g soil

—
, , ,

—
these thi n gs and all the m m ust it have in order
, ,
'
t o grow to healthy m aturity A n d Man s physical .
’

body requires j ust the sa m e things all O f them in — —

order to be healthy strong and norm al Remember

, .

the requisites fresh air sunlight water and foo d W e

—
, , .

will consider the m atter o f air sunlight and water in ,

other chapters and will conside r the matte r of nourish

,

ing food fir st .

Just as the plant grows sl owly but steadily s o d o es , ,

this great work o f discarding wornout material and

the substitution of new material go on constantly day ,

a n d night We are not con scious of this mighty work

.
,

as it belongs to th at great subcon scious part of Man s ’

nature it is a part of the work of the I n stinctive Mind

—
.

The whole o f th e body and all its parts depend for , ,

$3
52 HATHA Y OGA .

health strength and vigor upon this c onstant ren ewal

,

of material If this renewal were stopped disintegra

.

tion and death would ensue The replacing of the .

wornout and discarded m aterial is an imperative nec es

s ity of our organis m and therefore is the first thing
, , ,

to be considered when we think of the Healthy Man .

The keyn ote o f this subj ect O f food in the Hatha ‘

Yoga Philosophy is the Sanscrit word the English , - .

”
equivalent o f which is N OU RI S HM E NT We .

print the word in capital letters that it m ay m ake an

impression upon yo ur m inds We wish our students .

to associate the th ought Of Foo d with the thought o f

Nourish m ent .

To the Yogi foo d does not m ean s omething to

,

ti c kle the abnor mal palat e but instead it means first , , ,

No uris hm ent ; s ec ond N OU RI S H M EN T,and third , ,

N OU RI S H M ENT N ourishment fi rst last and al

.
,

ways .

To many Of the Western people the ideal Yogi is a ,

lean lank scrawny half starved e m aciated being who

, , ,
-
, ,

thinks so little of fo o d that h e goes for days without

“ ”
eating o ne wh o co n siders food to be too material
—

“ ”
for his spiritual nature Nothi n g ca n be further
.

from the truth The Yogis at least those who are

.
,
“

well grou n ded in Hatha Yoga regard Nourishme n t as

-
,

his first duty towards his bod y a n d he is always care ,

ful to keep that bo dy properly nourished a n d to see ,

that the supply of new fresh m aterial is always at ,

least equal to the wornout and discarded matter .

It is quite true that the Yogi is not a gr oss eater ,

nor is he i n clined to rich and fancy dishes On the .

contrary he smiles at the foll y of such thi n gs and goes

, ,

to his plain and n ourishing meal knowing that he will ,

 N OU RISHMENT .
53 :

Obtain there full nourishment without the waste a n d

harmful matter contained i n the more elaborate dishes
of his brother wh o is i gnorant of the real m eaning of

A m ax im of Hatha Yoga is : It is not what a m an

eats but the amou n t that he as s imilat es that nourishes
, ,

hi m. There is a world Of wisdom in this Old maxim ,

and it contains that which writers upon health subj ects

have taken volumes to express .

We will show you later on the Yogi method o f ex

, ,

tracting the maximum amount o f nourishment from

the m inimu m amou nt o f food The Yogi method lies .

in the middle of the road the t wo opposite sides of ,

which road are traveled respectively by the two dif , ,

“ ”
fering Western sch oo ls namely the fo od stu ffers and
,
-

“ ”
s tarvat ionis t s each O f whom loudly proclai m the
,

merits of their own cult and decry the clai m s o f the

Oppo sing sect The simple Yogi may be pardoned for
.

smiling good naturedly at the disputes raging betwee n

those who preaching the necessity of su ffi cient nutri
,

“ ”
tion teach that stuffing is necessary to obtain it on
, ,

the one hand ; and at those of the Oppo sing school ,

‘ ”
who recognizing the folly of s tuffing and over
,

eating have no rem edy to Offer but a semi starvati on

,
-
,

accompanied with long continued fasts which o f , ,

c ourse has brought m any o f its foll ow ers d own t o

,

w eakened bo dies impaired vitality and even death

, , .

TO the Yo gi the evils o f m al nutrition o n th e one

,
-
,

hand and over eating on th e othe r d o n ot ex ist th e s e

,
-
,
—

questions have been settled for hi m centuries ago by

the old Yogi fathers wh o se very names have been al
,

m ost forgotten by their followers Oi t o-day .

Remember now please once and for all that

, , , ,
54 HATHA Y OGA .

Hatha Yoga does not advocate the plan of starving

oneself but on the co ntrary knows and teaches that
, , ,

no hu m an body can be strong and healthy unless it is

properly nourished by sufficient food eaten and assim i
lated Many delicate weak and nervous peop le Owe
.
,

their impaired vitality and diseased co n dition to the

fact that they d o not obtain suffic ient nourish m ent .

Re m ember als o that Hatha Yoga rejects as rid ic u

, ,

lo us the th eory that Nourish m ent is obtained fro m

“
stuffing gorging or over eati n g and views with
, ,
-
,

wonder and pity these attributes of the glutto n and ,

sees nothing in these practices but the m anifestatio n of

the attributes of the unclean swine utterly unworthy of ,

th e developed man .

To the Yogi u n derstanding Man should eat to live

not live to eat .

The Yogi is an epicure rather than a gour mand fo r

, ,

while eati n g the plainest food he has cultivated and

encouraged his natural and normal taste so that his
hunger imparts to these si mple viands a relish so ught
a fter but not obtained by those who hunt after rich
, ,

and expensiv e triumphs of the c hef While eating fo r .

N ourishment as his m ain object he m anages to m ake ,

his fo od yield hi m a pleasure unknown to his brother

wh o sco rns the si mple fare .

In our next ch apter we will take up the subject o f

Hunger and Appetite tw o entirely diff erent attri butes
—

of the physical body although to m ost persons the tw o

,

app ea r t o mean almos t the sa m e thing .

 CHAPTER IX .

H U N GER vs . A P PETI TE .

As we said at the conclusion of the preceding chap

ter Hu nger and Appetite are two e n tirely di ffere nt
,

attr ibutes Of the human body Hunger is the norm al

.

dema n d for food Appetite the ab n or m al craving

—
.

Hu n ger is like the rosy hue upon the c h ec k of the

healthy child App etite is like the rouged face of the
—

woman of fashio n A n d yet most people use the term s

.

as if their meani n g were identical Let us see wher ein

.

lies the di fference .

It is quit e diffi cult to explain the respective sensa

tions or symptom s of Hunger a n d Appetite to the
, , ,

average person who has attai n ed the age of maturity ,

for the maj ority of perso n s of that ag e have had their

n atural taste or hu n ger i n sti n ct perverted by App c
,
-
,

tite to such an extent that they have not experienced

the sensation of genui n e hu n ger for many years and ,

have forgotten j ust what it felt like And it is hard.

to describe a sensation unless one can c all up in the

m ind of his hearer the recollection of the sam e or a ,

si milar sensation experienced at some time in the past

, .

We can describe a sound to the person of n ormal hear

ing by co mparing it with som ething he h as h eard
but imagine the difficulty of conveying an intelli gent
“
idea of a sound to a m an who was bo rn stone deaf -

or Of describing a color to a man bo rn blind ; or of giv

i n g an intelligent description of an odor to one b orn
without the sense of s mell
 5 6 HATHA YOGA .

T 0 one who has emancipated hi m self fro m the thrall

Of appetite the respective sensations of Hunger and
,

Appetite are quite di ff erent and readily disti n guished

o ne from the other and the mind of such a on e readily
,

grasps the precise meani n g of each term But to the .

“ ” ”
ordinary civilized man Hunger means the source
“
of appetite and Appetite the result of hunger Both .

words are misused We must illustrate this by fa m iliar

.

e x am ples .

Let us take Thirst for instance All of us kn ow the

, .

s ensatio n o f a good natural thirst which calls for a

, ,

draught Of cool water It is felt in the mouth and .

throat and can be satisfied only with that which Na

,

ture intended for it c oo l water Now this natural

—
.
,

thirst is akin to natural Hunger .

How di ff erent is this natural thirst from the craving

which one acquires for sweete n ed flavored soda water ,
-
,

“ ” “ ”
ice cream soda gi n ger ale pop
-
,
soft drinks etc , , , .
,

etc And how diff ere n t fro m the thirst

. which one
feels for beer alcoholic liquors etc after the taste
, , .
,

has o nce been acquired D O you begin to see what .

we m ean !
W e hea r peo ple say that they are s o thirsty for a
glass of soda water ; or others say that they are
-

“ ”
thirsty for a drink o f whisky Now if these people .
,

were really thirsty or in ot her words if Nature was

, , ,

really calling for fluids pure water would be just what

,

N
t h ey would fi rst s eek for and pure water would be ,

j ust what they would fi rst seek for and pure water ,

would be the thing which would best gratify the thirst .

But no ! water will not satisfy this soda water or

,
-

whisky thirst Why ! Simply because it is a cravi n g

.

o f an appetite which is not a natural t hirst but which ,

58 HATHA YOGA .

in the same way In the child natural hunger is more

.
,

or less replac ed by acquired appetites the degree de ,

pending la rgely upon the a mount o f wealth its parents

possess ith e greater the wealth the greater the acquire
—
,

ment of false appetite And as it grows older it loses

.
,

all recollection of W hat real Hunger m eans In fact .

,

people speak of Hunger as a distressing thing rather ,

than as a natural instinct Sometimes men go out .

camping and the Open air exerc ise and natural life
, , ,

gives them again a taste of real hunger and they eat ,

like school boys and with a relish they have not known
“ ”
for years They feel hungry in earnest and eat be
.
,

cause they have to not fro m mere habit as they do

, ,

when they are h o me and are overloading their st om

ach s continually .

We recently read of a party of wealthy peopl e wh o

we re shipwrecked while on a yachting pleasur e tri p .

They were compelled to live on the m ost m eager fare

for about ten days When rescued they looked the pic“

ture of health ro sy bright eyed and p ossessed of the

—
,
-
,

precious gift o f a good natural Hunge r So m e of the

, .

fo r years but the ten days

’

p ar ty had been dyspeptics ,

e x perience with food scarce and at a prem iu m had ,

completely cured the m of their dyspepsia and other

troubles They had obtained sufficient to properly
.

nourish the m and had gotten rid of the waste products

,

of the system which had been poisoning the m .

Whether or n o t they staid cured depended upon

whether they agai n exchanged Hunger for Appetite .

Natural hun ger like natural Thirst expresses i tsel f

— —

through the nerves of the mouth and throat When .

o ne is hungry the thought or mention of fo od caus es

,
 HU NGER v s APPETITE . .
59

a peulia r s ensation in the mouth th roat and salivary

c ,

glands The ne rves o f those parts m anifest a peculiar

.

sensation the saliva begins to flow and the whole of

, ,

the region m anifests a desire to get t o work The .

stomach gives no sympto m s whatever and is not at all ,

“ ”
in evidence at such times One feels that the taste
.

of good wholesome foo d would be most pleasurable .

There is non e of those feelings of faintness emptiness , ,

“ ”
gnawing all goneness etc in the region of the
,
-
, .
,

stomach These last m entioned symptoms are all

.

characteristic of the Appetite habit which is insisti n g ,

that the habit m ust be continued Did you ever notice .

that the drink habit calls forth j ust such symptoms !

“
The craving and all gon e feeling is characteristic of
-

both forms of abno rmal app etite The m an who is .

craving a s moke or a chew o f tobacco feels the sa m e

'

A m an often wonders why he cann ot get a dinner

“ ”
such as mother used to cook Do you kn o w why
he cannot get it ! Simply because he has replaced his
natural Hunger by an abnorm al appetite and he does ,

n ot feel satisfied unless he grat ifi es that Appetite which ,

renders the h omely fare of the past an i mpossibility .

If the m an were t o cultivate a natural hunger by a re ,

turn to first principles he would have resto red to hi m

,

the meals of his youth h e would find m any cooks j ust

—

“ ”
as good as mothe r was for he would be a boy again ,

Y ou a re probably wondering what all this has to do

with Hatha Yoga are you not ! Well j ust this : The
, ,

Yogi has conquered appetite and allows Hunger t o ‘

,

m anifest th rough hi m H eenj oys every mouthful o f

.

food even to the crust o f dry bread and obtains nour

, ,

ish ment and pleasure fr om it He eats it in a manne r .

60 HATHA YO GA .

unknown of you which will be described a lit

,

tle further on and so far from being a half starved

,
-

anchorite he is a well fed properly n ourished enj oyer

,
-
,

o f the feast for he has po ssessed himself of that most

,

p i q uant o f all sauces

—
Hun ger .
 CH AP I h R X
'

TH E YOGI TH EOR Y A ND P RA CTI CE OF PRA N A ABSORPTI ON

F ROM FOOD .

Nature s shrewdness in combining several duties into

’

on e
, a n d also in rendering necessary duties pleasant
( an d thereby likely to be per formed ) is illustrated in
numberless ways One of the most striking examples
.

of this kind will be brought out i n this chapter We .

will see how she m an ages to accomplish several things

at the sam e ti me a n d how she also renders pleasant
,

several most necessary offices of the physical system .

Let us start with the statement of the Yogi theo ry

of the absorptio n of Prana fro m foo d This theory .

holds that there is contained in the food of m an and

the lo wer animals a certain form of Pran a which is
,

abs olutely necessary fo r m an s m a i ntenance of st rength

’

and energy a n d that such for m of Prana is absorbed

,

from the food by the nerves of the tongue mouth and ,

teeth The act of masticati o n liberates this Pra na by

.
,

separating the particles o f the food into minute bits ,

thus exposing as m any atoms o f Prana to the tongue ,

m outh and teeth as possible Each atom of food co n

.

tai n s nu merous electrons of foo d prana or fo od energy

-
, ,

which electrons are liberated by the breaking up pr o -

cess of mastication and the che m ical action of certain

'

subtle chemical constituents of the saliva the presence ,

of which have not been suspected by m odern scie n tists ,

and which are not disce rnible by the tests of modern

chem istry alth ough futu re investigators wi ll s c ientifi
,

6x
62 HATHA YOGA .

cally prove their ex i stence Once liberated from the .

food this foo d prana flies t o the n erves of the tongue

,
-
,

m o uth and teeth passing through the fl esh and bone

,

readily and is rapidly conveyed to numerous storage

,

houses of the n ervous system from when ce it is con ,

v eyed to all parts of the body where it is used to fur ,

“ ”
nish energy and vitality to the cells This is a bare
‘

'

statement of the th eo ry th e details o f which we will

,

endeavor to fill in as we proceed .

The student will probably wo n der why it is nec es

sary to extract this food prana as the air is heavily -
,

charged with Pra n a and it m ay seem like a waste of

,

e ffort on the part of Nature to use so much e n ergy in

order to extract the Prana from the food But here .

is th e expla n ation Just as all electricity is electrici ty

.
,

so is all Prana simply Prana but j ust as there are —

several forms of the electric current manifesting widely ,

di ff erent e ffects upon the human body so are the re sev ,

eral m anifestations or forms of Prana each of which ,

performs Ce rtain work in the physical bod y and all of ,

which are needed for the di ff erent kin d s of work The .

Prana of the air fulfills certain offices ; that of the wa

ter others and that derived from the food still a third
,

s et of duties To go int o the m inute details of the

.

Yogi theory would be foreign t o the purposes of this

work and we m ust rest content with the general state
, n

m ents here given The m ain sub j ect before us is the

.

f act that the food contai n s food pra n a which the h u -

,

m an b od y needs and which it can extract only in the

,

m anner above stated i e by mastication of the food

, . .
, ,

and the absorption of the prana by the nervous syste m

by mean s of the nerves of the tongue m outh and teeth ,
.

N ow let us consider Nature s plan in combining tw o

,
’
 PRANA A BS OR PTI ON . 63

im p ortant o fli c es in
the act of masticating and insali
v at ing. In the first place nature intended eve ry par
,

t ic le of food to be thoroughly masticated and insalivated ,

before it was swallowed and a n y neglect in this respect

,

is sure to be followed by imperfect digestion Thor .

ou gh mastication is a natural habit of man which has

been neglected Owi n g to the demands of artificial hab
its o f living which have grown up around our civiliza
tion Mastication is necessary to break up the food
.

that it may be m ore easily swallowed and also that it ,

may be m ixed with the saliva and the digestiv e j uices

o f the s tomach and small i n testines It prom otes the .

fl ow o f saliva which is a most necessary part of the

,

process o f digestion Insalivation of food is pa rt of

.

the digestive process and certain work is do ne by the

,

s aliva which can not be performed by the other diges

t ive j uices .Physiologis ts teach most positively that

thorough m astication and proper insalivation Of the
food are prerequisites of no rmal digestion a n d for m a ,

most necessary part of the process Ce rtain specialists .

have gone much further and have given to the process

of mastication and insalivation m uch m ore importance
than have the general run of physiologists One par .

t ic ular authority Mr Horace Fletcher an American

, . ,

writer has written m ost forcibly upon this sub j ect and
, ,

h a s given startling pr oofs o f the i m portance of this

function and proc ess o f the physical b ody ; in fact M r ,
.

Fletcher advises a particular form of m astication which

correspo nds very cl o sely to the Yogi custom although ,

he advises it because o f its wonderful e ff ect upo n th e

digestion whereas the Yogis practice a si milar syst em
,

upon the theory o f the absorption of food prana The

.
-
.

truth is that bo th results are accomplish ed it being a

“

,
54 HATHA YO GA .

part of N ature s strategy that the grinding of the fo od

’

into s mall bits ; the digestive process attending the in

salivation and the absorption of food prana are ac c o m
,
-
,

p lis h ed at the sa m e ti m e an econo m y o f f orce mo

—
st
r emarkable .

In the natural state of man m asticatio n was a most ,

pleasant proc ess and so it is in the case of the lower

,

a n imals and the children of the human race to day

,
-
.

The animal chews and munches his food with the

greatest relish a n d the child sucks chews and holds in
, ,

the mouth the food much longer than does the adult ,

u ntil it begins to take lessons from its parents and ac

quires the custom Of bolting its food Mr Fletcher . .
,

in his b ooks on the subj ect takes the position that it ,

is taste which a ff ords the pleasure of this chewing and

sucking process The Yogi theory is that while taste
.

has m uch to d o with it still there is a something else

, , ,

an i n desc r ibable se n se of satisfaction obtained fro m

holding the food in the m outh rolling it around with ,

t h e tongue m asticati n g it and allowing it to dissolve

,

slowly and be swallowed almost unconsciously .

Fletcher h olds that while there remains a particle of

taste in the food nourishment is there to be extracted
, ,

and we believe this to be strictly correct But we hold .

that there is that other sensation which when we allow ,

it to manifest itself gives us a certain satisfaction in

,

th e non swallowing and which sen sation continues un

-
,

til all or nearly all the food prana is extracted fro m

, ,
-

the f oo d You will notice if you follow the Yogi plan

.

of eating ( even partially )that you will be loth to part

with the food and that instead of bo lting it at once
, , ,

you will allow it to gradually m elt away in the m outh

until suddenly you realize that it is all gone And thi s .
56 HATHA YOGA .

When one has overcome the false Appetite ( s o often

mistaken for Hiu nger )he will m asticate a dry crust o f
whole wheat bread and not only obtain a certain sat
-

is fac t io n of taste from the nourishment con tained with

in it but will enj oy the sensation of which we hav e
,

spoken very keenly It takes a little practice in order

.

to get rid of the false appetite habit and to return t o

nature s plans The most n ourishing of foods will
’
.

yield the most satisfactio n to the n ormal taste and it ,

is a fact to be re m embered that food prana is con -

t ained in food in direct proportion to its percentage of

n ourishment another instance o f Nature s wisdom
—
’
.

The Yogi eats his foo d slowly m asticating each

,
“
m outhful so long as he feels like it that is so long ,

as it yields hi m any satisfaction In the maj ority Of

.

cases this se n sation lasts so lon g as there remains any

food in the mouth as Nature s i n voluntary processes
,
’

gradually causes the food to be slowly dissolved and

swallowed The Yogi moves his j aws slowly and
.
,

allows the tongue to caress the food and the teeth to ,

sink into it lovingly knowi n g that he is extracting the

,

food prana fro m it by m ea n s of the n erves of the

-
,

mouth to ngue and teeth a n d that he is bei n g s t imu

, ,

lated and stre n gthe n ed a n d that he is replenishing his

,

reservoir o f e n ergy At the same time he is conscious

.

that he is prepari n g his food in the proper way for

the digestive pro c esses Of the stomach and small intes
ti n es a n d is givin g his body good m aterial needed for
,

the buildi ng up of the physical body .

Th ose wh o follow the Yogi plan of eating will o btain

a far greater amou nt of nourishment from their food
than d oes the ordi n ary person for every ounce is
,

forced to yield up the m aximum nourish ment while in ,

 PRANA AB S ORPTI O N . 67

th e case of the man who bolts his food half masticated -

and insuffi ciently insalivated m uch goes to waste and

, ,

is passed fro m the system in the shape of a decaying ,

ferme nting m ass U nder the Yogi plan nothing is

.

passed from the syste m as waste except the real was te

matter every particle of nourishment being extr acted
,

from the food and the greater portion of the food

,

prana being absorbed from its atoms The mastication .

breaks up the food i n to small particles allowi n g the ,

fluids of the saliva to interpenetrate it the digestive ,

j uices of the saliva performi n g their necessary work ,

and the other j uices ( mentioned abo ve )acting upon

the ato m s of food in such a way as t o liberate the
food prana thus allowing it to be taken up by the
-
,

nervous system The m o tion imparted to the food by

.

the action of the j aws tongue a n d cheeks in the act of

,

mastication causes it to prese n t n ew atoms to t h e

,

nerves ready to extract the food pran a The Yogis -

.

hold the food in the mouth masticating it slowly and

,

thoroughly and allowi n g it to be slowly swallowed

,

by the involuntary process above alluded to a n d they ,

experience to the full the enj oyment attendant up on

the extracti o n Of Prana You may get an idea
.

of this by taking into the mouth some particle of

food ( when you have plenty of time for the experi
ment ) and then slowly m asticating it allowing it to
, ,

gradually melt away in the m outh as you would a ,

lu mp of sugar You will be surprised to find how thor

.

oughly this work of involuntary swallowing is per

formed the food gradually yields up its foo d prana
— -

and then m elts slowly away and reaches the stomach .

Take a crust Of bread for example and m asticate it

, ,

th o rorg h ly with the idea o f se eing how long it will

,
68 HATHA YO GA .

last without being swallowed Y ou wi ll find th at it.

”
will never be swallowed in the usual way but will
“
,

gradually disappear i n th e m anner we have j ust men

t io ned after bei n g reduc ed to a pasty creamy ma s s by
, ,

degrees And that little mouthful of bread will have

.

yielded you about twice as much nourish m ent as a

piece of equal size eate n i n the ordinary way and about
, ,

three times the amou nt of food prana -

.

Another i nteresti n g example is had in the case of

“
m ilk Milk is a fluid and of course needs no break
.
, ,

ing up as does solid food Yet the fact remai n s

-
, .

( and is well established by careful experim e nts )that

a quart of milk simply allowed to flow dow n the thro at
yields not Over half the nourishme nt or fo o d pra n a that -

is derived from the same qua ntity of milk sipped s low

ly and allowed to remain in the mouth a m oment until
,

“
it me lts away the tongue being moved through it
, .

The babe drawing th e milk from the nipple of either

the breast or the b ottle Of course does so by a suck
, ,

ing motion which moves the tongue and cheeks and

, ,

produces a flow of fluid fr o m the gla n ds which liberates ,

the food pra n a and has also a chemical digestive e ff ect

-

upon the milk itself n otwithsta n di n g the fa ct that true

,

saliva is not secreted in th e young babe and does not ,

appear until the teeth show themselves .

We advise our studen ts t o experiment with th ern w

selves alon g th e lines just pointed out Choo se an .

opport u n ity when you have plenty of time the n masti , ,

cati n g slowly all ow the food to gradually m elt away

, ,

instead o f maki n g a deliberate attempt to swallo w .

“ ”
This melting away o f the food can only be poss ible
-

when the food is m asticated into a cream like paste -

,

thoroughly saturated with sali va and the parti cles ,

 PRANA ABS ORPTI ON . 69

thereby converted i nto a semi digested state and hav -

,

ing h ad the foo d prana extracted therefrom Try eat

-
.

ing an apple in this way and yo u will be surpri s ed at

,

the feeli n g o f havi n g eat e

n a fair sized meal and at -
,

the sensation of increased strength which has come to

you .

We understand fully that it is quite a di ff erent thing

for the Yogi to take his time and eat in this way and ,

for the hurried Western man of business to do the

same a n d we do not expect all of our readers to change
,

the habit of years all at once But we feel sure that a

.

little practice i n this method of eati n g food will cause

quite a cha n ge to come over one a n d we know that ,

such occasion al practice will soon result in quite an

improveme nt in the every day method of masticating
-

the food We know also that the stude n t will find a

.
, ,

new delight ah additio n al relish i n eati n g and will

— —

”
soon learn to eat l ovi n gly that is to feel loath to
, ,

let the m outhful of food pass away A new world .

of taste is Ope n ed up to the man who learn s to follow

this plan and he will get far more pleasure from eating
,

than ever before and will have besides a much better

, , ,

digestion and much more v itality for he will obtain

, ,

a greater degree of nourishm ent and an increa s ed ,

a mount of food prana -

.

I t is possible for one who has the time and opp o r

tunit y to follow this plan to its extrem e limit to obtain ,

an almost unbelievabl e am ount of nourishment a n d

strength fr om a c omparatively s mall amount o f food ,

as there will be practically no waste as may be proven ,

by an Observation of the waste m att er which is passed

fr om the syste m Those suffering from mal nutriti on
.
-
70 HATHA YOGA .

and i mpai red vitality will find it profitable to at least

partially foll ow this plan .

The Yogis are kno wn as small eaters and yet they ,

understand fully the necessity and value of perfect

nutriti on and always keep the body well nourishe d and
,

provided with building material The secret as you .

,

will readily see is that they waste practically no n e of

,

the nourishment in the food as they extract practically

,

all that it co n tains They do not burden their syste m

.

with waste material which clogs up the machinery and

,

causes a waste of energy i n order that it may be thrown

Off . They Obtain a maximum of nourishment fro m a
mini m u m of food a full supply o f food prana fr om a
— -

small amount of material .

Wh ile you m ay not be able to follow this m atter up

to the extrem e you m ay work a great improvement in
,

yourself by following the methods above given We .

m erely giv e y ou the general pri n ciples work the rest —

out for yourself -experime n t for yourself that is the —

only way to learn anything anyway , .

W e have stated several times in this book that the ,

mental attitude aids materially i n the process of ab

sorbing Prana This is true not o n ly of the Prana ab
.

sorbed fro m the air but also Of the food prana Hold
,
-
.

the thought that you are absorbing all the Prana con
t ained in a m outhful of food combining that tho ught
,

“ ”
with that of Nourishment and you will be able to
,

do m uch more than you can without s o doing .

 CH APTE R XI .

A BOU T F OOD .

We intend t o leave the m atter Of the choice o f food

an open question with our students While p erson .
,

ally we prefer certain ki n ds o f food believing that

, ,

the best results are Obtai n ed fro m the use thereof we ,

recogn i z e the fact that it is impossible to change the

habits of a li fetime ( yes of m any generations )in a
,

day and m an must be guided by his own experience

,

and his growi n g k n owledge rather than by dogmatic

,

utterances o f others The Yogis prefer a non animal

.
-

diet both fro m hygienic reas ons and the Oriental aver
,

sion to eati n g the flesh of ani m als The more ad .

vanc ed o f the Yogi stude nts pr efer a diet of fruit nuts , ,

olive oil etc together with a form of unleavened bread

,
.
,

made fro m the e ntire W heat But when they travel .

am o n g those who follow di fferent dietary rules from

themselves they do n ot hesitate to adapt themselves to
the changed con ditio n s to a greater or less extent and
, ,

do not render themselves a burden to their hosts know ,

ing that if they follow the Yogi plan of m asticating

their f oo d slo wly their stomachs will take go o d care
o f what they eat In fact some of the m ost indigesti
.
,

ble things in the modern menu may be safely eaten if

the above m entioned syste m is adopted .

And we write this chapter in the spirit o f the travel

ing Yogi We have no wish to force arbitrary rules
.

upon our students Man must grow into a more ra

.

t io nal method of eating rather than have it forc ed

,

71
73 HATHA YO GA .

upo n him suddenly It is hard fo r one t o adopt a no n

‘

m eat diet if he has been used t o ani m al flesh all his

,

life and it is equally diffi cult for o n e to take up an

,

unc ooked dieta ry list i f h e h as been eating co oked

,

dishes all his life All we ask of you is to think a

.

little on the subj ect and to trust your o wn instinct

regarding the choice of foo d giving yourself as great
,

a variety as possible The instinct if trusted will

.
, ,

usually cause you to select that which you ne ed for

that particular meal a n d we would prefer to trust
,

th e instinct rather tha n to bi n d ourselves to any fixed ,

unchangeable dietary Eat pretty m uch what yo u feel

.

like providi n g you masti c ate it thoro ughly a n d s lo wly

, ,

and give yourself a wide range of ch o ice W e will .

S peak in this chapter of a few things which the ra

, ,

t io nal m an will avoid but will d o so m erely in the

,

way of general advice I n the matter of non-meat eat

.

ing we believe that manki n d will gradually grow to

,

feel that meat is not its proper diet but we believe ,

that one m ust outgrow that feeling rather than to have ,

”
it beaten out of him for if he longs for the fl es h po ts
,
“
-

o f Egypt it is about as bad as if he really participated

,

in the feast Ma n will cease to d esire meat as he

.
,

grows but u n til that time comes a n y forced res traint

, ,

o f the meat habit will not do him much goo d W e are .

aware that this will be considered heterodo x by

m an y of our readers but we cannot help that fact o ur
,
—

s tate ments will stand the test of experience .

If our stude nts are interested in the question of the

r elative a dva n tages of particular kinds of foods let them ,

read so m e o f the very good works which have been

written upon the subj ect o f recent years But let them .

read upon the several sides of the question and avoid ,

74 H ATHA YOGA .

will return When natural hunger is with you the in

.
,

s t inc t will be very keen in picking out nutriti o us foo d

for you and you will feel inclined toward that which
,

will giv e you j ust the nourishment you need at any

particular ti m e Man s instinct is a good guide pr o
.
’
,

vid ing it has not been spoiled by the indulgence in t h e

absu r d dishes s o c ommon in th es e days which c r eate ,

fals e appetite .

If you feel out o f sorts d o not be afraid to cut ,

”
out a meal and give the stomach a chance to get rid
,

of what it has on han d One can go without eating for

.

a nu mber Of days without danger although we do not ,

advise prolonged fasts We feel however that in sick

.
, ,

ness it is wise t o give the stomach a rest in order that ,

the recuperative energy m ay be directed toward the

casting out of the waste m atter which has been causing
the trouble You will notice that the animals stop eat
.

ing while they are sick a n d lie around until health is

,

restored when they return to their m eals We may

, .

take this lesson from the m with considerable profit .

“
We do not wish students to becom e food cranks
who weigh measure a n d analyze every m outhful o f
,

food We consider this an abnor mal m ethod and be

.

lieve that such a course generates fear thought and -

fills the Insti n ctive mi n d with all so rts of errone ous

ideas W e thi n k it a much better plan t o use ordinary
.

precautions and j udgment in the selection o f one s ’

food and then to bother no m ore abo ut the m atter

, ,

but eat with the thought of nourish m ent and strength

in your minds m asticating the food as we have stated
, ,

and knowi n g that nature will do its work well Keep .

as close to nature as possible and let her plans be your ,

standard o f m easurement The strong healthy m an is .

,
 AB OUT FOO D .
75

n
ot afraid of his fo od and neither should be
,
m an
th e
wh o wishes to be healthy Keep cheerful breathe
.
,

properly eat properly live properly and you will not

, , ,

have oc casion to make a chemical analysis of every

mo uthful of food D O not be afraid to trust to your
.

ins tinct for that is the natural m an s guide after all

’
, , .
 CHA RTE R X II .

G
TH E I RRI ATI ON OF TH E BOD Y .

One of the cardinal principles of the Hath a Yoga

Philos ophy of Health is the intelligent use of Nature s
’

great gift to li vmg things Water It should not be

—
.

necessary to even call the attention of me n to the fact

that Water i s one of the great means of maintain ing
nor mal health but man has become so much a slave to
,

artificial environm ents habits customs etc that he has

, , ,
.
,

forgotten Nature s laws H is only h Ope is to return

’
.

to Nature The little child knows instinctively the

.
, ,

use of water and insists upon being furn ished with it

, ,

but as it grows Older it gets away from the natural

habit and falls int o the erroneous practices of the older
,

people around it T h is is p articularly tru e of those

.

livi ng in large cities where they find unpalatable the

,

warm water d rawn fro m faucets and so gradually ,

b ecome weaned away fro m the normal use of fluids .

Such persons gradually form new habits of drinki n g

( or not drinking ) and putting
, Off nature
,
s demands ’
,

they at last are not conscious of them We often hear .

people say But why s hO

,
“
uld we drink water we do —

”
not get t hirsty ! But had they c onti n ued in Nature s ’

paths they would get thirs t yf and the only reason why
they do not hear Nature s calls is because they have so
-
’

long turned a deaf ear to her that she has become dis
c o uraged and cries less loudly besides their ears have ,

ceased to recognize the vibrations bei n g so much t aken ,

up with o ther thin gs It is astonishing to find how

.

16
 I R RIGATI ON .
77
peopl e neglect this impo rtant featu re of li fe Many .

dri nk scarcely a n y fluids a n d even s ay that they d o not

,
“ ”
think it is good for them This has gone so far that
.

”
we know o f one so called health teacher who puts
“ ”
forth the astoundi n g theory that Thirst is a D isease ,

and counsels people against the use of fluids at all ,

stati n g that the use o f them is un n atural We will not .

attempt to argue with such teachi n gs their folly must —

be apparent to any one who will look at the natural

life habits o f m an and the low er animals Let m an .

go back t o Nature a n d h e will see water drinking all

,
—

ar o u n d him in all forms of life fro m the plant up to

, ,

the high e st m ammal .

S O m uch importance does the Yogi attach t o the

proper use of drinki n g water that he cons iders it one
,

o f the first pri n ciples o f health He knows that a large

.

perce ntage of sick people are sick because of their lack

of the fluids which the body requires J ust as the pl an t .

nee ds water as well as the food derived from the soil

,

and air t o bri n g it to healthy maturity so does man

, ,

require the proper amount of fluids to keep him in

health or to bri n g him again to health in case he has
,

lost it Who would thi n k of depriving a plant of wa

.

ter ! An d who would be so cruel as to fail to pro vide

the faithful horse with the requisite a mount of water !
A n d yet m an while giving the plant and the animal
, ,

that which his com mon sense teaches h im they r equ ire ,

will deprive himself Of the life giving fluid and will -

,

su ffer the consequences just as would the plant and

,

horse u n der similar conditi ons Keep this exam ple of

.

plant and horse before you when you consider the

question of drinking water .

Let us see what wat er is used fo r in the b ody and ,

78 HATHA YO GA .

then mak e up our minds whether or n ot we hav e been

living normal live s in this r espect .

I n the first place about 70 percent of ou r physi cal

,

body is water ! A certain am ount o f this water is

being used up by our syste m and leaves the b o dy con
, ,

s tant ly and every ounce that is used up m ust be re

‘

placed by another ounce if the bo dy is t o be kept in a

normal condition .

The system is continuously excreting water through

the pores of the ski n in the shape of sweat and pers pi
,

rati on Sweat is the term applied to such excretion

.

when it is throw n o ff so rapidly that it gathers and

collects in drops Perspiration is the term applied
.

when the water is conti n uously a n d uncon sciously evap

orated from the ski n Perspiration is continuously be
.

ing evaporated from the skin and experime n ts have ,

shown that when it is prevented the a n imal dies In .

one of the festivals of ancie n t Rome a boy was covered

with gold leaf from head to foot in order to represent

-
, ,

one of the gods h e died be fore the gold leaf could be

— -

removed the perspiration bei n g u n able to penetrate the

,

varnish and the leaf Nature s fun c tion was i nterrupted

.
’

and the body being unable to fu n ction properly th e ,

soul threw o ff its fl es hly tenement .

Sweat and perspiration are show n by chemical analy

sis to be loaded with the waste products of the system
the refuse a n d filth of the body which without a su f —
,

fi c ient supply of fluids in the system would remain in ,

the body poisoning it and bringing disease and death

,

as a c o ns equenc e The repair work of the b ody is

‘
.

continually going o n the used up and w o rnout tissue

,
-

bei n g carried o ff and replaced by fresh new m aterial ,

fro m the blood which has abso rbed it fro m the nut ri
,
 I RRIGATI ON .
79

tion in the food This waste m ust be cast out of the

.

body a n d Nature is quite particular that it shall be

,

g otten rid o f she does not favor

—
the storing up o f
garbage i n the system I f this waste m atter is allowe d
.

to remain in the system it becomes a poison a n d breed s

diseased con ditions it serves as a breeding place and a
—

feeding grou n d for germs m icrobes spores and bac , ,

teria and all the rest of that family Germs do not

,
.

bo ther the clean and healthy system to any great ex

tent but let them come around one of these water
,

haters a n d it finds his or her body full of uncast o fi

,
-

refuse a n d filth and they settle down to business We

, .

will have something m ore to say along this line when

we come to the subj ect of Bathing .

Water plays a m ost important part in the everyday

life of the Hatha Yoga He uses it intern ally and .

externally He uses it to keep healthy a n d he teaches

.
,

its value to bring about healthy con ditio n s where dis ,

ease has impaired the natural fu n ctio n i n g Of the body .

We will touch upon the use of water in several parts

of this boo k We wish to impress upon our students
.

the i mportance of the subj ect beggi n g the m not to ,

pass it by as u n importa nt because it is so simple .

Seven out Of ten of our readers n eed this advic e D o .

not pass it by T H I S M EA N S Y OU
. .

Both Per spiration a n d sweat are necessa ry also to , ,

dissipate the excessive bodily heat by their evaporation .

and thus keep down the bodily temperature to a nor

mal degree The perspiration and sweat also ( as we
.

have stated )assist in carrying Off the waste products

of the system the skin being in fact a s upplement arv
—
, ,

organ to the kidneys A n d without water the skin .

would o f course be unable to perform this f unction

. ,
80 HA TIIA YO GA .

The norm al adult e x cretes about one and one-half t o

tw o pints of water in twenty four hours in the shape -
,

of sweat and perspiration but m en w o rking in rolling

,

m ills et c excrete m uch greater qua ntities One can

, .
, .

endure a m uch greater degree of heat i n a dry atmos

D here th an in a m oist one becaus e in the form er th e ,

perspiration is evaporated so rapidly that the heat is

more readily and rapidly dissipated .

Q uite a quantity o f water i s exhaled through the

lungs The urinary orga n s pass Off a large quan tity
.
,

in performing their fu n ctions about three pints in ,

twenty four h ours bei n g the amount voided by the

-

no rm al adult And all this has to be reple n ished in

.
,

order to keep the physical m achi n ery goi n g right .

Water is needed by the system for a number of pur

poses One Of its purposes ( as above stated ) is to
.

counteract and regulate the combustion co n sta ntly go

i n g on in our bodies ari s m g from the chemical action
,

O f the ox ygen extracted by the lungs fr o m the air ,

coming in co n tact with the carbon arisi n g fro m the

foo d This combustion goi n g on in millio n s of cells
.

produces the animal heat The water passing thro ugh

.

the system regulates this co mbustion s o that it does ,

not become t oo i n ten se .

Water is also used by the body as a common carrier .

It flows through the arteries and veins and conveys the ,

blood corpuscles a n d elements Of nutrition to the vari

,

ous parts of the body that they m ay be used in the

,

buil din g up process which we h ave described With

,
.

out fluids in the system the quantity o f bl ood must

,

decrease On the return trip of the blood through

.

the vei n s the fluids take up the waste m atter ( much Of

,

which wo uld be a rank p oison i f all owed t o rem ain in

82 HATHA YO GA .

of the waste stored away there and endeavoring to ,

get rid o f it by m ea n s of foul breath ; strong sweaty ,

perspiration and unnatural urine This is not pleas

, .

ant reading but it is necessary to use plain words when

,

calling your attention to thes e things And all thi s .

for the lack of a little water j ust think of it Y ou —

.

wh o are so particular t o keep yourselves clean o n th e

outside allow yourselves to remain filthy within .

Man 5 body needs water all over its inner parts It .

needs constant irrigation and if that irrigati o n is de

,

nied the bodies suffer j ust as does the land denied its ,

natural supply of water Every cell tissue and organ

.
,

needs water in order to be healthy Water is a uni .

versal solvent and e n ables the system to assimilate and

distribute the nourish ment obtained from the food and ,

to get rid of the waste products of the system It is .

”
o ften said that the blood is the life and if this
“
,

is so what m ust th e water be called for without water

,
—

the blo od would be but dust .

Water is needed also for the purpose o f enabling the

kidneys t o perform their functions of carrying Off th e
urea etc It is needed in order to be m anufactured
, .

into saliva bile pancreatic j uice gastric j uices and all

, , , ,

the other valuable j uices of the syste m without which ,

digestion would be impossible Shut o ff your supply .

of fluids and you decrease your supply of all o f these

,

necessary things D O you realize that !

.

‘ If you doubt these facts thinking the m

,
to be but
theories o f the Yogis yo u have but to refer to any
,

good scientific work upo n physiology written by any ,

of the Weste rn authorities upon the subj ect You wi ll .

find all that we have told you fully corroborated there .

A w ell known Western physiologist has said that s o

-
 IRRI GATI ON . 83

much water exists in the tissues o f a norm al s vs tem ,

“
that it m ay be asserted as an ax i om that all organis m s
”
live in water And if there is no water ther e can be
.
,

no life or health
, .

You have been shown that the kidn eys s ec rete about
three pints of uri n e in twenty-four hours which is ,

p assed o ff fro m the syste m carrying in solution,waste

products and poisonous chemical substances which have
been gathered up from the system by the kidneys In .

addition to this we have shown you that the skin ex

,

cretes from one and one half pints to two pints of

-

water in the shape o f sweat and perspiration in the

, ,

sam e ti me In addition to this there is a m oderate

.

quantity ( average ten to fifteen ounces )given o ff by

the lungs in exhalation duri n g the same time Besides .

a certain amount passes Off through the excretions

from the bowels And a small amount is passed fro m
.

the system in the shape of tears a n d other secretions ,

a n d excretions of the body N ow how m uch water is

.
,

needed to re n e w this waste ! Let us see A certain .

amount of fluids is tak en into the syste m with the

food particularly when certain kinds of food are eate n
,
.

But this is only a comparatively small portion Of what

has been thrown Off fro m the syste m in its cleansing
functio n s The best authorities agree that from two
.

quarts to five pints of water is the amount necessary to

be taken daily by the average norm al m an and woman , ,

in order to m ake up the waste If that amount is not .

supplied t o the body it will withdraw fluids from the

“ ”
syste m until the person assu mes that dried up state -

of which we have spoken with the consequence that all

,

the physical func tions are i mpaired the persons being ,

”
“
dried up insid e as well as on the surface the ma
- —
84 HATHA Y OGA .

chine r y o f the body bei n g deprived of its lubricatin g

and cl ean s in g m aterial .

Two quarts a day ! Just think of that you people ,

who have been taki n g about one pi nt or even less each , ,

d ay ! Do you wonder why you are a fflicted with all

s o r ts o f bodily ailments No wonder you are d yspeptic
.
,

c o nstipated , bloodless nervous a n d generally all

,

o ut of sorts Your bodies are fi lled with all

.

s orts o f po isonous substa n ces whi c h Nature has not

been able to eliminate and throw o ff through the kid

neys and skin because you have shut Off her water
,

supply No wonder your colo n s are filled with im

.

p a c t ed wast e m atter which is poiso

, n ing your syste m ,

and which Nature has been unable to pass o ff in the

regular way because you did not give her water with
which to flush her sewers No wo n der that your saliva
.

and gastr i c j u i ces are d efic ient how do you suppose

—

Nature can m a nufacture them without sufficient water !

N o wonder your blood is deficien t i n quantity where —

do you suppose Nature is goi n g to get the fluids fro m

to m ake the blood ! NO wonder that your nerves are out
of condition with all this abnormal going on P o or
,
.

Nature does the best she ca n even though you be ,

foolish She draws a little water from the S ystem in

.

o rder that the m achinery shall not e n tirely stop but ,

she dare not draw too much s o she compromises —

.

S h e does j ust as you do when the water in the spring is

nearly e xhausted you try to m ake a little do the work
—

of much and m ust rest co ntent with do ing things only

,

hal f way right

-
.

Th e Yogis are not afraid t o drink a su fficient amount

“
of water each day They are not afraid of thinning
.

“
th e bloo as are s ome of these dried up pe ople -
.
 IRR IGATI ON . 85

Nature throws OE the surplus quantity i f it be taken , ,

“
very r eadily and rapidly They do not c rave ice .

”
wat er an unnatural product of civili z ati on ( their
'

— -

favorite temperature is about 60 degrees They drink .

when they are thirsty a n d they have a norm al thirst

—

which d oes not have to be restored as does that of the

“ ”
dried up people They drink frequently but mark
-
.
,

ye this : they d a no t d rink larg e quantities at any one

'

“ ”
time .They do not pour the water down believing ,

that such a practice is abnormal a n d unnatural and ih

j urions They dri n k it in s m
,

. all qua ntities though ,

often during the day When worki n g they Often keep

.

a vessel of water near them and frequently sip there ,

fro m .

Those who have neglected their natural instincts for

m any years have almost forgotten the natural habit
o f water dr inki n g and need considerable practice to
'

regai n it A little practice will soon begin to create

.

a demand for water and you will in time regain the

,

natural thirst A go od pla n is to keep a glass of water

.

near you a n d take an occasio n al sip from it thinki n g

, ,

at the same time what yo u are taking it for Say to .

“
yourself : I am g i v mg m y body the fluids it requires
to do its work properly and it will respo nd by bringi n g
,

normal conditions ba c k to me givi n g m e good health —

and strength a n d making me a stro n g healthy natural

, , ,

man ( or
The Yogis drink a cupful of water the last thing
before going to bed at night This is taken up by the .

syste m and is used in cleansing the body duri n g the

night the waste products being exc reted with the
,

urine in the m orni n g Th ey also drink a cupful im

.

m ediately after ari s ing in the morning the theory ,

86 HATHA YO GA .

being that by taking the water before eating it cleanses

the stom ach and washes away the sedim ent and waste
which have settled during the night They usually .

drink a cupful about an hour before each m eal fol ,

lowing it by s om e mild exercise believing that this,

prepares the digestive apparatus for the m eal and ,

pro motes natural hunger They are not afraid o f

.

drinking a little water even at m eals ( imagine the hor

“
ror of som e o f our h ealth teachers when they read
-

“ ”
this ) but are careful not to wash do wn their food
,
-

with water Washing down the food with water not

.

only dilutes the saliva but causes one to swallow his

,

foo d i m per fectly insali vated and m asti cated ma kes it —

go down before Nature is ready and interferes with —

the Yogi meth od of m asticating the food ( see chapter

on sa m e ) Th e Yo gis believe th at only in this way is
.

water har m ful when taken at m eals and for the rea —

son given alone they take a little at each meal to

,
—

s often up the food m ass in the stomach a n d that little ,

do es not weaken the stren gt h of the gastric j uices etc -

, .

Many o f our r eaders are fam iliar with the use o f

h ot water as a m eans o f cleansing a foul stomach .

We approve o f its use in that way when needed but , ,

we think that if our students will carefully follow the

Yogi plan o f living as given in this boo k they will
, ,

have n o foul stomachs needing cl eansing their stom —

achs will be go o d h ealthy on es

, As a preli m inary
.

toward rati onal eating the s uEerer m ay find it ad van

,

tageous to us e h ot wat er in this way Th e best way .

is t o tak e about o ne pint slowly sipping it in the morn

, ,

ing befo r e breakfast o r about o ne h our b efo re other

,

meals It will excite a m uscula r acti on in the diges

.
 I RRIGATI ON . 37

tiv e organs which will tend to pass from the syste m

,

the foul matter stored up there which the hot water ,

has loosened up and diluted as well But this is on ly

, .

a temporary expedie n t Nature did not contemplate

.

hot water as steady beverage and water at ordinary ,

temperature is all that she requires in health and that —

she requires to mai ntain health but when health has —

been lost through disobedience to her laws hot water ,

is a good thi n g with which to clean hous e b efore re

s uming n atural habits .

We will have m ore to say about the use of water

i n Bathing o utward application etc in other parts
, , .
,

of this b oo k this chapter is devoted to its inter n al

—

offices .

In addition to the properties offi ces and us es of ,

water as above given we will add that water contains

, ,

Prana in co n siderable qua ntities a porti o n of whi c h it ,

parts with in the syste m particularly if the ,

sys te m demands it and extracts it One o ften .

feels the need of a cupful of water as a s timu

lant th e r eason bei n g that for som e reason the normal
—

supply of Prana has become depleted and Nature —

,

recognizing that it may obtain Prana rapidly and easily

from water causes the demand You all re me mber
, .

how at times a cup of cool water has acted as a po w

”
erful stimulant and refresher to you and how it ,

enabled you to return to your wo rk with r enewed

vigor and energy Do not forget Water when you
.

“ ”
feel u s ed up U sed in connecti on with Yogi Breath
.

ing it will give a man fresh ene rgy quicker than will
any other m ethod .

In sipping water let it remain in the mouth a m o

,
88 H ATHA YO GA .

me ri t before swallowing The nerves of the to ngue

.

and m outh are the first ( and quickest )to abs orb the
Prana and this plan will prove advantageous par
, ,

t ic ularly when one is tired This is worth re me m

.

boring.
90 HATHA YO GA .

welco m e the voicing of the truth in this book knowing ,

that many will be benefited by having their attention

called to it We purpose giving you a plain talk about
.

the ashes of the system the cast o ff waste of the

—

body .

That such a talk is needed is evidenced by the fact

,

th at at least three quarters of the m odern people are

-

s uEerers fro m a greater or lesser degree of constipation

and its baneful results This is all contrary to nature

.
,

and the cause is so easily removed that one can scarcely

imagine why this state of a ff airs is allowed to conti n ue .

There can be but one a n swer ignoran ce of the cause

—

and cure If we are able to aid in the work of t e

.

moving this curse o f the race and in thus restoring ,

n ormal condition s by bri n ging people back to nature ,

we will not mi n d the disgusted expression upon the

faces of som e who glance at this chapter and t urn to
some more pleasa n t subj ect these very people being
—

the ones who need this advice the most of any of our
readers .

Those who have read the chapter in this book upon

the Digestive Organs will remember that we left the
,

subject at the stage where the food was in the small ih

t es tines being absorbed and taken up by the syste m
, .

Our next point is to con sider what becomes of the

waste products O f the food after the system has taken
up all the n o urish m ent it can from it the m aterial
—

which it cannot use ,

Right here it will be as w ell t o stat e that tho se who

follow the Yogi plan of eating their food as given in ,

othe r chapters will have a m uch l ess amount of this

,

waste m atter than the average m an or w om an who al

lo ws his o r her foo d t o reach the s to m ach only partial
 A S HE S .
91

ly prepared fo r digesti on and assi milation The aver .

age person wastes at least half of what he eats the —

waste matter of those wh o follow the Yogi practice

being comparatively s m all and m uch less OEens iv e than
that o f the average person .

In o rder to understand our subject we must take a ,

look at the o rgans of the body having t O d O with it '

“
The large intesti n e of the Colon ( the large bowel )is
the part of the body to be considered The colon is a .

large canal nearly five feet in le n gth passing up fro m ,

the lower right hand side of the abdomen then passing

-
,

over to the upper left hand side then passing down

-
,

again to the lower left ha n d side where it makes sort

-
,

of a twist o r curve and grows smaller term inating in

, ,

the rectum or exit of the was te matter O f the system .

The s m all i n testine e mpties into the colon by m ea n s

of a small trap door arran gement on the lower right
-
,

hand side of the abdomen this trap d oo r is s o ar

,
-

ranged that it allows matter to pass out but will not ,

allow it to pass back The Vermiform Appendix the

.
,

seat of appendicitis is j ust below this entranc e The

, .

colo n rises straight up o n the right hand side o f the -

abdom en then makes a curve and passes right over to

,

the upper left ha n d side ; then desce n ds straight to

-

the lower left hand side where the peculiar twist or

-
,

curve called the Sigmoid Fle xure o ccurs following ,

whic h is the rectum or smaller canal leading to the

an us which is the opening in the bo dy through which
,

the waste m atter pa s ses out of the bo dy .

Th e colon is a great big sewer through which s bo ulo

pass freely the sewerage of the syst em Nature i ntends .

this sewage to be rem oved speedi ly and m an in his nat ,

c

ur al state li ke the ani m als d o es not l ong d elay thi s

, ,
92 HA THA YO GA

necess ary c astin g OE But as he grows mo re civilized

.
,

he does not find it so convenient and so he postpon es ,

nature s calls until at last she gets tired of calling his

’

attention to the m atter and goes O E and attends t o

,

some O f her other numerous duties Man helps along .

this abnorm al unnatural state of aEairs by neglectin g

to partake of sufficient water and n o t Only d oes not
,

gi ve the col on suffic ient fluids t o properly moisten ,

soften a n d l oo sen the waste m atter on its way from the

syste m but he even lets his body run so short Of fluids
,

that nature in desperation draws back through the

, ,

walls Of the colon som e of the water already given it

for its use failing to get spring water for her work
—
,

she m ust needs use sewer water I magi n e the result !

.

The failure Of m an to allow a free passage Of this re

.

fuse m atter from the colon results in constipation ,

which is the source of i n nu m erable cases Of ill health -

the real nature O f which is generally not suspected .

Many people who have a m ovement of the bowels each

day are really constipat ed although they do not know
,

it The walls of the colon are e n crusted with impacted

.

waste m atter some of which has been there for many

,

days a small opening in the m iddle Of the mas s al low

,

ing what is absolutely necessary to pass through .

Con stipation m eans a state in which the colon is not

perfectly clean and free O f impacted faecal matter .

A colon filled or pa rtially filled with old faecal mat

, ,

ter is a s ourc e of po ison to the whole system The co .

lon has walls which absorb the contents of the c olon .

Medical practice demonstrates that nourish me n t i n j ect

ed into the colon will be absorbed rapidly and carried
to the blood Drugs inj ected in the same way reach
.

the other parts o f the syste m And as before stated

.
,
 A S HE S .
93

th e fluid portion Of the waste fa ecal matter is absorbed

by the system the sewage water being used in n ature s
’

work because of the shortage of purer fluids in the sys

tem It is almost incredible how long Old faecal mat
.

ter will remain in a const ipated colon Cases are of .

reco rd sho wi n g that when the colon is cleaned among ,

t he masses of Old faecal matter has been found cherry

stones etc eaten several months before Cathartics
, .
, .

do no t re m ove this Old faecal matter as they simply ,

loosen up what is in the stom ach and s mall inte s tines ,

and pass it OE through th e li ttle Openi n g in the hard

ened faecal matte r with which the walls Of a badly
constipated colon is li n ed In some perso n s the colon is
.

impacted with hardened faeces lamos t as solid ,

as soft coal to such an extent that their

,

abdomens beco m e swollen and hard This Old .

w aste m atter becomes sometimes so foul that

it beco mes the breedi n g place of worm s and even m ag ,

g o t s and
, the colon is filled with their eggs The .

waste matter or faeces which is passed into the

, ,

colo n fro m th e small i ntesti n e is of a pasty substance

, ,

and if the bowels are clear and clean and the m ove ,

m ents n atural it should pass from the system in but a

,

trifle more solid state and o f a light color The longer

, .

faecal matter is retained in the colon the harder and ,

drier it becomes and the darker in color When s uffi

, .

cient fluids are not take n and nature s calls are ignored
,
’

until a more co nvenient time and then forgotte n a , ,

dryi n g up and hardening process ensues When later .

the m ovem ent is had On ly a porti on Oi the faeces

,
'

passes out the balance remaining to clog up the colon

, .

Next day a little more is added and so on until a case , ,

Of chronic c onstipation is mani fe st ed with all its at ,

e
94 HATHA YO GA .

tendant evils s uch as dyspepsia bili ousness liver

, , ,

troubles kidney troubles ih fact all dis eases are en

,
—
,

c o uraged and m any Of the m directly caused by thi s

,

filthy co ndition of the colon Half of the cases Of fe- .

s

mal e trouble are caused or aggravated by this condition .

The abs orption by the blood O f the faecal matter in

the s yste m is occasioned in two ways first the desire
, , ,

and need Of the bo dy for fluids ; second a desperate ,

eEort Of nature to throw OE the waste matter by the

skin the kidneys a n d the lu n gs Foul perspiration and

, .

foul breath are o ften caused by this eEo rt of nature t o

get rid of what should have passed from the co lon .

Nature recognizes the great source Of da nger of allow

ing this foul m ass to stay in the system a n d so resorts ,

to the desperate plan of throwing it O E in other ways ,

even at the risk Of half poison ing the blood and body
-

in s o doing Th e best proof O f the nu mber Of physical

.

ailments and disease caused by this u n natural state o f

the c o lon is the fact that when the cause is once re
,

m oved people begin to recover from many ailments ap

pat ently unconnected with the cause In addition t o .

the fact that diseases are caused and e n couraged by

th is state of the colon it is a fact that one is far m ore
,

likely to contract co n tagi ous diseases and diseases like ,

typhoid fever etc by reason Of a neglected colon fur

,
.
,

nis h ing a fine breedi n g place for the germs of thes e dis
eases In fact a man wh o keeps his colon clean and
.

healthy is believed t o run but very little risk of dis

,

eases Of this kind Just i magine what m ust be th e

.

result when we carry a sewer around inside Of us is —

it any wonder that diseases which are occasioned by

filthy co nd itions outside thrive on like conditi o n inside
o f the bo dy ! U s e a little reas o n f riends , .
 ASHES .
95

N ow that we have said enough t o call your attention

to the s eat O f m any troubles ( we could fill hundreds Of
p ages with still stronger remarks on this subj ect )you

are perhaps in a condition to as k Well I believe ,

that all this is true and that it explains m uch that has
,

b een troubling m e but what must I do t o get rid of

,

that foul c ondition and to regain and keep nor m al

,
“
h ealth in this respect Well our answer is : First
,

get rid of the abnormal filthy accumulation and then ,

keep yourself sweet and clean and healthy by follow ,

ing nature s laws We will endeav or t o sh ow you h ow

’
.

to do both of these things .

If the colon is but slightly filled with impacted faece s ,

one may get rid of it by in creasing the fluids and by

encouraging regular moveme nts a n d by treati n g the ,

intelligen ce of the cells Of the sto mach ( as hereinafter

described ) But as over half of the people who are
.
,

mentally asking us this question have colo n s m ore or ,

less filled with Old hardened impa c ted faecal matter

, , , ,

of an almost green color whi c h has been there for

,

m onths perhaps lo nger we m ust give the m a more

, ,

radical remedy As they have go ne away fro m nature

.

in co ntracting this trouble we m ust aid nature some

,

what in restori n g lost co n ditions so that she may there

after have a clean colo n to work with We will go to .

the animal ki n gdom for a suggestion Many centuries .

ago the natives of I n dia noticed that certain birds of

the Ibis family a long billed bird would return from
— - -

journeys into the inter i or i n a wretched conditio n ,

which was due either to their eating some berry which

was very constipating or else h aving been where there
,

was no water to drink po ssibly both This bird

—
.

would reach the rivers in an al most exhausted condi

96 HATHA Y OGA .

tion Sca rc ely abl e to fly from weakness The bird

, .

would fill its bill and m outh with water fro m the river
and then inserting the bill into the rectum would ih
, ,

j e c t t h e water i nt o the bowel w h ich would relieve it in ,

a few m oments The bird wou ld repeat this several

.

ti m es until th e bo wel was completely emptied and

, ,

would then sit around and rest for a fewm inutes until
its vitality was restored when a fter dr inkin g fre ely , ,

from the river it would fly away as strong and active

,

as ever .

The chiefs and priests of the tribes noticing this o c

currence and its wonderful eEec t upon the birds b egan
, ,

to reason about the m atter a n d finally some o n e sug ,

gested that it m ight be tried t o advantage upon som e Of

the old men who by reason Of their non activity and
.
,
-

sedentary habits had departed fro m nature s normal

,
’

plan and had become constipated S O they managed t o .

construct a primitive implement rese mbli ng a syri n ge

fro m the reeds with a sort of blow pipe attach ment
,
-
,

would inj ect war m river water into the bowels of the o ld
men s uEering from this c ompl aint The results w er e .

w onderful th e Old m en took on a new leas e o f life to ok

—
,

unto themselves you ng wives and began to again enter ,

into the active work Of the tribe and to resume their ,

positions as heads Of the tribe much to th e amaze ,

ment Of the younger men who had considered the vet

erans out of the contest The Old men Of other tribes .

heard Of the occurrence and began coming in born e ,

on the sh oulders Of the young m en they are said to —

have walked ho m e unaided Fr om all the accounts .

handed d own these primitive in j ections m ust have been

,

o f a mus t hero ic character for they speak Of th e use ,

“ ”
0 1 gallo ns of water and by th e ti me the treat ment
,
98 HATHA YO GA .

ws th et ictastes Of people but the question is to get rid

,

of the filth once and for all The contents of the colon .

brou ght away by these initial injectio n s are Ofte n Of

a most Offensive and unpleasant nature but certainly ,

i t I S much better to have th is fi lth out of your system

tha n in it it is j ust as foul when in you as when it is

—

expelled We have k nown of cases in which great

.

lumps Of faecal matter hard and green as corroded cop

,

per p ass ed from people a n d the stench arisi n g from

'

the vessel was such as to bring a most co n vinci ng

pro of of what harm had been wrought upon the sys
te m by its rete n tion N 0 this is not pleasant readi n g
.
, ,

but it is n ec essary i n order to make you realize the im

portance of this intern al cleani n g You will find that .

during the week i n which you are cleansi n g the colon ,

you will have little or no n atural movements of the

bowels .D O not let this worry you for it is caused by ,

the water washing away that which ordinarily would

have been evacuated in the stool In a couple of days .

after the cleansi ng process is completed you will begin ,

to get down to natural and normal movem ents .

N ow right here we wish to call your attention t o the

, ,

fact that we are not advocati n g the c o nti n uous use

Of the syringe w e do not consider it a natural habit
—
,

and fail to see its necessity as we believe that natural ,

habits persisted in will cause any one to regain the

norm al movement Of the bowels without the use Of ,

any outside help We advocate the syri nge only as a

.

preli m inary m easure in order to clear away past ac

cum ulations We see no har m however in the use Of
.
, ,

the syri nge say once a month as a preventative Of a

, ,

recurrence of the Old conditions There are several .

sc h ools of teachers in A m erica who advoc ate the use of

 A S HE S .
99

the s y ringe as a duty W e cannot agree with

daily .

“ ”
the m for our motto is get back to nature and we
, , ,

believe that nature does n ot call for the daily use of

the syringe The Yogis believe that plenty of pure
.
,

fresh water and a regular habit of goi n g to sto ol and

, ,

“ ”
a littl e talking up to the bowels will do all that is ,

necessary to keep one free from constipation .

After you are through with the week of syringe

treatm ent ( and even before that ) start the nor mal use ,

of drinking water as we have explained in our chap

,

ter on that subj ect Get the two quarts of fluids inside
.

of you each day and you will fi n d quite an improve

,

ment Then start the habit of going to the stool at

.

the sam e ti m e each day whether you feel an i n clination

,

or not You will gradually establish the habit a n d

.
,

n ature is fond of falli n g into habits Then again you .

,

may really need an evacuation a n d not be aware of it ,

for you have deadened your nerve calls by repeated re

fus als to heed them and you will have to begin all over
,

again Don t neglect this it is simple but e ff ective

.
’
—
.

You will find it advantageous to give yourself auto

‘

suggestio ns while sippin g your cup full o f water Say .

“
to yourself I am dri nking this water in order to sup
,

ply my system with the fi uids it needs It will make .

my bowel s move freely and regularly as nature in ,

”
tended Carry the idea in your mind of what you
.

are trying to accomplish and you will be apt to get ,

your results quicker .

N ow for an idea which m ay see m absurd to you ,

unless you understand the philosophy back of it ( W e .

will tell you how to do it now and talk about the ,

phil os ophy in anothe r chapter ) This consist s in .

“ ”
talking up to the bowel Give the abdom en ( al ong .
10 0 HATHA YOGA .

'
the lines o f the colon ) several gentle slaps with the
“
hand and s ay t o it ( yes talk to it ) H ere you Col on
, , , ,

I ve given you a good cleaning out and made you

’

fresh and clean I am givi ng you all the fluids you

—

need to do your work properly I a m cultivating a —

regular habit i n order to give you a chance to do your

”
work and now you g o t to do it
—
Slap the regi o n of .

the colon several times saying And now you ve go t , ,

’

”
to do it And you will find that the colo n will do it
. .

This see m s like child s play t o y ou p robably yo u will

’

,
—

understa n d the se n se of it whe n you read the chapter

on Involuntary Control It is m erely a si mple way o f .

accomplishing a scientific fact a plain way of calling —

into play a mighty force .

Now frie n ds if you have su ffered fr om c onstipa

, ,

tion and who has not you will fi n d the above advice
, ,

valuable It will bri ng back those rosy cheeks and

.
,

beautiful skin it will ban ish that sallowness that

—
,

furred tongue that foul breath that troublesom e liver

, , ,

and all the rest o f the family of sympt oms arising

-

from the clogged colon that stopped up sewer which —

has been po iso n ing the body Try this plan and you .

will begi n to enj oy life and to be a natural clean , , ,

healthy being And now in closing fill up your glass

.
,

with sparkling clear cool water and join us in the

, , ,

“
toast Here s to health and lots of it and while you
,
’
, ,

“
dri n k it down slowly say to you rself This water is
, ,

to bring me health and strength it is Nature s own —

’

”
tonic .
I oe HATHA YO GA .

breathing for continued vitality and freed om from

disease An intelligent control of our breathi n g po we r
.

will lengthen our davs upon earth by giving us in

creased vitality and po wers of resistance and on the , ,

other hand unintelligent and careless breathing will

,

tend to shorten o ur days by decreasing our vitality and

,

layi ng us open to disease .

Man in his normal state had no need of instruction

i n breathing Like the lower animal a n d the child
.
,

he breathed naturally a n d properly as nature intended ,

h im t o do but civilization has changed him in this

,

and other respects He has contracted improper .

method s and attitudes of walking standing and sit ,

ting which have robbed him of his birthright of nat

,

ural and correct breathing He has paid a high price .

for civilization The savage t o day breathes nat

.
,
—
,

urally unless he has been conta m inated by th e habits

,

of civilized man .

The percentage of civilized m en who breathe co r

rec t ly is quite small and the result is shown in con
,

tracted chests and stooping shoulders and the terrible ,

increase i n diseases of the respiratory organs including ,

“
that dread monster Consumption the white scourge
, , .

Eminent authorities have stated that one generation

of correct breathers would regenerate the race and ,

disease would be so rare as t o be l ooke d upon as a

curiosity Whe ther looked at from the standpoint of
.

the Oriental or Occidental the connection betw een ,

correct breathing and health is readily seen and ex

plained .

The Oc cidental teachings sh ow that the physical

h eal th depends ve ry m aterially upon correct breathi ng .

The Oriental teachers not only ad mit that their Occ i

 YOG I BREATHING . 10 3

dental brothers are right but sav that in additio n t o

,

the physical benefit derived from correct habits o f

breathing m an s m ental power happiness self con
,
’

, ,
-

trol clear sighted n ess morals a n d even his S piritual

,
-
, ,

growth may be i n creased by an understanding of the

“ ”
Science of Breath Whole schools of Oriental
.

Philosophy have been fou n ded upo n this science and ,

this knowledge when grasped by the Western races ,

and by them put t o the practical use which is their

strong point will work wonders amo n g the m The
, .

t heory of the East wedded to the practice of the West

, ,

will produce worthy o ff spring .

This work will take up the Yogi Science of

Breath whic h includes not on ly all that is known t o
,

the Western physiolo gists and hygie n ists but the oc ,

cult side of the subj ec t as well It n ot o n ly poi n ts out

.

the way to physical health along the lines of what

“
Western scie n tists have termed deep breathing etc , .
,

but also goes into the less known phases of the s ub

j ect
.

The Yogi practices exercises by which h e attains

control of his body a n d is enabled to se n d to any or
,
“ ”
gan or part a n increased flow of vital force or prana ,

thereby strengtheni n g and invigorating the part o r

organ He knows all that his Western scientific
.

brother knows about the physiological e ffect of correct

breathing but he also knows that the air contains m ore
,

than o xy gen and h ydrogen an d nitrogen and that ,

so mething m ore is accomplished than th e m ere oxygen

ating of the blood He knows something about
.

“ ”
prana of which his Western brother is ignorant and
, ,

he is fully aware of the nature and manner of hand

ling that great principle of energy a n d is fully in ,
1 04 H ATHA YO GA .

formed as to its e ff ect upon the hu m an bo dy and mind .

He knows that by ryth mic al breathing one m ay bring

hi m self into har m o n ious vibration with nature and ,

aid in the unfoldment of his latent po wers He knows .

that by controlled breathing he may not only cure dis

ease in him self a n d others but also practically do away
,

with fear and worry and the baser emotions .

I n the c onsideration of the question of respirati o n ,

we m ust begi n by considering the mechanical arrange

ments whereby the respiratory moveme nts are e ff ected .

The m echanic s of respiration manifest through ( I )the

elastic move m ents of the lungs and ( 2 )the activities
,

of the sides and bottom of the thoracic cavity in which

the lungs are contai n ed The thora x is that portion of
.

the trunk between the neck and the abdome n the cavity ,

of which ( known as the thoracic cavity )is occupied

m ainly by the lungs and heart It is b o unded by the .

spinal c olu mn the ribs with their cartilages the breast

, ,

bone and below by the diaphragm It is generally

, .

“ ”
spoken of as the chest It has been comp ared t o a
.

completely shut conical bo x the small end of which is

, ,

turned upward the back o f the b ox being form ed by

,

the spinal colu m n the fr ont by the breastbo ne and the

,

sides by the ribs .

The ribs are twenty four in nu mb er tw elve on ea ch

-
,

si de and e m erge fro m each side of th e spinal colu mn

,
.

“ ”
The uppe r seven pair are known as true ribs b eing ,

fastened to the breastbone direct while the lower five ,

” “ ”
pairs are called false rib s o r floating ribs b ecause ,

they are not so fastened the upper two o f the m being

,

fastened by cartilage to the other ribs the re mainder ,

having no ca rtilages their forward ends being free

,
.

Th e ribs are moved in respi rati on by tw o s up erficial

10 6 HATHA YO GA .

drawin g i n the abdomen and pushing its contents up

agai n st the diaphragm which i n turn is raised
, .

The upper pa rt of the chest and lungs which is th e ,

sm allest is used and conseque ntly but a mini m um

, ,

am o unt of air enters the lu n gs In addition to this

.
,

th e diaphragm being raised there can be no expansion

,

i n that dir ection A s tudy of the anato my of the

.

c hest will co n vi n ce any stude n t that in this way a

maxi mu m amou nt o f e ff ort is used to obtain a m i ni

mum amount o f be n efit .

High Breathing is probably the wor st form of

breathing kno wn to ma n a n d requires the greatest ex
p en d it ure of e n ergy with the smallest amount of bene
fit I t is an energy wasti n g poor return s plan It is
.
-
,
-
.

quite commo n amo ng the Wester n races m any women ,

being addicted to it and even si n gers clergymen law

, , ,

y ers and others

, who should know better using it ig ,

no rantly.

Many diseases of the vocal organs and organs o f

respiration m ay be directly traced to this barbarous
method of breathing a n d the straini n g of delicate o r
,

gans caused by this m ethod often results in the harsh

, ,

disagree able voices heard on all sides Many persons .

wh o breath e in this way become addicted to the dis

“ ”
gusting practice o f mouth breathing described in a
-

preceding chapter .

If the student has any doubts about what has be en

s aid r egard ing this for m of breathi n g let him try the ,

e xperi ment of expelling all the air fro m his lungs then ,

standing erect with ha n ds at sides let him raise the

, ,

shoul ders and collarbone and inhale He will fi n d that.

the a mount of air inhaled is far bel ow no rm al Th en .

let him inhale a full breath after dropping the shoul

,
 YOGI B REATH IN G . 10 7

d e rsand c ollarbone and he will receive an ob j ect lesson

,

I n breathing which he will be apt to remember much

l onger than he w ou ld any words printed or spoken , .

2 )
M I D BREA TH I N G .

Th is m ethod of respiration is known to Weste rn ,

student s as Rib Breathing or Inter Costa! Breathing

,
-
,

and while less obj ectionable than High Breathing is ,

far i n ferior to either Low Breathing or t o the Yogi

Complete Breath In Mid Breathing the diaphragm
.

is pushed upward and the abdomen drawn in The

, .

ribs are raised s omewhat and the chest is partially ex

,

p and ed .It is quite com m o n among m en who have

made no study of the subj ect As there are two better
.

meth ods known we give it only passing notice and

, ,

that principally to call your attention to it s s hort

(3 )LOW BREA T H I N G .

Th is fo rm o f respirati on is far bett er than either o f

the tw o preceding forms and of recent years m any
,

Western wri ters have e xtolled its merits an d have ex ,

~

“ ”
p lo it ed it under the names of Abd o m inal Breathing ,
” “ ”
Dee p Breathing , D iaph ragmic Breathing etc etc , .
, .
,

and much goo d has been accomplished by the atten

tion of the public having been directed to the subj ec t ,

and m any having been induced to substitute it for the

inferior and inj urious methods above alluded to Many .

“ ”
systems o f breathing h ave been built around Low
Breathing and s tudents h ave paid h igh prices t o learn
,

the new s ystem s But as we have said much

.
, ,

go od has res ulted and after all the students who paid
,

high prices to l earn revamp ed old sy s te m s undoubtedly

10 8
$
HAT HA YO GA .

got their money s wo rth if they were induced t o di s

’

card th e old meth ods of High Breathing and Lo w

Breathing .

Alth ough m any Western authorities write and speak

of this m ethod as the best known fo rm of breathing ,

the Yogis kne w it to be but a part of a system which

th ey have used for centuries a n d which they know as
“ ”
The Complete Breath It must be admitted how
.
,

ever that one must be acquainted with the p ri n ciples of

,

Lo w Breathing before he can grasp the idea of Co m

p let e Breathi n g.

Let us again co n sider the diaphragm What is it ! .

We have seen that it is the great partition muscle ,

which separates the chest a n d its co nte nts from the ab

domen a n d its conte nts When at rest it prese nts a
.

concave surface to the abdomen That is the .

,

diaphragm as viewed from the abd o men would see m

like the sky as viewed fro m the earth the interior —

o f an arched surface Co n seque ntly the side of the

.

diaphragm toward the chest organs is like a protruding

rounded sur face like a hill When the diaphragm
—
.

is brought into use the hill formation is lowered and

the diaphragm presses upo n th e abdomi n al organs and
forces out the abdom en .

In Lo w Breathing the lungs are given freer play

,

than in the m ethod s already mentioned and consequent

,

ly mo re air is inhaled This fact has led the maj ority

.

of Western writers to s peak and write of Low Breath

ing ( which they call Abdo minal Breathing ) as the
highest and best m eth od known t o science But th e .

Oriental Yogi has long known of a better method and

, ,

some few Wester n writers have also recognized this

fact The trouble with all m ethods of breathing other
. ,
I ro HA THA YO GA .

contro lling the ribs are actively used which increase s ,

the space in which the lungs m ay expand and also ,

gives the proper support to the organs when needed ,

Nature availing herself of the perfection o f the prin

c ip le of leverage in this process Certain muscles hold
.

the lower ribs firmly in position while other muscles ,

b en d the m outward .

Then agai n in this method the diaphragm is under

, ,

perfect control and is able to perform its functions

properly and in such m anner as to yield the m a xi m u m
,

degree o f service .

In the rib action above alluded to the lower ribs

-
, ,

are co n trolled by the diaphragm which draws them

s li gh t ly d ownward W hil e ot h er mu sc l es h ol d th em in
,

place and the intercostal m uscles force the m outwa rd ,

whic h combi n ed action increases the mid chest cavity -

to its maximum In addition to this muscular acti on

.
,

the upper ribs are als o li fted and forced outward by

the i ntercostal m uscles whi c h increases the capacity
,

of the upper chest to its fullest extent .

If you have studied the special features of the four

given meth ods of breathing you will at once see that
,

the Complete Breathing comprises all the advantageous

features of the three other methods plus the reciprocal ,

advantages accrui n g fro m the combined action of the

high chest mid chest and diaph ragm ic regions and
-
,
-
, ,

the normal rhythm thus obtained .

The Yogi Complete Breath is th e fundamental

breath of the entire Yogi Science of Breath and the ,

student must fully acquaint himself with it and mas ,

ter it perfectly be fore he canhop e to obtain results fro m

the other form s of breath mentioned and given in this
boo k H e should n ot be content with half learning it
.
-
,
 YOGI BREATH ING . 111

but shoul d go t o work in il it becomes hisearnes t unt

natural method of breathing This will require work .

,

ti m e and patience but without these things nothi n g is

,

ever accomplished There is no royal road to the Sci

.

e n ce of Breath and the stude n t m ust be prepared to

,

practice and stu dy in earnest if he expects to receive

results The results obtained by a co mplete mastery of
.

the Science of Breath are great a n d no o n e who has ,

att ained them would willi ngly go back to the old m eth
ods a n d he will tell his friends that he co n siders hi m
,

self amply repaid for all his work We say these .

things n ow that you m ay fully u n derstand the nec es s i

,

ty and impo rtance of masteri n g this fundamental meth

o d of Yogi Breathi n g i n stead of passi n g it by a n d try
,

ing some of the attractive looki n g variations given later

on in this book Again we say to you : Start right
.
, ,

a n d right results will follow ; but neglect your fo unda

tion s and your entire building will top ple over s ooner
or later .

Perhaps the better way to teach you how t o develop

the Yogi Complete Breath would be to give you si mple ,

directio n s regardi n g the breath itself and then follo w ,

up the same with general remarks concerning it and ,

then later on giving exercises for developing the chest ,

muscles and lu n gs which have been allowed to remain

in an undeveloped condition by i mperfect m ethods of
breathing Right here we wish to say that this Com
.

p let e Breath is not a forced or abnormal thing but on ,

the contrary is a going back to first principles a return —

to Nature The health y adult savage and the healthy

.

i n fant of c ivilization b oth breathe in this m anner but ,

civili z ed man has adopted unnatural meth od s of living ,

c lothing etc and has lost h is birthright A nd we

, .
, .
1 12 HATHA YO GA .

wish to re m ind the reader that the Co mplete Breath

does not neces sarily call for the c om plete fi lling of
the lungs at every inhalation One m ay inhale the .

average amount of air using the Complete Breathing

,

Method and distributing the air inhaled be the quanti ,

ty large or s m all to all parts of the lungs

, But one .

should inhale a series of full Complete Breaths several

times a day whenever oppo rtunity off ers in order to
, ,

keep the syste m in good order and condition .

The following simple exerci s e will give you a clear

idea of what the Complete Breath is
( )
I Stand or sit erect Breathing th rough the
.

nostrils i n hale steadily first filli ng the lower part of the

, ,

lungs which is accomplished by bringing into play the

,

diaphragm which descending exerts a gentle pressure

,

on the abdominal organs pushing forward the front ,

walls of the abdo m en Then fill the m iddle part of the

.

lungs pushi n g out the lower ribs breast bo n e and

, ,
-

chest Then fill the higher porti on of the lungs pro

.
,

t rud ing the upper chest thus lifting the chest includ
, ,

ing the upper si x or seven pairs of ribs In the final .

m ovement the lower part of the abdomen will be

,

slightly drawn in which m ovement gives the lungs

,

a support and also helps t o fill the highest part of the

lungs .

At first reading it m ay appear that this breath con

sists of three distinct movements This however is .
, ,

not the correct idea The inhalation is continuous the

.
,

e ntire chest cavity fro m the lowered diaphragm to the

highest point of the chest in the region of the collar
bo ne being e xpanded with a unifor m m ovem ent A void
,
.

a j erky series of inhalations and strive to attai n a ,

steady continu o us action Practice will soon overcome

.
 CHA PTER XV .

EF FECT o r CORRECT BREATH I N G .

Scarcely too much can be said of the advantages

attending the practice of the Complete Breath And .

yet the student who has carefully read the foregoing

pages sh o uld scarcely need to have pointed out to him
such advantages .

The practice of the Complete Breath W l ll make any

man or woman immu n e to Consumption and other pul
m o nary trou bles a n d will do away with all liability to
,
“ ”
co n tract colds as well as bronchial a n d similar weak
,

nesses Consumption is due pri n cipally to lowered vi

.

tality attri butable to an insufficient amount of air being

inhaled The impairme n t of vitality renders the sys
.

tem open to attacks from disease germs Imperfect .

breathing allows a considerable part of the lu n gs to re

m ain inactive and such porti ons o ff er an inviti n g field
,

for bacilli which invading the weakened tissue soon

,

produce havoc Goo d healthy lung tissue will resist

.

the germs and the only way to have good h eal thy
, ,

lung tissue is to use the lungs properly .

Co n sumptives are nearly all narrow chested What

-
.

does th is m ean ! Simply that these people were addict

ed to i m proper habits of breathing a n d consequently
,

their chests failed to develop a n d expand The man .

who practices the Com plete Breath will have a full ,

broad chest and the narrow chested man m ay develop

,
-

h is chest t o norm al proportions if he will but ad opt this

mode of b r eathing Such people must develop thei r
.

1 1 4.
 EFFE CT o r c o RRBc r BREATH . u ;

h t cavities if they value their lives Colds m ay

C es .

oft en be prevented by practicin g a little vigo rous Com

p le t e Breathing whe n ever you feel that you are being
unduly exposed When chilled b r eathe vigorously a
.
,

few minutes and you will feel a glow all over y our
,

bod y Most colds can be cured by Complete Br eathi ng

.

a n d partial fasting for a day .

The quality of the bloo d depends largely up or its .

proper oxygenati on in the lungs and if it is under ,

oxygenated it becomes poor i n quality and laden with

all sorts of impurities and the system su ff ers
,

from lack of nourishment a n d often beco m es actually ,

poisoned by the waste produ c ts remaining uneliminated

in the blood As the entire bo dy every organ and
.
,

every p art is dependent upo n the blood for nourish

,

ment i mpure blood must have a serious e ffect upon the

,

entire system The remedy is plain practice the Yo gi

.
—

Com plete Breath .

Th e sto m ach and other organs of nut r iti o n s u ffer

much from improper breathing Not only are they ill .

nourished by reaso n of the lack of oxygen but as the ,

foo d must absorb oxygen from the bloo d and become

oxyge n ated before it can be digested and ass i milated ,

it is readily seen how digestion and assimilation is im

paired by in correct breathing And whenever assim i.

lation is not norm al the system receives less and les s

'

n ourishment the appetite fails bodily vigor decreases

, , ,

and energy diminishes and the m an withers and de

,

clines All from the lack of proper breathing

. .

Even the nervous system su ff ers from improper

breathing inasmuch as the brain the spinal cord the
, , ,

nerve centers and the nerv es the m selves when improp

, ,

erly nourished by m eans of the blo od become poor and ,

I 16 H ATHA YOGA .

i n efficient inst ru m ents fo r generating storing and ,

transmitting the nerve currents And improperly

.

n ourished they will become if suffi cie n t oxygen is not

absorbed through the lu ngs There is a n other aspect
.

of the case whereby the nerve curren ts themselves or ,

rather the force from which the nerve currents spring ,

becomes lessened fro m want of proper breathi ng but ,

this bel o ngs to another phase of the subj ect which is

treated of in other chapters of this book a n d our pur ,

pose here is to direct your atte ntion to th e fact that

the mechani sm of the nervous system is rendered inef
fi c ient as a n i n strument for co n veyi n g nerve force as ,

the i n dire c t result of a lack of proper breathi ng .

I n the practice of the C o mplete Breath du ri n g ih ,

~

halatio n the diaphragm contracts and exerts a gentle

,

pressure up o n the liver stomach and other organs

, ,

which in connection with the rhythm of the lu n gs acts

as a gentle massage of these organs a n d stimulates
their actions and e n courages normal functioning Each
, .

i nhalation aids in this i nternal exercise and assists in,

causi n g a n or mal circulation to the organs of nutrition

and elimination In Hi gh or Mid Breathing the o r
.

ga n s lose the benefit accruing fro m this internal mas

sage .

The Western world is paying much attention to

Physical Culture j ust now which is a good thing But
,
.

i n their enthusiasm they must not forget that the exer

cise of the external muscles is not everything The ih .

ter n al organs also need exercise and Nature s pla n for

,
’

this exercise is proper breathing The diaphragm is

.

Nature s princip al instrument for this i n tern al exercise

’
.

Its motion vibrates the important organs of nutrition

and elim ination and m assages and kneads them at each
,
 CHAPTER XVI .

BREA T H I N G E X ERCI S ES .

We give below three forms of breath quite p opul ar ,

among the Yogis The first is the well kn own Yogi

.
—

Cleansing Breath to which is attributed much o f th e

,

great lung endurance found amon g the Yogis 3 They .

usually finish up a breathing exercise with this Clean

sing Breath and we have followed this plan in this
,

boo k We also give the Yogi Nerve Vitalizing Exer

.

cise which has been ha n ded down amo n g them fo r

,

ages and which has never bee n improved on by West

,

ern teachers of Physical ; Cu 1ture although som e o f ,

“ ”
them have bo rrowed it from teachers of Y ogi We .

also give the Yogi Vocal Breath which accounts large

,

iy for the m el od ious vibrant voices of the better class

,

of the Oriental Yogis We feel that if this book con

.

tained nothing m ore than these three exercises it w ould ,

be invaluable t o the Western student Take these ex .

erc is es as a gift fro m your Eastern brothers and put

them into practice .

G
TH E YO I C LEA N S I N G BREA TH .

The Yogis have a favorite form of breathing which

th ey p r actic e when they feel the necessity of ventilating
and cleansing the lungs They conclude many of their
.

o ther breathing e x ercises with this breath and we have ,

follo wed thi s practice in this bo ok This Cleansing .

Breathing v en t ilates and cleanses the lungs stimulates ,

th e c ells and gives a general tone to the respirato ry

”8
 B REATHING EXERCI SES .

o rgans and is co n ducive to their general healthy condi

,

tion Besides this e ff ect it is found to greatly refresh

.
,

the entire system Speakers singers etc will find

.
, , .
,

this breath especially restful after having tired the res ,

p irat o ry organs .

( )
1 Inhale a co m plete br eath .

( )
2 Retain the air a few seconds .

(3) Pucker up the lips as if for a whistle ( but do

not swell out the cheeks ) then exhale a little air ,

through the ope n ing with co n siderable vigor Then, .

stop for a moment retaining the air and then exhale

, ,

a little more air Repeat until the air is completely ex

.

haled Remember that considerable vigor is to be used

.

in exhaling the air through the Ope n ing in the lips .

This breath will be found quite refreshi n g when o n e

is tired and generally used up A trial will convince .
’

the student of its merits This exercise should be .

practiced until it can be performed naturally an d eas

ily as it is used to finish up a n umber of other exer
,

cises give n in this book and it should be thoroughly ,

understood .

T H E YO I G N ER E V VI TA LI Z I N G BREA TH .

This is an exercise well known to the Yogis wh o ,

consider it one of the strongest nerve stimulants and

invigorants known to man Its purpose is to s timu .
c

late the Nervous S yst em develop nerve force energy , ,

and vitality This exercise brings a sti m ulating press

.

ure to bear on important nerve centers which in turn ,

stimulate and energi z e the entire nervous sys te m and ,

send an increased flow of nerve force to all parts o f

the b ody .

( I ) Stand erect .
1 20 HATHA Y OGA .

( 2 ) I nhale a Comp lete Breath and retain sam e , .

(3 ) E x t end the arms straight in fr o nt of you let ,

!

ting the m be som ewhat limp and relaxed with o nly ,

suffi cient nerve force to hold them out .

( )
4 Slowly draw the hands back toward the shoul
ders gradually contracting the muscles and putting
,

force into them so that when they reach the shoulders

,

the fi sts will be s o tightly clenched that a tre mulous

m otion is felt .

( 5) Then keepin ,g the m uscles tense push the fists ,

sl owly out and then draw the m back rapidly ( still

,

tense )several ti m es .

( )
6 E x hale vigor o usly thr o ugh the mo uth .

( 7) Practice the Cleansing Breath .

The efficiency o f this exercise depends greatly upon

the speed of the drawing back of the fists and the ten ,

sion of the muscles and of course upon the full lu ngs

, , , .

This exercise must be tried to be appreciated It is .

“ ”
without e qual as a bracer as our Western friend ,
s

put it .

T H E Y OG I VOCA L B REA TH .

The Yogis have a fo rm of breathing to devel op the

vo ice They are noted for their wonderful voices
.
,

which are strong smooth and clear and have a won

, ,

d erful tru mpet like carrying power

-
They have p rac .

ticed this particular form o f breathing ex ercise which

has res ulted in rendering their voices soft beautiful ,

and fl ex ible i m parting to it that indescribable peculiar

, ,

floating quality combined with great power The e x

, .

erc is e given below will in time impart the above men -

t io ned qualities or the Yogi Voice to the student wh o

, ,

practices it faithfully It is t o be understoo d o f

.
,
1 22 HATHA YOGA ‘
.

ful experi m ents and practice on the part of the Yogis ,

and are the essence of numero us intricate and compli

c at ed e x ercises the non essential po rtions bein g c li m i
,
-

nat ed and the essential features retained .

( )
I TH E RETA I N ED B REATH .

This is a very i m portant exercise which tends to

strengthen and develop the respiratory m uscles as well
as the lungs and its freque nt practice will also tend to
,

expand the chest The Yogis have found that an

.

occasional holding of the breath after the lungs have

,

been filled with the Complete Br eath is very beneficial , ,

not only to the respiratory organs but to the orga n s o f

nutrition th e nervous system and the blood itself
, .

They have found that an occasional holdi n g of the

breath tends to purify the air which has remained in
the lungs from form er inhalations and to more fully ,

oxygenate the blood They also know that the breath

.

so retained gathers up all the waste matter and when ,

the breath is expelled it carries wi th it the e ff ete mat

ter of the system and cleanses the lungs j ust as a
, .

purgative does the bowels The Yogis recommend this

.

exercise for various diso rders of the sto m ach liver ,

and blood and also find that it frequently relieves bad

,

breath which often arises fro m poorly ventilated lungs

,
.

We recomm end students to pay considerable attention

to this ex ercise as it has great m erits The following
,
.

directions will give you a clear idea o f the e xercise

( I ) Stand erect .

( )
2 In h ale a C om plete Breath .

(3) R e tain t h e air as long as y o u can co m fortably .

E hale vigorously thr o ugh the Open mouth

(4) x .

65 ) Pr a cti c e t h e Cleansing B reath .

 BREATHING EX ERCISES . 1 23

A t first you will be able to retain the breath only a

short ti me but a little practice will also sh ow a great
,

i mprove ment Time yourself with a watch if you wish

.

to note your progress .

( 2 )LU N G C ELL S TI M U LA TI ON .

This exercise is designed to stimulate the air cells in

the lu ngs but begi nn ers must not overdo it and in no
, ,

case should it be indulged in too vigorously Some .

may find a slight dizziness resulting from the first few

trials i n which case let them walk around a little and
,

disconti n ue the exercise for a while .

( )
I Stand erect with hands at, sides .

( )
2 Breathe in very slowly and gradually .

3) While inhaling gently tap the chest

, with the
finger tips c onstantly changing position
, .

(4) When the lungs are filled retai n the breath

,

and pat the chest with the palms of the hands .

( 5) Practice the Cleansing Breath .

This exercise is very bracing and stimulating to the

whole bod y and is a well known Yogi practice Many
,
-
.

of the air cells of the lungs become inactive by reason

of incomplete breathing a n d often become al most ,

atr ophied One who h as practiced imperfect breathi ng

.

for years will find it not so easy to stimulate all these

ill used air cells into activity all at once by the Co m
-

p let e Breath but this ,

exercise will do m uch toward
bringing abo ut the desired result and is worth study ,

and practice .

(3) RI B S TRE TC H I N G .

We have e xplained that the ribs are fa stened by

cartil ages which admit of considerable e xpansion In
,
.

proper breathing the ribs play an important pa rt and

, ,
1 24 HATHA YO GA .

it is well t o o ccas i onally give th em a little special ex

erc rs e I n order to preserve their elasticity Standing .

or sitting in u n natural positions to which m any of the

,

Western people are addicted is apt to render the ribs

,

more or less sti ff and inelastic and this e x ercise will

,

do m uch to overco me same .

( I ) Sta n d erect
.

( )
2 Pla c e the hands one on each side of the b ody ,

as high up under the armpits as convenient the thu mbs ,

reachi n g toward the back the pal m s on the side of the

,

chest and fi n gers to the front over the breast .

3) I n hale
-
a Complete Breath .

4) Retain the air for a short time .

( 5) Then gently squeeze the sides at the same ,

time slowly exhali n g .

6
( ) Practice the Clea n sing Breath .

U s e mode r ation in this exer c ise and do not overdo it .

(4) C H ES T E X PA N S I ON .

The chest is quite apt to be contracted from b ending

over one s work This exercise is ve ry good for the
’
.

purpose of restoring natural conditions and ga i ning

chest expansion .

( )
1 Stand erect .

( )
2 Inhale a Co m plete B r eath .

3 ) Retain the air .

(4) Extend both ar m s f orward and bring th e tw o

clenched fi sts together on a level with the shoulder .

( 5) Then swing back the fists vigorously until the

arms stand out straight sideways from the shoulders .

6
( ) The n bring back to Positi o n 4 and swing t o ,

Position 5 Repeat several ti m es

. .
1 26 H ATHA Y OGA .

7) A
S TI M U L TI N G A
CI RCU L TI ON .

( )
I Stand erect
'

( )
2 Inhale a Co m plete Breath and r etain .

3 ) Bend forward s lightly and g rasp a stic k o r

cane steadily and firmly and gradually e xerting y our
,

entire strength upon the grasp .

(4) Relax the grasp return ,

to first p o siti o n and ,

slowly exhale .

5) Repeat several ti m es .

6
( ) Fi n ish with the Cleansing Breath .

This exercise may be performed without the use o f

a stick or ca n e by graspi n g an imaginary cane using
, ,

the will to exert the pressure The exercise is a favo r

.

ite Yogi plan of stimulating the circulation by driving

the arterial blood to the extremities and drawi n g back ,

the venous blood to the heart a n d lungs that it m ay

take up the oxygen which has been inhaled with the
air In cases of poor circulation there is not e n ough
.

blo o d in the lu n gs to absorb the increased am ount of

o x ygen inhaled a n d the system does not get the full
,

benefit of the improved breathing In such cases par .

,

t ic ularly it is well to practice this exercise occasio n

, ,

ally with the regular Complete Breathing exerc i s e .

 CH A PTER XVII .

N OS TRI L -
BREA TH I N G VS . M OU T H - REA T
B HIN G
.

Olne of the first less ons in the Yo gi Science o f

Breath is to learn how to breathe through the nostrils
, ,

a n d to overco m e the c ommon practice of mouth

breathi n g .

The breathing mechanism of m an is so constructed

that he may breathe either through the mouth or n asal
tubes but it is a matter of vital importance to him
,

which method he follows as one bri n gs health and ,

s trength and the other disease and weakness .

It should not be necessary to state to the student

that the proper m ethod of breathing is to take the breath
through the nostrils but alas ! the ignorance amon g civ
,

iliz ed people regarding this simple matter is ast o u n ding .

We fi n d people in all walks of life habitually breathing

through their m ouths a n d allowing their children to
,

follow their horrible and disgusting example .

M any of the diseases to which civilized man is sub

j ec t are undoubtedly caused by this com mon habit o f
mouth breathing Children permitt ed to breathe in
-
.

this way grow up with impaired vitality and weakened

constitutions and in manhood and wom anhood break
,

dow n and become Chronic invalids The mother of .

the savage race does better being evidently guided by ,

her i n tuition She seems to instinctively recognize that

.

the n ostrils are the proper channels for the co nveyal of

air to the lungs and she trains her infant t o close its
,

little lips and breathe through the nose S he tips its .

my
1 28 HATHA YOGA .

head forward when it is asleep which attitude clo s es

,

the lips and makes nostril breathing i mperative If

-
.

our civilized mothers were to adopt the same plan it ,

wo uld work a great good for the race .

Many co n tagious diseases are contracted by the dis

gusting habit of m o uth breathing and many cases of
-
,

cold a n d catarrhal a ffections are also attributable to the

s am e cause Many persons who for the sake of ap
.
,

p ea ran c e
, s keep their mouth closed during the day ,

pers ist in m outh breathi ng at night a n d often contract

-

disease in this way Carefully conducted scientific ex

.

p erim en t s have shown that soldiers and sailors who

sleep with their mouths Open are m uch m ore liable to
contract contagious diseases than those who breathe
properly through the nostrils An instance is related
.

in which small pox became epidemic on a m an o f war

- - —

i n foreign parts , and every death which resulted was

that of some sailor or marine who was a mouth breath -

er not a single nostril breather succumbing

,
-
.

The organs of respiration have their only protective

apparatus filter or dust catcher in the n ostrils When
, ,
-
, .

the breath is taken through the mouth there is nothi ng ,

fro m mouth to lungs to strain the air or to catch the ,

dust and other foreign m atter in the air From mouth .

to lungs the dirt or impure substa n ce has a clear track ,

and the entire respiratory system is unprotected And .

,

moreover such incorrect breathing admits cold air to

,

the organs thereby i n juri n g them I n flammation o f

,
.

the respiratory organs often results from the inhalation

of cold air through the m outh The m an who breathes
.

through the mouth at night always awakens with a

,

p arched f eelin g in the m outh and a dryness in t he

x30 H ATH A YOGA .

breath in ex halation and in case they have accu mulated

, ,

t oo rapidly or have managed to escape through the

sieves and h ave pe n etrated forbidden regions nature ,

protects us by producing a sneez e which vi olently ej ects

the intruder .

The air when it enters the lungs is as different from

,

the outside air as is distilled water di ff erent from the

,

water of th e cistern The intricate purifying organiza

.

tion of the nostrils arresting and holding the impure

,

particles in the air is as important as is the action of

,

the mouth in stopping cherry stones and fish bones and

preventing the m from being carried on to the stomach .

Man should no mo re breathe through his mouth than

he w ould atte mpt to take food through his nose .

Anoth er feature of mouth breathing is that the nasal

-

passages being thus comparatively unused consequent

, ,

ly fail to keep them selves clean and clear and bec ome ,

clogged up and unclean and are apt to contract l ocal

,

diseases Like abandoned roads that soon beco m e

.

filled with weeds and rubbish unused nostrils becom e

,

filled with impurities and foul m atter .

One who habitually breathes through the nostrils is

not likely to be troubled with clogged or stu ff y nostrils ,

but for the benefit of those who have been more or less
addicted to the unnatural m outh breathing and who -
,

wish to acqui re the natural and rational m ethod it ,

m ay perhap s be well to add a few words regarding the

way t o keep their n o strils clean and free from i mpuri
ti es .

A favorite Oriental m ethod is to snu ff a littl e water

up the nostrils allowing it t o run d own the passage into
the throat from thence it m ay be ej ected through the
,

mouth S ome H indu Yogis i mm erse the face in a

.
 NIOS TRI L B REATHING
‘
.

bowl of water but this latter method req uires c onsider

,

able practice and the first m entioned meth od is equally

,

effi cacious and much more easily performed

, .

Another good plan is to open the window and

breathe freely closing one nostril with the finger or
,

thu mb sniffing up the air through the open nostril

,
.

The n repeat the process on the other nostril Repeat .

several times changing nostrils This metho d will

, .

usually clear the nostrils of obstructions .

We urge upon the student the necessity of acquiring

this method of breathing if he has it not and caution
,

him agai n st dis m issing this phase of the subject as un

i mportant .
 CHAPTER XVIII .

TH E LI TTLE LI V ES OF T H E BOD Y .

Hatha Yoga teaches that the phy s ical body is built up

“
o f cells each cell c ontaining within it a miniature life
,

“ ”
which controls its action These lives are really
.

bits of i ntelligent mind of a certain degree of develop

ment which enable the cells to do their w ork properly
, .

These bits of intelligence are of course subordinate to , ,

the control o f the central mind of man and readily ,

obey orders given from headquarters co n sciously or ,

unconsciously Th ese cell i ntelligences m an i fest a per

.

fec t adaptio n for their particular work The selective .

action o f the cells extracting from the blood the nour

,

is hm ent required and rej ecting that which is n ot need

,

ed is an insta n ce of this intelligence The process of .

digestion assimilation etc shows the intelligence of

, , .
,

the cell s either separately or collectively in group s

'

.
, ,

The healing of wounds the rush of the cells to the

,

points where they are most needed and hundreds of ,

other examples known to the investigators all mean to ,

“ ”
the Yogi stude n t examples of the life within each
ato m Each atom is to the Yogi a living thing lead
.
,

ing its own inde pendent life These atom s combine .

into grou p s for so me end and the groups manifest a

,

group intelligence so l ong as it rem ains a group ; these

-
,

groups again combining in turn and form ing bodies of ,

a more complex nature which serve as vehicles for

,

higher for m s of consciousness .

W h en death comes to the physical bo dy the cells ,

1 32
1 34 HATHA YOGA .

lea st the greater part of it co ming within the control ,

of the Instinctive Mind .

These cells are c o nstantly at work perfo rm ing all ,

the duties of the body each having its own particular

,

work to do and doing it to the best of its ability

—
.

“ ”
S o m e o f the cells belong to the reserves and are
“ ”
kept under waiting orders ready for some sudden
demand of duty Others belo n g to the army o f active
.

workers of the cell community and manufacture the

-

secretions and fluids needed in the varied work of the

syste m Some of the cells are statio n ary others re
.
—

main s o until needed when they m anifest moti on

,

others are constantly on the m ove some making regular ,

trips and som e bei n g rovers O f these moving cells .

some perform the work of carriers some m ove fro m ,

place to place doi n g odd j obs and others do scavenger ,

work and still another class belong to the police force

. ,

or army of the cell community Cell life in the body

,
-
.
-

may be compared to a large colony operated on a c o ,

operative plan each cell having its own work to d o

,

for the common good each working for all and all, ,

working for the com mon welfare Th e cells o f the .

nervous syste m carry messages from one part o f the

bo dy to the brain and from the brain t o another part
of the body being living telegraph w
, ires as the n erves ,

are co mposed of minute cells in close contact with each

other having small proj ections which are I n c ontact
,

with si m ilar proj ections from other cells s o that they ,

are practically holdi n g hands and forming a chain ,

along which passes the Prana .

O f the carriers m oving workers police m en so ldiers

, , , ,

etc o f the cell co mmunity there are millions upon m il

.
,
-

lio ns in each hu m an body it being esti mated that th ere

,
 L ITTLE LIVES . 1 35

ar e in one cubic i n ch of bl ood at least 75 oo o ooo ooo , , ,

( seventy fi -
v e thousand millio n )of the red blo o d cells -

alone not to speak of the other cells The c ommunity

, .

is a large one .

The red blood cells which are the comm on carriers

-
,

of the body float in the arteries and veins taking up a

, ,

load of oxygen from the lu ngs a n d carrying it to the

various tissues of the body giving life and strength ,

to the parts On the return j ourney through the vei n s

.

they carry with them the waste products of the system ,

which are the n thrown o ff by the lu n gs etc Like a , .

mercha nt vessel these cells carry a cargo on their out

goin g trip and bri n g a second cargo on their return
trip Othe r cells force their way through the walls
.

of the arteries and veins a n d through the tissues on

their errand of repair work etc upon which they have , .
,

been sent .

Besides the red blood cells or carriers there are

-
, ,

several other kinds of cells in the blood Among the .

most interesting of these are the policemen a n d sol

diers of the cell community The work of these cells
-
.

is to protect the system from germs bacteria etc which , ,

.
,

m ight cause trouble or disease When one of these .

policemen comes in contact with a n intruding germ

the police cell enmeshes it and then proceeds to devour
it if it be not too large if it be too large for him to
,
—

get away with he su mmons other cells to his assistance ,

when the combined force gather arou n d the e n emy

and carry it to some point of the bo dy where it m ay
be thrown out Boils pi mples etc are instances of
.
, , .
,

the throwing out of some i ntruding ene my or enemies

by these policemen of the s ystem .

There is much work for the red blood cells t o d o -

.
I 36 HATHA Y OGA .

They carr y the oxygen t o the pa rts of the body ; th ey

push along the no urishm ent obtained from th e food to
the parts of the body where it is needed to build up
and repair ; they extract from the nourish m ent j ust the
ele ments ne eded to manufacture gastric j uice saliva , ,

pancreati c j uices bile m ilk etc etc and then com

, , , .
, .
,

bine the m in the proper proportions for use They do .

a thousand and one things and are busy continuously

like a lot of ants in and around an anthill The .

Oriental teachers h ave l ong known and taught o f the

“ ”
e x istence and work of these little lives but it has ,

remained for Western science to dig into the subj ect

in such a way as to bring to light the detail s o f their
w o rk .

Cells are being b o rn and cells are dying ev ery mo

m ent o f our existence Cells reproduce themselves by
.

enlarging and subdividing the original cell swelling

,

until it finally for m s two parts with a s m all connecting

“ ”
waist ; then the connectio n part s and there are tw o
independent cells instead of one The new cell in turn
.

divides itself up and s o on

,

Cells enable the body to carry o n its work of con

t inual regeneration Every part of the hu m an body is
.

undergoing a constant change and tissues are being

continually renewed Our ski n bo nes hair, muscles
.
, , ,

“ ”
etc are constantly being repaired and m ade over
.
,
It .

t akes about four months to replace Our finger nails

about four weeks to replace o ur skin Every part of .

our b odies is being worn out and renewed and t e

paired constantly And these little workm en the cells
.
—

-are the agency

per forming this wonde rf ul task Mil .

lions o f these little workers are ever m oving along o r

wo rkin g in a fix ed po sition in all part s of ou r b odies ,
1 38 HATHA Y OGA .

apt to o verlook it and yet so wonderful as to cause the

,

student to realize the greatness of the intelligence dis

played and called into force in the work .

Let us suppose that a human body is wounded that —

is cut or tor n by so m e outside agency The tissues

, .
,

lym phatic and blood vessels gla n ds muscles nerves , , , .

and so m etimes even the bone is severed and the con , ,

t inuity interrupted The wou n d bleeds gapes and

.
,

causes pain The nerves carry the message to the brain

.
,

calling loudly for immediate help and the Instinctive ,

Mind sends m essages here and there in the body call ,

i n g out a sufficient force of repair workmen who are ,

hurried to the scene of dan ger In the meantime the .

blood pouri n g from the i n j ured blood vessels washes

away or at least tries to wash away the foreign s ub
, ,

stances that have entered the organism such as dirt , ,

bacteria etc which would act as poisons if allowed

, .
,

to remain The blood comi n g i n contact with the out

.
,

side air Coagulates a n d forms a sticky sort of substance

, ,

somewhat resembli n g glue a n d forms the begi nn ing of ,

the coming crust or scab The millio n s of blood cells .

whose duty it is to do the repair work arrive on the

“ ”
scene on the dou ble quick and at once begin to again
-

connect the tissues displaying the most wonderful intel

,

lig enc e and activity in their work The cells of the tis .

sues nerves blood vessels on both sides of the wound

, , , ,

begi n to increase and multiply bringi ng into being mil ,

lions of new cells which adva n cing fro m bo th sides

, , ,

fi nally m eet in the center of the wou n d This form ing of .

new cells b ears all the appearance of a disorderly pur ,

p o s eles s eff ort but in a short

,
ti m e the hand of the
commanding intelligence and of its subordinate centers
of influence begins to S h ow itself Th e new cell s of .
 L ITTLE LIV E S . 1 39

th e bl ood vessels connect with the same kind of cells on

the opposite side of the wound formi n g new tubes ,

through which the blood m ay flow The cells of what .

is known as the co n “
nective tissue unite with others
of their kind a n d draw together the wound New .

ne rve cells form on each of the severed ends and send , ,

ing out filaments gradually repair the broken wires

, ,

u ntil at last the message passes agai n without inter

“
ruption After all this i n side work is completed
.

and blood vessel nerve and con n ective tissue are fully
,

repaired the cells of the skin start in to fi n ish the

,

task and new epidermis cells spring into existence and

,

new S ki n is formed over the wou n d which has healed ,

by that time All orderly showi ng discipline and in

.
,

t elligenc e The healing of a wound apparently so

.
—

simple brings the careful observer face to face with

—

the Intelligence which pervades all of Nature le ts —

hi m see Creation in active Operation Nature is ever .

willing to draw aside the veil a n d allow us to peep a

little into the sacred chamber beyo n d ; but we p oo r
ignorant creatures heed not her i nvitation but pass by ,

unheedi n g and waste our m i n d force on silly things

and hurtful pursuits .

So much for the work of the cell The cell m ind .

-

is supplied from the U niversal Mind the great store —

”
house of mind stu ff and is kept in touch and di
- —

rec t ed by the mind of th e cell centers which are in -

,

turn controlled by higher centers until the central I n ,

s t inct ive Mi n d is reached But the cell mi n d is not

.
-

able to express itself without both of two other princi

ples matter and prana It needs the fresh material
—
.

supplied by the well digested food in order to m ake

-
,

for itself a m ediu m of ex pressi o n I t als o needs a .

I 4o HATHA YOGA .

S upply of prana or vital fo rce I n order to m ove

, ,

and have action The triune principle o f Life m ind

.
—
,

matter and fo rce is nec essary in the cell as in the

—

man Mind needs force or energy ( prana ) in order

.

to m anifest itself in action through matter As in

'
.

great things so in s m all as abo ve so below

—
.

In our previous chapters we have spoken of the

digestion and of the importance of giving the blood a
goodly supply of nourishi n g well digested food in,
-
,

order that it m ight properly perform its work of re

pairi n g and building up the parts of the body In this .

chapter we have shown you how the cells use the ma

terial in order to do the building how they use the —

material to bu ild up themselves and then h ow they ,

build th ems elv es i n the body Reme mb er the cells

.
, ,

which are used as building bricks surround themselves ,

with the m at erial obtai n ed from the foo d m aking them ,

selves bo dies as it were ; then take up a supply of

,

prana or vital energy and are then carried or pushed

to where they are need ed where they build them ,

selves and are built up into new tissue bone muscle

, , , ,

etc Without proper material with which to form them

.

selves bo dies these cells cannot carry out their m ission ;

in fact canno t exist Persons wh o have allowed them
,
.

“
s elves to run down and who are su ffering from
imperfect nutrition have n ot nearly the norm al a m oun t
of blood cells and are consequently unable to have
-

th e work of the s ystem properly carried o n The cells .

m ust have material with which to make bodies and ,

there is only one way in which they can receive thi s

material by m eans of n ou rishment in the food And
—
.

unless there is suffi cient prana i n the system these cells

cannot mani fest su ffi cient energy to do their w o rk and
 CHAPTER XIX .

TH E CON TROL OF T H E I N V OLU N TA RY S Y S TEM .

In the preceding chapter of this book we hav e ex ~

plained to you that the hu m an bo dy is m a de of m illi o ns

o f tiny c ells each end owe d with suffi ci ent m atter t o
,

enable it to d o its work with suffic ient Prana to give

—

“ ”
it the energy it requ ires with su fficient mind stu ff
— -

to give it the degree of intellige n ce with which to

direct its work Each cell belongs to a cell group or
.

family and the intelligence of the cell is in Close rap

,

port with the intelligence of every other cell in the

group or family the combined i n telligence of the c ell
,

group resulting in a group m i n d These groups in -

.

turn are each a part of so m e other larger group o f

groups and so on until the whole fo rms a great re
,

public o i cell mind under the direction and control of

-

the Instinctive Mind The control of these great

.

groups is one of the duties of the I n stinctive Mind and ,

it u sually does its work well u n less interfered with ,

by the Intellect which sometimes sends it fearthought s

, ,

and in this and other ways dem oralizes the Instinctive

Mind Its work is also sometimes retarded by the I n
.

t ellec t insisting that it take up foreign and strange

habits of regulating the physical body through the cell
intelligence For instance in the case of constipation
.
, ,

the Intellect being busy with other work will not allow ,

the body t o respond to the calls of the Instinctive Mind ,

acting in response to a demand from the cells o f the

Colon no r does it pay attention t o th e d em ands for
—

1 43
 I N V O LUNTARY C ONTR OL . 1 43

water and the cons equence is that the I nstinctive

—

Mind is unable to execute th e proper orders and both ,

it a n d certai n of the cell groups become demoralized and

-

scarcely know what to d o bad habits springing up —

and rep lacing the natural habit Someti m es s om ething .

akin t o a rebellion S prings up in som e of the cell

gro ups resultin g no doubt fro m some interruption in
,

the natural course of their govern ment the intro d uc ,

tion of strange customs causing a co n fusion At tim es .

it seem s that so m e of the smaller groups ( and even

“
s ome of the larger on certain occasions ) go on a
”
strike rebelling against un accustomed and i mproper
,

work forced up on the m working overti me and si m i

— —

lar causes such as a lack of proper nourish ment Thes e

, .

little cells often act j ust as would men under the sam e
circumstances the analogy is often sta rtling to the
—

observer a n d investiga tor These rebellions or strikes

.
, ,

seem to spread if m atters are not arranged and even ,

when matters are patched up the cells see m to return

to their work in a sullen manner and i n stead of doing ,

the best they know how they will do as little as possi

ble and j ust when they feel like it A restorati on o f
, .

n ormal conditions resulti n g from i n creased nutrition

, ,

proper attention etc will gradually bri n g about a re

, .
,

turn to nor mal conditions but m atters m ay be e x ,

p ed it ed by giving the cell groups direct o rders

-
f rom
the Will It is asto n ishing how soon order and disci
.

pli n e may be restored in this manner The highe r .

Yogis have a wonderful control over the involuntary

system and c an act directly upon nearly every cell in
their bo dy And even so m e of the s o called Yogis o f
.
-

the cities of India those little mor e than m ount ebank s

—
,

who e xhibit their perform ances for so m any coppers

 HATHA Y OGA .

fro m each wanderi ng traveler are able to give inter

— ‘

esting exhibitions of this control som e of the exh ibi ,

tions however being disgusting to persons o f fine

, ,

sensibilities and painful to the real Yogis wh o mo urn ,

to see a noble science prostituted in this way .

The trained will is able t o act directly up o n thes e

cells and groups by a simple process of direct con
,

centration but this plan requires m uch training o n

,

the part of the student There are other plans whereby

.

the will is called into operation by the student repeating

certain wo rds in order to focus his Will The aut o .

suggestions and a ffi rmations of the Western world act

in this way The words focus the attention and Will
.

upon the center of the trouble and gradually ord er is

restored a m ong the striking cells a supply o f Prana ,

also being proj ected to the seat of the trouble thus ,

giving the c ell s additional energy At the sam e ti me .

the circulation to the a ffected region is increased there ,

by giving the c ells m ore nourish m ent and building ma

t erial .

One o f the simplest plans o f reaching the seat o f

trouble and gi ving a vigorous order t o the cells is the
one taught by the Hatha Yogis t o the i r students to ,

be used by the m u ntil they are able t o us e the c onc en

t rat ed Will without any aids The plan is simply to
.

“ ”
talk up to the rebellious organ or part giving it ,

orders j ust as one would a group of school boys o r a

squad of recruits in the army Give the o rder posi
.

t iv ely and firm ly telling the organ j ust what you wish
,

it to p erform repeating the comm and sha rply several

,

ti mes A tapping o r mild slapping of th e part o r the

.
,

part of the body over the affected part will act to ,

attract the attenti on of th e c ell group j ust as d oes the

-
1 46 HATHA Y OGA .

necess ary ; use any words which m ay c om e to yo u so ,

lon g as they convey a sharp positive command that

the organ shall do its work The heart s ac tion may
.
’

be improved in the same way but o n e must proceed

'

in a far more ge n tle manner as the cell group o f the

,
—

heart is possessed of a much higher degree of intelli

gence than that of the liver for insta n ce and must
, ,

be approached in a more respectful manner Gently .

remind the heart that you expect it to do its work in a

better m anner but speak to it politely and do not
,

“ ”
attempt to bulldoze it as you would the liver The .

heart cell group is the mo st intelligent of the groups

-

controlling any of the orga n s the liver group is the —

most stupid and less i ntelligent being of a decidedly ,

mulish disposition whereas the heart is like a thorough

,

bred horse intellige n t and alert If y our liver is re

, .

bellio us you m ust go for it vigorously rememberi n g its ,

mulish propensities The stomach is fairly intelligent

.
,

although not as m uch so as the heart The Colon is .

quite obedient although patient a n d long su ffering

,
.

One may give the Colon commands to evacuate its

contents at a certain time every mor n ing ( naming the
hour ) and if you will tru s t it sufficie n tly to go to the
,

stool at that particular hour keep your engagement —

,

in fact you will find that the Colon will i n a short

—

time do as you wish it to But rem ember that the

.

poor Co lon has been greatly abused and it m ay take

a little time to regain its co n fidence Irregular me n .

s t ruat io n m ay be regulated and norm al habits acquired

, ,

in a few months by marking the proper date on the

calendar and then each day giving on esel f a ge ntle
treat m ent along the lines above m entioned telling the ,

cell groups controlling the functi on that it is no w so

-
 INVO LU NTARY CONTR OL . 1 47

many days be fore the expected time and that yo u wish

them to get ready and do their work so that when the ,

ti m e arrives everything will be normal As you near .

the ti me call the group s attenti o n that the ti m e is

,
’

growing shorter a n d that it must attend to its busi

ness Do not give the comm ands in a trifling man
.

ner but as if you really meant them and you must —

mean them a n d they will be obeyed We have seen

—
.

m any cases of irregular m e n struation relieved in this

way in from one to three months This m ay s o und .

ridiculous to you but all we can say is to try it for

,

yourself We have not space to point out the method

.

to be employed for each complaint but you will read ,

ily see j ust what organ or group controls the seat of

the trouble from what we have said in other chapters ,

and the n give it its orders If you do not know what

.

orga n is causi n g the trouble you at least know the

,

regio n of the disturba n ce and m ay direct your co m

ma n ds to that part of the body It is not necessary .

for you to know the name of the organ j ust direct —

your comma n ds to the spot a n d say to it : Here Yon ,

”
etc. This book is not inten ded as a treatise upon the
cure of disease its obj ect bei n g to point out the road
,

to health by preve n ti n g disease but these little hints at

,

restori n g normal fu nctio n ing to organs which have

been misbehavi n g may help you somewhat .

You will be surprised at the m easure of control which

you may gain over your body by following the above
method and variations of the same You will be able .

to reliev eyou r headaches by directing the blo od to flo w

downward ; you will be able to warm y our cold fee t

by ordering the blood to flow to th e m in increased quarr

tities the Prana of course going along als o ; you m ay
, , ,
1 48 HATH A Y OGA .

equalize th e circulation thus stimulating th e entire

,

b ody ; you may relieve tired portions of the b ody I n .

fact there is no e n d of the things you may do along

,

this li n e if you have but the patience to try If yo u

.

do not know just what commands to give you m ay say

to the part Here you get better I want this pain
, ,
—

to leave I want you to do better or somethi n g

—
,

similar But all this requires practice and patie nce

.
,

of course There is n o r oyal r oad t o its acco m plish

.

ment .
1 50 HATHA Y OGA .

s ic al ex e rcise Prana as well as heat fro m the rays of

—

th e sun Prana as well as oxygen fro m the ai r he

—

breathes and so on This subj ect of Prana is inter

—
.

woven with the entire Hatha Yoga Ph ilosophy and ,

must be seriously considered by its students This .

be i ng the case we m ust consider the question What

, ,

is Prana
We hav e e xplained the nature and uses o f Prana in
“ ”
our little book The Science of B reath and also in
, ,
“
our Yogi Philosophy and Orie ntal Occultism more ,
”
generally know n as The Yogi Lessons And
w e dislike to fill the pages of this book with what may
seem to be a repetition of that which has appeared in
our other books But in this i n stance a n d a few others
.
, ,

we must reprint what we have already said for m any ,

people who read this book may not have seen our other
“ ”
publicati ons and to omit any mention of Pra n a would
,

be unfair And then a work on Hatha Yoga without

.
, ,

a description of Prana would be absurd We will not .

take up m uch space in our description and will try to

g ive only the gist o f the subj ect .

Oc cultists in all ages a n d lands have always taught ,

usually secretly to a few followers that there was t o be ,

found in the air in water in the food in the sunlight

, , , ,

everywhere a substance or principle from which all

,

activity energy power and vitality was derived They

, , .

di ff ered in their ter m and na m es for this force as ,

well as in the details of their the ories but the m ain ,

pri n ciple is to be found in all occult teachings and

philosophies and has for centuries past been found
,

among the teachings and practices o f the Oriental

Yogis We have preferred to designate this vital prin
.

c iple by the na m e by which it is known among the

 ‘

PRA NI C ENERGY
'

. I SI

Hindu teachers and stude nts gurus and chelas a n d — —

“
have used for this purpose the Sanscrit w ord Pt ana ,
”
m ean i n g Absolute E n ergy .

Occult authorities teach that the principl e which

“ ”
the Hindus term Prana is the u niversal principle of
energy or force and that all energy or force is derived
,

from that principle or rather is a particular form of

, , ,

manifestatio n of that principle These theories do not .

concern us in the con sideration of the subj e c t matter

of this work and we will there fore confi n e ourselves
,

to an understa n di n g of prana as the principle of energy

exhibited in all livi n g things which disti n guishes the m
,

from a lifeless thi n g We may consider it as the active

.

principle of life Vital Force if you please It is

—
, .

fo u n d i n all form s of life from the amoeba to man,

fro m the m ost elementary form of plant life to the

highest form of animal life Prana is all pervading . .

It is found in all thi ngs havi n g life and as the occult

philosophy teaches that life is in all things in every —

atom the apparent lifeless n ess of some things bei n g

—

o nly a lesser degree of manifestati on we may unde r ,

sta n d their tea c hi n gs that pran a is everywhere in ,

everything Pra n a m u s t not be c o nfounded with the

.

Ego that bit of Divi n e Spirit in every soul aroun d

—
,

which clusters matter a n d e n ergy Prana is merely

a form of energy used by the Ego in its material m
.

ani
fes t at ion When the Ego leaves the body the prana
.
, ,

being no longer under its co ntrol responds on ly to the ,

orders of the i n dividual ato ms or groups of atoms , .

formi n g the body and as the bOdy disintegrates and is

,

resolved to its origi nal elements each ato m takes with ,

it suffic ien t pra n a to en able it to form new combinatio n s ,

the unused prana returning to the great universal store

1 52 H ATHA YOGA .

house from which it cam e With the Eg o in c ontrol .

,

cohesion e x ists and the atoms are held together by

the Will o f the Ego .

Prana is the nam e by which we designate a uni

versal principle which principle is the essence of all
,

m otion fo rc e or energy whether mani fested in gravi

, ,

t at io n electricity the revoluti o n of the planets and

, , ,

all form s o f life fro m the highest to the lowest It

, .

may be called the soul of Force and Energy in all

their forms and that principl e which Operating in a
, ,

c ertain way causes that form of activity which aec om

,

pa n i c s Life .

This great principle is in all forms of matter and ,

yet it is not m atter It is in the air but it is not the

.
,

ai r nor one o f its chemical constitue n ts It is i n the .

food we eat and yet it is not the same as the n ourish

,

ing substances in the food It is in the water we .

drink and yet it is not one or m ore of the chemical sub

,

stances which combining m ake water It is i n the .

sunlight but yet it is not the heat or the light rays It

, .

“ ”
is the energy in all thes e things the things acting —

m erely as a carrier .

And m an is able to extract it fro m the air food , ,

water sunlight and turn it to goo d account in his own

,

organis m But do not m isunderstand us ; we have no

.

intention o f clai ming that Prana is in these things

m erely that it m ay be used by man Far from it .

Pr ana is in these things fulfilling the great law of

Nature and m an s ability to extract a portion of it and
,
’

use it is merely an incid ent The force would e xist .

th ough man were not .

This great principl e is in all fo rm s of m atter and ,

yet it is not matter It is in the air but it is not the

.
,
1 54 HATHA Y OGA .

sa m e source a n d latent fa c ulties be developed and

,

psychic powers attained One who has mastered the

.

scie nce of storing away pra na either consciously or un

,

cons c iously often radiates vitality a n d strength which

, ,

is felt by those comi n g I n contact with him and such ,

a person may impart this stren gth to others a n d give ,

them increased vitality a n d health Wh at I s called .

“ ”
magnetic heali n g is performed in this way although ,

many practitioners are not aware of the s ource of their

power .

Western scientists have been di mly aware o f this

great principle with which the air is charged but find ,

i n g that they could fin d no chemical trace of it or ,

make it register on a n y of their i n struments they ,

have generally treated the Orie n tal theory with dis

dain They could not explai n this pri n ciple an d so
.
,

de n ied it They see m ho w ever to recognize that the

.
, ,

air in certai n places possesses a greater amount of

“ ”
something and sick people are directed by their phy
s ic ians to seek such places in hopes o f regaining lost

health .

The oxygen in the air is appropriated by the blood

and is m ade use of by the circulatory syste m The .

prana in the air is appropriated by the nervous system ,

and is used in its work A n d as the oxyge n ated blood

.

is carried to all parts of the s ystem building up and ,

replenishing so is the prana carried to all parts of the

,

nervous system addin g strength and vitality I f we

, .

think of prana as bei n g the active principle o f what

“ ”
we call vitality we will be able to form a much
,

clearer idea of what an important part it plays in our

lives Just as is the oxygen in the blood used up by
.

the wants of the system so the supply of prana taken

,
 PRANI C ENERGY . 1 55

up by the nervous syste m is exhausted by our thinking ,

willing a c ti ng etc and in consequence constant re

, , .
,

plenishing is necessary Every thought every act .

, ,

every e ff ort of the will every m otion of a muscle uses

, ,

up a certain am ount of what we call nerve force which ,

is really a form of prana To m ove a muscle the brain .

sends out an impulse over the nerves and the muscle ,

contracts and so much pra n a is expended When it is

, .

remembered that the greater portion of prana acquired

by man comes to him from the air inhaled the im ,

portance of proper breathi n g is readily u n derstood .

It will be noticed that the Western scie ntific theories

regarding the breath confi n e themselves to the e ff ects
of the absorptio n of oxy ge n a n d its use through the ,

c irculatory system while the Yogi theory also takes

,

into consideration the absorption of Prana and its ,

manifestation through the cha nn els of the Nervous

System Before proceeding further it may be as well
.
,

to take a hasty gla n ce at the Nervous System .

The Nervous Syste m of man is divided into tw o

great systems viz the Cerebro Spinal Syste m and the
, .
,
-

Sympathetic System The Cerebro Spi n al Syste m con

.
—

sists of all that part of the Nervous System contained

within the cranial cavity and the spinal canal viz the , .
,

brain and the spinal cord together with the nerves ,

which branch o ff from the same This syste m presides .

over the functio n s of a n imal life k nown as volition ,

sensation etc The Sympathetic Syste m includes all

, .

t hat part of the Nervous S yste m located principally in

t h e thoracic abd o minal and pelvic cavities and which

, ,

is distributed to the internal organs It has control .

over the involuntary processes such as growt h, nu ,

t rit io n etc
, .
1 56 HATHA Y OGA .

Th e Cerebro Spinal System atte n ds to all the seeing

-
,

hearing tasting sm elling feeling etc It sets things i n

, , , , .

motion ; it is used by the Ego to think to m anifest —

consciousness It is the instrument with which the

‘

Ego com mu n icates with the outside world This sys .

t em m ay be like n ed to a telepho n e system with the ,

b rain as the ce n tral offic e and the spinal colu mn a n d ,

nerves as cable and wires respectively .

The brain is a great mass of n erve tissue and co n :

,

sists of three parts viz the Cerebrum or brain power

, .
, ,

which occupies the upper fro n t middle and back por , ,

“ ”
tion of the skull ; the Cerebellum or little brai n
‘

, ,

which fills the lower and back portion of the skull ; a n d

the Medulla Oblongata which is the broade n ed com ,

menc em ent of the spi n al cord lyi n g before and ir ,

front of the Cerebellu m .

The Cerebrum is the organ of that part of the min d

which manifests itself in intellectual actio n The Cere .

bellu m regulates the movements o f the volu ntary m us

cles The Medulla Oblo ngata is the upper enlarge d
.

end Of the spi n al cord a n d fro m it a n d the Cerebrum

,

branch forth the Cranial Nerves whic h reach to various

parts of the head to the orga n s of special sense
, ,

and to some of the thoracic and abdominal organs,and

to the organs of respiration .

The Spinal Cord or spi n al m arrow fills the spinal

, ,

“
canal in the vertebral column or backbo n e It is a , .

long mass of nerve tissue branc hing o ff at the several ,

vertebrae to nerves communicati n g with all parts of

the body Th e Spinal Cord is like a large telephone
.

cable and the emergi n g nerves are like the private

,

wires connecting therewith .

The Sympathetic Ne rv o us Sys tem consists of a

1 58 H ATHA YOGA .

Yogi cience teaches that this Solar Plex us is really

s

a mo st imp ortant part of the N ervous System and ,

th at it is a for m of brai n playi n g one of the pri n ci p al

,

part s in the hu m an eco n omy Western science

. see m s
t o be mo ving gradually towards a recognition of this
fact which has been known to the Yogis of the East
fo r centuries and some recent Western writers hav e
,
“ ”
term ed the Solar Plexus the Abdominal Brai n The .

Solar Plexus is situated i n the Epigastric region j ust ,

“
back o f the pit of the stomach on either side of the
spinal column I t is composed of white and gray brain
.

matter si m ilar to that composing the other brai n s o f

,

m an It has control of the main i n ternal organs of

.

m an and plays a much more important part tha n is

,

generally recogn ized We will not go i n to the Yogi

.

theory regarding the Solar Plexus further than to ,

say that they know it as the great ce ntral storehouse

of Prana Men have been known to be i n sta n tly
.

killed by a severe blow over the Solar Plexus and ,

prize fighters recognize its vulnerability and frequently

temporarily paralyze their Opponents by a blow o ver
this region .

The name Solar is well bestowed on this brain ,

as it radiates strength and energy to all parts of the

bo dy even the upper brains depending largely upon
,

it as a storehouse of Prana Sooner or late r Wes t ern

.

science will fully recognize the real function of the

Solar Plexus and will accord to it a far more im
,

portant place than it now o ccupies in th ei r t ext

b ook s and teachings ,
 CHAPTER XX I .

PRA N I O E X ERCI S ES .

We have told you in other chapter s o f this b ook ,

how Pran a m ay be obtained from the air food and ,

water We have given you detailed instruction in

.

breathing in eati n g in the use of fluids There re

, , .
,

m ains but little more for us t o say up on the subj ect .

But before leaving it we have thought it well to give

,

you a bit of the higher theory and practice of Hatha

Yoga touchi n g upon the acquirement a n d distribution
,

“
of Prana We allude to what has been called Ryth
.

”
mic Breathing which is the keyn ote t o much o f the
,

H atha Yoga practices .

All is in vibration Fro m the tiniest ato m to the

.

greatest sun everything is in a state of vibration

, .

There is nothing in absolute rest in nature A single .

atom deprived of vibrati on would wreck the universe .

In incessa n t vibration the universal work is performed .

Matter is being constantly played upon by energy and

countless forms and numberless varieties result and ,

yet even the form s and varieties are not perm anent .

They begin to change the moment they are c reat é d

’

and from them are born i nnumerable forms which in ,

turn change and give rise to newer forms a n d so on ,

and on in infinite succession Nothing is permanent

, .

in the world of form s and yet the great Reality is ,

unchangeable Form s are but appearances they

.
—

come they go but the Reality is eternal and un

, ,

c hangeable .
1 60 H ATHA YOGA .

Th e atom s of
the hum an b o dy are in constant v ibra c

tion Unceasing changes are occurring I n a few

.
.

months there is al m ost a c o mplete change in the mat

ter c om posing the body and scarcely a single atom
,

no w c om po sing your body will be fo und in it a few

months hence Vibration constant vibrati on Ch ange
.
, .
,

c onstant change .
g
In all vibration is t o be found a certain rhythm .

Rhyt h m pervades the universe The swing of the.

planets ar ound the sun ; the rise and fall of the s ea ;

the beating of the heart ; the ebb and flow of the tide ;
all follow rhythmic laws The r ays of the su n reach
.

us ; the rain descends upo n us in obedience to the same

,

law All growth is but an exhibition of this law All

. .

motion is a manifestation of the law of rhythm .

Our bo dies are as much subject to rhythmic laws as

is the planet in its revolution around the sun Much .

of the esoteric side of the Yogi Scie n ce of Breath is

!

bas ed upo n this known principle of nature

fi
By falling .

in With the rhyth m of the body the Yogi ma n ages to

,

absorb a great amou n t o f Prana which he di s poses of

,

t o bring about results desired by him We will speak .

of this at greater length later on .

The body which you occupy is like a small inlet run

ning in t o the land from the sea Although appar .

ently subj ect only to its own laws it is really s ubj ect
,

to the ebb and fl o w of the tides Of the ocean The .

great sea of life is swelling an d receding risi n g and ,

falling and we are responding to its vibration s and

,

rhyth m In a normal condition we receive the vibra

.

tion and rhyth m o f the great ocean of life and respon d ,

to it but at times th e m outh o f the inlet seems choked

,
1 62 HATHA YOGA .

rhythmic breathing Rhythm ic breathing will increa s e

.

the value of mental healing m agnetic healing etc sev , , .

,

eral hundred per cent .

In rhythm i c breathing the m ain thing t o be ac c

quired is the mental idea of rhythm To those wh o .

kno w anything of m usic the idea o f m easur ed c ount ,

ing is fam iliar To others the rhythmic step of th e

.
,
“
s oldie r : L e ft right ; left right ; left ri ght ; o ne tw o
, , , , ,

three four ; one two three four will convey t he

, , , , ,

idea .

The Yogi bases his rhyth mic time upon a unit cor
responding with the beat of his heart The heart beat .

varies in di fferent persons but the he ar t beat unit of ,

e ach person is the proper rhythmic standard for that

particular individual in his rhythmic breathing A S .

certain your normal heart beat by placin g your fi ngers

“
over y our pulse and then c ount , I 2 3 4 5 6; , , , , ,

1
, 2 3 4 5
, , etc until the rhyth m becom es firmly
, , .
,

fixed I n your mind A little practice will fix the .

rhythm so that you will be able to easily reproduce it

, .

The begi n ner usually i nhales in about si x pulse units ,

but he will be able t o greatly increase this by p ractice .

The Yogi rule for rhythmic breathi n g is that the

u n its of i nhalation and exhalation should be the same ,

while th e unit s for retention a n d between breaths .

should be one half the number o f those o f inhalation

-

and exhalation .

The following e x ercise in Rhythmic Breathing

should be thoroughly mast ered as it form s the bas is ,

of nu m erous other exercises to which reference will ,

be m ade later .

( )
1 Sit erect in an easy p o sture
, being sure to hold ,

the chest neck and head as nearly in a straight line as

,
 PRA NI C EXER CI SE S . 1 63

possible with shoulders slightly thrown back and

,

hands resti n g easily on the lap I n this position the

.

weight of the body is largely supported by the ribs and

the position may be easily mai n tained The Yogi has .

found that one cannot get the best e ff ect of rhythmic

breathing with the chest drawn in and the abd om en
protruding .

( )
2 Inhale slowly a Complet e Br eath counting si x ,

pulse units .

3) Retain counting
, three pulse units .

( 4 ) Exhale slowly through the nostrils counting ,

six pulse units .

5) Cou n t three pulse beats bet ween breaths .

( 6 ) Repeat a number of times but avoid fatiguin

, g
yourself at the start .

( 7 ) When you are ready t o close the exercise ,

practice the clea n sing breath which will rest you and
,

cleanse the lu n gs .

After a little practice you will be able to increase

'

the duratio n of the i nhalations and exhalations u n til ,

about fifteen pulse u n its are co n sumed In this ih .

crease reme mber that the u n its for rete ntion and be
,

tween breaths is one half th e units for inhalation and

-

exhalation .

Do not overdo yourself in your e ff ort t o increase the

duratio n of the breath but pay as much attenti o n as
,

”
possible to acquiring the rhyth m as that is m ore ,

important than the le ngth of the breath Practice and .

“ ”
try until you get the measured swi n g of the m ove
“ ”
ment and until you can almost feel the rhyth m of
,

th e vibratory m otion throughout your whole b ody It .

will require a little practice and perseverance but your ,

p le as ii re at y ou r improve m ent will m ake the t as k a n

I 64 HATHA Y OGA .

easy one The Yogi is a most patient and pers evermg

.

man a n d his great attainmen t s are due largely to the

,

po ssession of these qualities .

PRA NA GEN ERA TI N G .

Lying flat on the fl oor or bed co mpletely relaxed , ,

with hands resti n g lightly over the Solax Plex us

( over the pit of the sto m ach W here the ribs begin
, to
separate ) breathe rhythmically After the rhyth m is
, .

fully established will that each inhalation shall draw

in a n increased supply of prana or vital energy from
the Universal supply which will be taken up by the
,

nervous syste m and stored i n the Solar Plexus At .

each exhalation will that the prana or vital energy

shall be distributed all over the body t o every organ ,

a n d part ; t o every m uscle cell and atom ; t o nerve

, ,

artery and vei n ; from the top o f your head to th e

s oles of your feet ; invigorati n g strengthening and ,

stimulati n g every nerve ; recharging every ne rve cen

ter sending e n ergy force and strength all over the
,

system While exercisi n g the will try t o for m 3 m en

.
,

tal picture of the inrushing prana co m ing in through ,

the lungs and bei n g taken up at o n ce by the Solar

Plex us then with the exhaling e ffort being sent t o
, ,

all parts of the system down to the finger tips and

,

down to the toes It is not necessary to use the Will

'

with an e ff ort Simply commanding that which you

.

W ish to produce and then makin g the m ental pictu re

of it is all that is necessary Cal m command with .

t h e mental picture is far better than forcible willing

’

which only dissipates force needlessly Th e above .

e x ercise is m ost helpful and greatly refreshes and

s trengt he ns the nervous syste m and produces a re s tful
1 66 HATHA Y OGA .

of enabling the m to do better work and also as a

means of refreshing the mind and clearing it after
arduous mental labor .

Sit in an e rect posture keeping the spinal colu m n

,

straight and the eyes well t o the front letting the

, ,

hands rest on the upper part of the legs Breathe .

rh ythmically but instead of breathing through both

,

nostrils as in the ordinary exercises press the left

, ,

nos tril close with the thumb a n d inhale through the ,

right nos tril Then remove the thumb and cl ose

.
,

the right nostril with the fi nger a n d then exhale ,

through the left nostril Then without changi ng the

.
,

fingers inhale through the left nostril and changing

, ,

fingers exhale through the right The n i nhale through

, .

right and exhale through left and so o n alternating , ,

nostrils as above mentioned closing the unused nostril

,

with the thumb or forefinger This is one of the oldest .

forms of Yogi breathi n g and is quite important and

,

valuable and is well worthy of acquirement But it

,
.

is quite amusing to th e Yogis to know that to the

Western world this method is often h eld out as being
“ ”
the whole secret of Yogi Breathing To the minds .

”
of many Western readers Yogi Breathing suggests
,

nothi ng more than a picture of a Hi n du S itting erect , ,

“
and alternating nostrils in the act of breathing Only .

”
this and nothing more We trust that this little work
.

will open the eyes of the Weste rn world to the great

possibilities of Yogi Breathing and the numerou s ,

m ethods whereby it may be employed .

YO IG GRA N D PS Y C H I C BREATH .

Th e Yogis have a favorite form of psychic breath

ing which they practic e occasionally t o which ha s
,
 PRA NI C EXERCISES . 1 67

been given a Sanscrit term of which the ab ove is a

general equivalent We have given it last as it re
.
,

quires practice o n the part of the student in the line of

rhythm ic breathing a n d me ntal imagery which he has ,

now acquired by mea n s of the precedi n g exercises .

The general principles of the Gra n d Breath may be

“
summed up in the old Hi n du saying : Blessed is the
”
Yogi who can breathe through his bones This ex .

erc ise will fill the entire syste m with prana and the ,

student will emerge from it with every bone muscle , ,

nerve cell tissue organ and part energized a n d at

, , ,

tuned by the prana and the rhythm of the breath It .

is a general h ouseclea n i n g of the sys tem and he who ,

practices it carefully will feel as if he had been given

a new body freshly created from the crown of his
, ,

head to the tips of his toes We will let the exercise

.

speak for itself .

( )
I Lie i n a relaxed position at perfect
, eas e .

( )
2 Breathe rhythmically until the rhyth m is per
fec tly established .

( 3) The n inhaling
, and exhaling for m the
,
mental
image of the breath bei n g drawn up through the
bones of the legs and the n forced out through them ;
,

then through the bones of the arms ; the n through the

top of the skull ; then through the stomach ; then
through the reproductive region ; then as if it were
traveling upward and downward along the spinal col
umn and then as if the breath were being I nhaled

and exhaled throu gh every pore of the skin the whole ,

body bei n g filled with prana and life .

( 4 ) The n ( breathi n g rhythmically )send the cur

rent o f prana to the Seven Vital Centers in turn as , ,
1 68 HATHA Y OGA .

follo ws using the mental picture as in previous exer

,

cises
a
( ) To the forehead
.

( b ) To t h e back of the head

.

c
( ) To the base o f the brain
.

d
( ) To the Solar Plexus
.

e
( ) To the Sacral Region ( lower part of t h e

spi n e ) .

( f ) To the region of the n avel .

T o the reproductive regio n .

Finish by sweepi n g the curren t of prana to and fro ,

.

from head to feet several times

.
, .

( 5) Finish with Cleansing Breath .

 HATHA YOGA .

to s ee j ust what it mea n s In order to better c ompre

.
e

he n d it let us first conside r its opposite contraction —

.

When we wish to contract a m uscle in order that we ,

may perform s ome action we send an impulse from

,

t he brain to the m uscle an extra s upply of Prana

,

being conveyed to it a n d the m uscle contracts The

, .

Prana travels over the motor nerves reaches the mu s cl e ,

and causes it to draw its ends together and to thu s

exert a pull upon the limb or pa rt which we wish to
m ov e bri n gi n g it i nto action If we wish to dip ou r
, .

pen into the inkwell our desire ma n ifests i n to action by

,

o ur brai n sendi n g a curre n t of Prana to certain muscles

in our right arm ha n d a n d fi n gers and the m us c le s

, , ,

c ontracting in turn carry our pen to the inkwell dip

, ,

it in and bri n g it back to our paper And so with

, .

every act o f the body conscious or u n conscious In

, .

the conscious act the conscious faculties sen d a m es

sage to the Insti n ctive Mind which immediately obeys
,

the order by sending the curre n t of Prana to the de

si red part In the u n conscious movement the I ns tinc
.

tive Mind does not wait for orders but attends to the ,

whole work itself both the orderi n g and the e x ecuting

, .

But every action conscious or u n conscious uses up a

, ,

certain amount of Pi ana and if the amount so used is

,

in e xcess of the amount which the syste m has been in

the habit of storing the result is that one becomes weak
“
ened and generally used up The fatigu e of a
.

p articula r m uscle is somewhat di ff erent and resul t s ,

fro m the unaccustom ed work it has been called upon

to perfor m because of the unusual a mount of Prana
,

which has been directed toward contracting it .

We have S poken so fa r o nly o f the actual mov e

m ents of the body resulting from m uscula r contraction
, ,
 RE LAXATI ON. 1 71

proceeding fro m the current of p rana directed to the

muscle There is another form of th e using up o f
.

pra n a and the con sequent wear a n d tear up o n the

muscles which is not s o fam iliar to the m in
, ds o f most
of us Those o f our students wh o live in the cities will
.

recognize our m eaning when we compare th e waste o f

prana to th e waste o f water occasioned by th e failure
t o turn o ff the faucet in the washbowl and the resulti n g
trickling away of the water hour after hou r Well .
,

this is j ust what m any of us are doing all th e ti me

we are allowing our prana to trickl e away in a con
stant strea m with a consequent wea r and tear upo n
,

ou r muscles and indeed upon the whole system fro m

, , , ,

th e brain down .

Our students are doubtless fa m iliar with the a x iom

”
of psychology Thought takes form in action
“
, Our .

first impulse when we wish to do a thing is to m ake the

m uscula r movemen t necessary to the accomplishment
of the action proceedi n g fro m the thought But we .

may be restrained from making th e m ove m ent by an

other thought which S hows us the desirability of re
,

pressing the action W e m ay be inflamed with ange r

.

a n d m ay experience a desire t o strike the pers on caus

ing the anger The thought is scarcely formed in ou r
.

m ind before th e first steps toward s triking are taken .

But before the m uscle fairly m ov es our better j udg

m ent causes us to send a r epressing impuls e ( all this
in the fractio n of a s econd ) and the o pposite s et of
,

m uscl es h o lds back th e action of the first set The .

double acti on o rdering and counte rmanding is per

, ,

formed s o quickly that the mind cann ot gr asp any sens e

of m oti on but nevertheless the m uscle had begun to
,

quiver with the striking impulse by th e ti me the t e

1 72 HATHA YOGA .

straining impulse Ope rated the opposing set of m u scles

and held back the movement .

This same princ iple carried to still further refine

,

m ents causes a S light current of prana to the muscle

, ,

and a consequent slight muscular contraction to follow ,

many unrestrained thoughts with a constant waste of ,

prana and a perpetual wear and tear upon the ne rvo us

system and muscle s Ma n y people of an excitable
.
,

irritable emotional habit of mind constantly keep their

,

nerves in action a n d their muscles tense by unre

strained a n d u n controlled mental states Thoughts .

take form in action a n d a person of the tem perament

,

and habits j ust described is consta ntly allowing his

thoughts to manifest in the curre n ts se nt to the muscles
and the cou ntermandi n g current immediately follow

ing On the co ntrary the person who has naturally

.
, ,

or has cultivated a calm controlled mind will have

, , ,

no such impulses with their accompanying results He .

m oves along well poised and well in hand a n d d oes

not allow his thoughts t o run away with hi m He .

is a Master not a S lave, .

The custo m of t his attem pt of the e xcitabl e thoughts

t o take form in action a n d their repressing often
, ,

grows into a regula r habit becomes chro n i c and the

— —

nerves and m uscles of th e person so afflicted are con

s t antly under a strain the result being that there is a
”

constant drain upon the vitality or prana of the entire , , .

syste m Such people usually have a number of their

.

m uscles in a te n se condition which m eans that a co n,

stant though not necessarily strong current of pra n a

, ,

is being poured out to them and the nerves are co n ,

st ant ly in use carrying the prana We remember hear .

!

ing th e st o ry o f the g ood old wo m an who was taking

I 74 HATHA YOGA .

s m all cur rent c ompared to that sent out to contract a

muscle ) In relaxation the m uscles and nerves are
.

at rest and the prana is being stored up and con

,

served instead of being dissipated in reckless expendi

,

tures .

Relaxation may be observed in you n g children and ,

amo n g the ani mals Some adults have it a n d mark

.
, ,

you this such i n dividuals are always noted for their

,

endurance stre n gth vigor and vital ity

, ,
The lazy .

tramp is not an instan ce of relaxation ; there is a great

“
di ff erence between relaxation and loaf The former .

is a sensible rest betwee n working e ff orts the result ,

being that the work is done better and with less eff ort
the latter is the result of a mental i n disposition to work
a n d the conseque n t action ( or inaction )resulti n g from
such thought taki n g form .

The person u n dersta n di n g Relaxation and the con

serving o f energy accomplishes the best work He uses .

a pou nd of e ffort to do the pou n d of work and does ,

not waste slop over or allow his stre n g th to trickle

, ,

away The average person not understanding the law

.

uses up from three to twenty fi v e times the e n er gy -

needed to do his work be that work me ntal or physical

,
.

If you doubt this statement watch the people with

whom you come in co ntact and see how ma ny waste
motio n s they make a n d how ma n y exaggerated move
ments etc they ma n ifest They haven t themselves
, .
, .
’

well i n hand mentally and the result is physical,

prodigality .

In the Orient where the Yogi gurus or teachers

, , ,

hav e classes of chelas or stude nts who receive their

, ,

instructi on not from books but from the words of the,

teacher m any obj ect lessons from nature and illustra

,
 R ELAXATI ON . 1 75

tio ns are giv en in order that the idea may be associated

in the mind of the student with so m e m aterial obj ect or
,

living thing The Hatha Yoga gurus when teaching the

.
,

lesson of Relaxatio n ofte n direct their student s atten

,
’

tion to the cat or anim als of the cat tribe the p anther or
,
-
,

leopard being a favorite illustration in lands where these

a n imals are found .

Did you ever n otice a cat in repo se resting ! And ,

have you ever watched a cat crouchi n g before a mouse

hole ! In the latter case do you recall h o w the cat
crouched in an easy graceful attitude no muscular
,
—

c o n traction no te n se attitude ; a beautiful picture of in

,

te n se vitality i n repose but ready for insta nt action

, .

Still a n d motio n less remains the animal ; to all appear

anc es it might be asleep or dead But wait till it .

moves ! The n like a flash of light n i n g it darts forward .

The repo se of the waiti n g cat although absolutely ,

devoid of moveme nt or tense mus c les is a very live ,

“ ”
repose a very di fferent thi n g from lazi n ess
—
And .

note the entire abse n ce of quiveri ng m uscles ; of ne rves

“ ”
o n edge ; of beaded perspiration The mac hinery of .

actio n is not strai n ed with waiti n g There is no waste.

motion or tension ; all is in readi n ess a n d when the ,

moment of actio n co mes the prana is hurled into fresh

muscles an d u n tired nerves and the action follows the
t hought like the spark fro m the electric machine .

The Hatha Yogis do well to use the cat family as

an illustratio n of grace vitality and repose
, .

In fact there ca n be no great power of quick and

,

e ff ective action unless the ability to relax is also there .

“ ”
People who fi dg et fret and fu m e and stamp up and
, , ,

down are not the people who do the best work ; they
,

wear themselves out before the hour for action arrives .

E76 HATHA YO GA .

The m an wh o m ay be depended upon is the one wh o

possesses cal mness the ability to relax repose But
, ,
.

“
let not the fi dget y person despair ; relaxati on and
repose m ay be c ultivated and acquired j ust as m ay be
“ ”
o ther desirable gifts .

In our next chapter we will give a few si mple

s t ruc t o ns to those wishing to acquire a w o rking knowl
i -
a

edge of the Science of Rela x ation .

1 78 HATHA YOGA .

m ay be done but it will be hard work at first ; but you

,

will be well repaid for your troub le in the end Mental .

poise and repose may be brought about by the eradic a

tion of Worry and Anger O f Course Fear really
.
~

underlies both Worry a n d Anger but as we are per ,

haps more familiar W ith the idea of Worry and A n ger

as being eleme ntary mental states we will so treat them , .

The Yogi trains himself from youth to eradicate or

inhibit both of these emotion s and the result is that,

after he has developed his full po wers he is absolutely

serene and calm a n d prese nts the appearance of power
and strength He creates the same impression that
.

is conveyed by the mountain the sea or other manifes

, ,

t at io ns of restrai n ed force One in his presence feels

.

that here is i n deed great strength and power i n perfect

repose The Yogi considers A n ger an u n worthy emo
.

tion natural in the lower animals a n d in savage man

,

but totally out of place in the developed m an He con .

siders it a sort of temporary insanity and pities the man

who loses his self co ntrol sufficiently to fly into a rage
-
.

He knows that nothi n g is accomplished by it a n d that ,

it is a useless waste o f energy and a positive inj ury to

the brain and n ervous system besides bei n g 3 weaken
,

ing elem ent i n one s moral nature and S piritual growth

’
.

This does not mean that the Yogi is a timid creature

without any backbone . On the contrary he does ,

not know the existence of Fear and his calm n ess is ,

instinctively felt to be the indicatio n of strength not ,

weakness Have you ever n oticed that the men of the

.

greatest strength are almost invariably free from bluster

and threats ; they leave that for those who are weak
and wish t o be thought strong The Yogi also has .

eradicated Worry from his mental condition He has .

 R E LAXATI ON RU LES . 1 79

learned to know that it is a foolish waste o f energy ,

which results in no good and always works har m He .

believes in earnest thought when proble m s have to be

solved obstacles surm ou n ted but he never descends to
, ,

Worry He regards Worry as waste energy and

.

motio n a n d also as bei n g unworthy of a developed

,

man He k n ows his own nature and powers too well

.

to allow himself to worry He has gradually e manei

.

pated himself from its curse and teaches his students

that the freeing of o n esel f from Anger and Worry is
the first step i n practical Yoga .

While the co ntrolli ng of the u n worthy emotions of

the lower nature really form a part of other branches
of the Yogi philosophy it has a direct bearing upon
,

the question of Relaxation inasmuch as it is a fact that

,

one habitually free from Anger and W orry is corre

s p o nd ingly free from the pri n cipal cause s of involu n tary

m u scular co ntraction a n d nerve waste The man pos -

.

sessed by Anger has muscles o n the strain from chronic

involuntary impulses from the brai n The man who is .

wrapped i n the folds of Worry is con stantly in a

state of nervous strai n a n d mus c ular contraction S O .

it will readily be see n that when o n e cuts himself loos e

from these weake n i n g emotions he at the same ti me
frees himself from the greater part of the muscular con
!

tractio n o f which we have spoken If you would be

, .

free from this great source of waste manage to get rid ,

of the emotions causing it .

And on the other hand the practice of relax ing o f

, ,
—

avoidi n g the tense condition of the muscles in everyday ,

life will react upon the mind and will enable it to t e

—
,

gain its normal poise and repos e It is a rule that .

works both ways .

1 80 H ATH A YOGA .

One of the fi rst lessons in physical relax ation the .

Hatha Yogis give to their pupils is given in the next

paragraph Before beginning however we wish to
.
, ,

impress upon the m ind of the student the keynote of

the Yogi practice o f Relaxation It consists of two .

“ ”
words : LET GO If you master the m eaning of
.

these two words and are able to put the m into practice
you have grasped the secret of the Yogi theory and
practice of Relaxation .

The following is a favorite Yogi exerci se I n Re

laxation: Lie down flat on the back Relax as thor .

oughly as you can letting go of all the muscles Then

, .
,

still relaxed let your mind wa n der over the body from
,

the head down to the toes In doi n g this you will .

find that here and there are certain muscles still in a

tense condition let go of them If you do this th or
—
.

o ughly ( you will improve by practice )you will end by

having every m uscle in the body fully relaxed and me

nerves at rest Take a few deep breaths lyi n g quietly
.
,

and fully relaxed You m ay vary this exercise by

.

gently rolli n g over to one S ide and again relaxi n g com ,

p let ely .Then roll over to the other side and rela x
completely This is not as easy as it appears at first
.

readi n g as you will realize from a few trials But do

, .

not be discouraged Try it again until you master the

.

“ ”
knack While lying relaxed carry in your mind that
.

you are lyi n g on a soft dow n y couch and that your ,

body and limbs are as heavy as lead Repeat the words .

“ ”
several ti mes s lowly : Heavy as lead heavy as lead
, , ,

at the sam e t ime lifting the arms and then withdrawing

the pran a fro m them by ceasing to contract the muscles ,

a n d allow ing them to drop o f their own weight to the

sides This is a hard thing for m ost persons to do at
.
1 82 HATHA YOGA .

laxation taught the Elatha Yogis the

and p rac t ic ed by
x

following being amo n g the best of what are known

“
to the Yogis by the term ( free translation ) Loosen
”
up exercis es

A F EW LOOS EN U P -
E X ERCI S ES .

( )
I Withdraw all prana fro m the hand lettin g the ,

m uscles relax so that the hand will swing loo sely from
the wrist apparently lifeless Shake it backward and
, .

forwards fro m the wrist Then try the other hand the
.

sam e way Then both hands together A little prae

. .

tice will give you the correct idea .

( )2 This is more di fficult than the fi rst exercise It .

consists in m aking the fingers limp and relaxed and

swinging the m loosely from the k n uckles Try first .

one hand and then the other then both , .

( 3 )Withdraw all prana from the arms and let the m

hang limp and loose by the sides Then swing the .

body from side to side letti ng the arms swing ( like

,

e mpty coat S leeves )from the motion of the body mak

-
,

ing no e ffort of the arms themselves First one arm

;
.

and then the other and then both This exercise m ay

,
.

be varied by twisting the body around in various ways ,

letting the arm s swing loose You will get the idea .

if you will think of loose c oat sleeves -

.

( 4 ) Relax the forear m le t t in g it swing

, loose fro m
the elbow Impart a motion from the upper arm but
.
-
,

avoid contracting the muscles o f the forearm Shake .

the forearm around li mp and loose First one arm .

,

then the other then both , .

5) Let the foot be completely relaxed and swung

loose from the ankle This will require some little
.

p ractice as
, t h e m uscles m oving the f oo t a r e g enerall y
 RELAXATI ON RU LES . 1 83

In a more or less co ntracted condition But baby s foot .

’

is loose e n ou gh whe n he is not usi ng it First o n e foot .

,

then the other .

( 6 )Relax the leg withdrawing all prana from it

,

and letti n g it swi n g loose and limp from the knee .

Then swing it and shake it First one leg and then the.

other .

7) Stand on a cushion stool or large ,book and let

one leg swi n g loose and limp fro m the thigh after ,

havi n g relaxed it completely First one leg and then .

th e other .

8
( ) Raise the ar m s straight above the head and ,

then withdrawing all prana from them let them drop

, ,

of their own weight to the sides .

9) Lift the knee up in front as high as you can and

then draw all prana fro m it and let it drop back of its
own weight .

( )
1 0 Relax the head letting it drop
, forward and ,

then swi n g it about by the motion o f the body Then .

,

sitting back in a chair relax it a n d let it drop back

,

ward It will of course drop in any direction the mo

.
, ,

ment you withdraw the prana fro m it To get the right .

idea think of a person falling asleep who the mom ent

, , ,

sleep overpowers him relaxes and stops contracting the

,

m uscles of the neck allowing the head to drop for

,

ward .

( )
1 1 Relax the muscles of the shoulders and chest ,

allowing the upper part of the chest to fall forward

loo se and li mp .

( )
1 2 Sit in a chair and rela x the m uscles o f the
waist which will allow the upper part of the body to
,

pitch forward like that of a child wh o falls asleep in

its chair and gradually falls out .
1 84 HATH A Y OGA .

( )
13 O ne who has mastered these e x ercises so far
m ay if he sees fit rela x his whole body commen c ing
, , ,

with the neck until he gets down to the knees when

, ,

“ ”
he will drop gently to the floor all in a heap This .

is a valuable acquirem ent as in case Of one slipping or

,

falling by accident The practice of this entire body

.

rel axation will do much to protect them from injury .

You will notice that a young child will relax in this

way when it falls and is scarcely a ff ected by severe
,

falls which would seriously bruise adults or eve n break ,

their limbs The same phenome non may be noticed i n

.

the cases of intoxicated persons who have lost co ntrol

of the muscles and are in an al most complete state o f
“
relaxation When they fall they come down all in a
.

”
heap and su ffer comparatively little inj ury .

In practici n g these exercises repeat each of them

several times and then pass on to the nex t one These .

e xercises m ay be almost indefinitely extended and

varied according to the ingenuity and powe r of inven
,
'

tion of the stu dent Make your own exercises i f you

.
,

will using the above as suggestions

, .

Practicing relaxation exercises ,gives one a conscious

ness of self control and repose which is valuable
-
,
.

S treng th in repos e is the idea to be carried in the m ind

when thinking of the Yogi Relax ation theories It is .

useful in quieting overwrought nerves ; is an antidote

“ ”
for what is known as m uscle bound conditi ons result -

ing fro m the e mploym ent of certain sets of muscles in

one s daily work or exercise and is a valuable acquire
’
,

m ent in the direction of allowing one to rest himself at

will and to thus regain his vitality in the shortest
possible time The O riental people understa n d th e
.

science of relaxation a n d employ it in thei r daily life .

1 86 HATHA Y OGA .

we are fatigued Let us take a lesson from her book

. .

Let us learn to stretch at will as well as involuntarily .

This is not so easy as you may imagi n e and you will

have to practice somewhat before you get the full bene
fit fro m it .

Take up the Relaxation exercises in the order in ,

which they are give n in this chapter but instead of ,

relaxing each part i n turn simply stretch the m Begi n .

with the feet a n d the n work up to the legs and then

, ,

up to the arms and head Stretch i n all sorts of ways .

,

twisti ng your legs feet arms hands head and body

, , , ,

around in a way you feel like to get the full benefit of

the stretch Don t be afraid of yawning either ; that
.
’

is simply one form of stretch I n stretchi n g you will .

,

of course tense a n d co n tract m uscles but the rest and

, ,

relief comes in the subsequent relaxation of them .

“ ”
Carry in your mi n d the let go idea rather than that -
,

of muscular exertion We ca nn ot attempt to give exer

.

cises in stretchi n g as the variety open to the student

,

is so great that he S hould not require to have illustra

tions giv en him Just let him give way to the mental
.

idea of a good restful stretch a n d Nature will tell

, ,

him what to do Here is one general suggestion how

.
,

ever : Sta n d on the floor with your legs spread apart ,

and your arm s extended over your head also spread ,

apart Then raise yourself on your toes and stretch

.

yourself out gradually as if you were trying to reach

the ceiling A m ost si mple exercise but wonderfully
.
,

refreshing .

A variation of stretching may be e ff ected by shak

”
ing yourself around lose and limp employing as many ,

parts of your body as you can The Newfoundland .

dog shaking the water fro m his skin when he emerges

,
 RE LAXATI ON RU LES . 1 87

from the water will give you a general idea of what we

,

mean .

All of these plans of relaxing if properly entered ,

into and carried out will leave the one practicing them
,

with a sense of re n ewed energy and an i ncli n ation to

again resume work the same feeling as o n e experiences
, /

after arisi n g from a healthy sleep and a subsequent

good rubdown in the bath .

M EN TA L RELA X A TI ON EX ERCI S E .

Perhaps it will be as well for us to give an ex ercise

in Mental Relaxation before we conclude this chapter .

O f course physical relaxation reacts on the m ind a n d

,

rests it But Mental Relaxation also reacts upon the

.

bo dy and rest s it So this exercise m ay reach the needs

.

Of some who have not found j ust what they required in

the preceding pages of this chapter .

Sit quietly in a relaxed and easy positio n and with

draw the mind as far as possible from outside obj ects
and from thoughts which require active m ental effort .

Let your thought reach inward and dwell upon t h e

real sel f Thi nk of yourself as independent of the body
.

and as able to leave it without impairing the i ndividual

ity You will gradually experience a feeling of bliss
.
~

ful rest a n d c alm a n d co n tent The atte ntion m ust be

.

withdraw n entirely from the ph ysical body and centered

“ ” “
entirely upon the higher I which is really you , .

Think of the vast worlds around us the millions o f ,

suns each surrounded with its group of planets like

,

o ur earth only I n many cases m uch larger G et an

, .

idea of the i mm ensity of space and of ti m e ; consider the

extent of Life in all its f orm s in all these worlds and
then realize the position of the earth and of yourself a
1 88 HATHA Y OGA .

m ere insect upon a speck of dirt Then rise upward

.

in your thought and realize that though you be but an

,

atom of the mighty whole you are still a bit of Life

,

itself a particl e of the Spirit ; that you are i mm ortal

, ,

eternal and indestructible ; a necessary part Of the

Whole a part which the Wh ole can not get along with
,

out a piece needed to fit into the structure of the

,

Whole Recogn ize you rself as in touch with all of

.

Life ; feel the Life of the Whole throbbing through

you ; the whole ocean of Life r ocking you on its bosom .

And then awake a n d return to your physical life and

you will fin d that your body is refreshed your mi n d ,

calm a n d st rong and you will feel an i n clination to do

,

that piece of work which you have been putting Off for
so long You have profited and been stren gthened by
.

your trip into the upper regions of the m ind .

’
A M OM E N T S RES T .

A favorite Yogi plan for s n atching a m oment s rest ’

“ ”
from the task of the hour taki n g rest on the fly
—
,

as o n e of our you n g frie n ds recently expressed it is —

as follows
Stand up straight with head erect and S houlders
,

thrown back your arm s hanging loosely by your sides

, .

Then raise your heels slowly from the ground gradu ,

ally throwing your weight upon the balls of the feet ,

and at the same time raising your arm s up by your

S ides until they sta n d out from your shoulders like
’

the outstretched wings of an eagle Take a deep breath

.

as the weig ht falls up on the balls o f the feet and as the

ar m s sprea d out and you will feel lik e fl ying Th en .
 CHAPTER XXIV .

TH E U S E OF P H Y S I CA L E X ERCI S E .

Man in his origi n al state did not need t o be in

S t ructed in physical exercise n either does a child or
—

youth with n ormal tastes Man s original state of liv

.
’

i n g gave him an abundance of varied activity out o f ,

-

doors and with all the best conditions for exercise

, .

He was compelled to seek his food to prepare it to , ,

raise his crops to build his houses to gather up fuel

, , ,

and to do the thousand and one things which were

n ecessary to live i n simple com fort But as man began .

t o be civilized he al s o began to delegate certain of his

duties to others and to co nfi n e himself to o n e set of
,

activities until at the present day m any o f us do

,

practically no physical work while others do nothing ,

but hard physical work o f a li mited scope both living —

u n natural lives .

Physical labor without m ental activity dwarfs a

man s life a n d m ental labor without some sort o f
’
—

physical activity also dwar fs the man s life Nature ’

.

de m a n ds the maintaining of the bala nce the adoption —

of the happy medium The natural normal life calls

.
,

for the use of all o f ma n s powers m ental a n d physi

’
,

cal and the man who is able to so regulate his life that
,

he gets both me ntal a n d physical exercise is apt to be

the healthiest an d happiest .

Children obtai n the necessary exercise in their plays ,

and the natural instinct of the child causes it to indulge

in ga mes and sports Men if they are wise vary
.
, ,

1 90
 U S E OF EXER CIS E 191

t he ir m ental labo r and sedentary live s with sports and

games The success which has attended the int ro duc
.

tion of golf and kindred games of recent years show s ,

that the old natural instinct of man is not dead .

The Yogis hold that the instinct toward games the —

feeli n g that exercise is needed is but the same ih ,

s t inc t that causes m an to labor at congenial occupa

tions it is the call of nature toward activity varied

— —

activity The normal healthy body is a b ody that is

.
,

equally well nourished in all of its parts and no part ,

is properly nourished unless it is used A part that .

is unused receives less than the normal amount of

n ourishment and in time becomes weakened Nature
, .

has provided man with exercise for every muscle and

part of his body in natural work and play By nat
, .

ural work we do not mean th e work attendant upon

,

some particular form Of bodily labor for a m an fol ,

lowing one trade o n ly exercises on e set of muscles and ,

“ ”
is apt to become muscle bou n d and is in as m uch
-
,

need of exercise as the man who sits at his desk all

day with the exception that the m an w orking at his
,

trade usually has the advantage o f mo re out o f doo r - —

life .

We consider the modern plans of Physical Cul

”
ture very poor substitutes for out o f door work and - —

play They have no interest attached to them and

.
,

the mind is not called into play as it is in the case Of

work or games But still anything in the way of exer
.

cise is better than nothing But we protest against .

that for m of Physical Culture which h as for its o b

j t the enlarge m ent of certain muscles and the per
e c ,

”
formanc e of the feats of the strong m en
“
All this .

is unnatural The perfect system of physical cultur e

.
1 92 HATHA YOGA .

is that one which tends to produce a unifo rm d evelop

m ent of the entire body the e mploym ent of all the
—

m uscles the nourishm ent of every part and which

—
,

adds as much interest as p ossible to the ex ercise and ,

which keeps its pupils out i n the open air .

The Yogis i n their everyday life do their ow n

, ,

work and get m uch exercise in this way They also

, .

take lo ng walks through the woods ( if they are near

woods and they usu ally are for they prefer mou n
, ,

t aino us cou n try and keep away from the plains a nd

large cities so far as is possible ) and over the hills , .

But they also have a n umber of forms Of mild exer

cise with which they vary their hours Of study a n d
meditation There is nothing especially novel or new
.

about their e x ercise a n d they bear a very close resem

,

blance to the c alis th ent ic exercises and Delsarte move

m ents in favor i n the West The pri n cipal and im
, .

portant point of di ff erence however lies in the fact

, ,

that they use the mi n d in con nection with the bodily

movements Just as the interest in the work and the
.
,

game brings the mind into play so does the Yogi

, ,

allow his exercis e to call i nto operation his m i n d He .

takes an interest i n the exercises a n d by an e ff ort of,

the will sends a n increased flow of pra n a to the part

brought into motion H e thus obtai n s a multiplied
.

benefit and a few mi n utes exercise do him as m uch

,

good as would ten times th at amount of exercise if ,

performed in the usual i n di ff erent uninterested way , .

“ ”
This knack of sendi n g the mind to the desired
part is easily acquired All that is necessary is to ac
.

cept as a fact the Statement that it can be do n e thus ,

doi n g away with all subconscious resistance occa ,

s ioned by the d oubting m ental attitude ; then s imply

1 94 HATH A YO GA .

m ind and b ody Obtain a benefit and you will leave

,

you r ex e rcise with a splendid glow and thrill such as

y o u have not experienced for m any a day .

In our next chapter we give a few simple e xercises ,

which if followed will give you all the m ovements

nec essary t o exercise your entire b ody bringi ng every ,

part into play strengthening every organ and making

, ,

yo u n ot only well developed but straight and erect as

,

an Indian and as supple and quick o f m ov ement as an

,

athl ete These exercises are taker in part from som e

. .

of the Oriental moveme n ts adapted for Western use

, ,

co mbined with a number of motions which have found

favor with the physical trainers Of the armies Of Eu
rope and America These army physical directors hav e
.

studied the Orie n tal movements a n d have adopted such

,

of them as suited their purpose a n d have succeeded in

,

forming a series of move ments which while very sim

,

ple and easily performed in a few m inutes are capable ,

Of accomplishing as m uch for a m an o r wo m an as

many elab orate courses and syste m s of physical cultur e

which are sold at high prices D O n ot let the s implic
.

ity and brev ity o f this syste m cause you to undervalue

it It is j ust the thing you have been looking for with
.
,

“ ”
all the unnecessary features tri m med Off Try the .

exercises for a while before you m ake up y our m ind

,
“
about the m They will practically make you Over
.

physically if you will take the ti me and troubl e t o put

,

the m int o faith ful practice .

 CHAPTER XXV .

S OM E Y OGI P H Y S I CA L E X ERCI S ES .

Before telling you about these exercises we wish ,

again to i mpress upon you that exercise without inter

est fails in its e ff ect You must m anage to take an ih
.

t eres t in your exercise and to throw s o me m ind into

,

it You must learn to like the work and to th i of

.
,

what it all mea n s By followi n g this advice yo u will

.

Obtain m ultiplied benefit from this work .

S TA N D I N G POS I TI ON .

Each ex ercise must be begun by y ou standing in a

natural m an n er i e with your heels together ; head
, . .

erect ; eyes front ; shoulders back ; chest expanded ; ah

dom en drawn in a little arms at the sides , .

E X ERCI S E I .

( I ) Extend the ar m s strai ght out in front o f yo u ,

on the level of the shoulder with palms Of the hands ,

touching each other ; ( 2 )Swing back the hands until

the arm s stand out straight sideways from the sh oul , ,

ders o r even a little further back if they will go there

,

easily without forcing ; return briskly to Position 1 and ,

repeat several times The arm s should be s wung with

.

a rapid move ment and with animati on and li fe Do

, .

not go to sleep over the w ork o r rath er play This e x , .

erc i s e I S most useful in developin g the chest m uscle s ,

of the sh oulders etc , In swinging the hands back

.

ward it is an i mprovem ent if yo u will ris e on your

,

‘
95
1 96 HATHA YOGA .

toes during the backward sweep sinking on you r heels

,

as you m ove the arms forward again The repeated .

move ments should be rhythmical backward and for ,

ward like the swinging o f a quick pendulu m

, .

EX ERCI S E II .

( )I E x tend the arms straight out fro m the sh o ul

der sideways with Opened hands ; ( 2 )With the arm s
, ,

8 0 e x tended swi n g the hands around in circles ( not

, ,

too wide )keepi n g the arms back as far as possible and ,

not allowing the hands to pass in front Of the line of

the breast while m aking the circles Continue m aking .

the circles until say twelve are made It improves this .

exercise to inhale a full breath ( according to the Yogi

practice )and to retain the air until several circles are
made This exercise develops the chest and shoulders
.
,

and back Put life into it and tak e an interest in what

.
,

y ou a re d oing .

E X ERCI S E III .

( ) E x tend the arms i h in fr o nt of you let

'

I s t ra g t ,

ting the littl e fingers o f each hand touch each other ,

the palms being upward ; ( 2 ) Then keeping the little

fingers s till touching bring the hands straight up in a
,

curved circular moveme nt until the tips of the fin gers

,

o f bo th hands t ouch the tOp of the head back of the fore

h ead the backs Oi the fi n gers touching the elbows
, ,

s winging out as the movement is m ade until ( when the

fingers touch the hea d with thumbs pointi n g to th e

,

rear ) they point out straight sideways ( 3 )Let th e .

fingers rest on the top o f the head a mom ent and than ,

with the elbows pressing back ( which forces the shoul

der s back )force the arm s backward with an o bli que
1 98 HATHA Y OGA .

in last m ove m ent This exercise is s omewhat fatigu

.

ing and you should be care ful not to overdo it at the

,

start Proceed gra d ually 6 ) With hands in sam e

. .

position on the hips swing the upper part of the body

,

around in a circle fr om the waist up the head d es c rib

, ,

ing the largest circle o f course D O not mov e the , .

feet o r bend the kne es .

E X ERCI S E VI .

( ) 1Standin g er ect rais e th e a rm s st rai,g ht u p o v er

th e head hands re m aining open with thu mbs t ouchin g
,

each other when the ar m s are fully e xtended upward

-pal m s t o the front of course ( 2 ) Then with out .
, ,

bending the knees bend the body forward fr om the

,

waist a n d endeavor to touch the flo or with the extend

ed finger tips if you are unable to d o this at first do
—
,

the best you can and you will s oon be able to d o it

,

properly but remember that neither th e knees or the

—

arm s mu s t be b ent 3) R ise and

. r ep eat s ev eral ti,
m e s .

E X ERCI S E VII .

( ) Standing erect with hands on hips rais e you r

1 , ,

self on the balls o f the feet several ti mes with so rt o f a ,

springy motion Pause a m oment after you have

.

raised upon y o ur toes then let the heels sink to the ,

floo r then repeat as ab ove suggested Keep the knees

, , .

unbent and the heels together This exercise is spe

, .

c ially bene fi cial in developing the calf of the leg and ,

will make it feel sore the first few times it is tried If .

you have an undeveloped calf here is the e x ercise for ,

yo u ( 2 ) With hands still on hips place you r feet

.
,

about tw o feet apart and then low er the b ody into a

,
 PHYSICAL EX ERCISES . 1 99

s quatting position pausing a mom ent and the n re

,

s uming original position Re p eat several times but not

.
,

too Often at first as it will make the thighs feel a little

,

sore at the beginnin g This exercise will give one

.

well devel oped thighs This last movement may be

.

improved upon by sinking down with the weight rest

ing upo n the ball of the foot instead Of upon the ,

heel .

E X ERCI S E VIII .

( )Stand erect with hands on hips ; ( 2 )Keeping

1 ,

t he knee straight swi n g the right leg out a bout fifteen

,

inches ( keeping the toe turned a little out and the ,

sole flat then swing back to the rear until the toe
—

points straight to the ground keeping th e knee s ti ff all ,

the time ( 3 ) Repeat the s w mgmg backward and for

.

ward several times ( 4 ) Then do the same with the

.

left leg 5 )With han ds still on hips raise the right

.
,

leg up bending the knee until the upper leg ( thigh )

, ,
-

stands straight out fro m the body ( if you can raise it

still a little higher you m ay do so ) ( 6 ) Place y our
, .

foot again on the ground and go thr ough the same ,

motio n with the left leg 7 ) Repeat several ti m es

.
,

first one leg and then the other m oving slowly at first ,

and gradually increasing your speed until you are ex

ec ut ing a sl o w trot without moving fr om the o ne spo t .

E X ERCI S E IX .

I ) Stan d er ect with the ar m s ex t ended st rai gh t in

,

front o f you from the sho ulders and of course on a

, ,

level with the S h oulders the pal ms m ust be down fin

—
,

gers straight out thu mbs folded under and the thu mb
, ,

side of hands t ouching each other ; ( 2 )Bend the b od y

forwa rd from the hips stooping for ward as far as ,
20 0 HATH A Y OGA .

po ssible and at the s ame ti me swing th e arm s forward

,

with a sweeping movem ent sending the m do wn back , ,

ward and upward at the back so that when the bo dy ,

has reached the li m it of the bending forward m ove ment

t h e ar m s are e xtended back and over the b ody keep —

the arm s sti ff and do not bend the knees

, 3) Re .

sume standing positi on and repeat several ti m es .

E X ERCI S E X .

( )I Extend the arms straight sideways f r om t h e , ,

S h o ulder and hold them there sti ff and rigid with

,

hands open ; ( 2 )Close the hands forcibly with a quick ,

m otion pressi n g t h e fingers well into the palm ; 3 )

,

Open the hands forcibly and quickly spreading o ut the , ,

fi ngers and thu mbs as widely as possible form ing a ,

fan shaped hand ; ( 4 ) Close and open the hands as

-

ab ove stated several times as rapidly as possible Put

, , .

life into the exercise This is a splendid exercise for

.

developi n g the muscles o f the hand and fo r acquiring ,

m anual de xterity .

E XERCI S E X I .

( ) 1 L ie up o n y o ur sto m ach e x te n
ding y o u r a rm s ,

above your head and then bowed upward and your ,

legs stretched out full length and raised backwar d and

upward Th e correct position may be carried in the
.

m ind by I m agi ni ng a watch crystal or a saucer rest ing -

on the table on its m iddle with both e n ds turning up

,

ward ( 2 ) Lower and raise the arm s and legs sev

.
,

eral ti m es 3) Then. turn o ver on your,back and lie ,

extended at full l e ngth with arm s extended straight

,

out upwards over the head with back of fingers touch

, ,

mg the gr ound ( 4 )Then raise up b oth legs from the

.
20 2 HATHA Y OGA .

you can th en h o ld for a mom ent and let it resu me its

,

natural position Repeat a number o f ti m es and then

.

take a breath or two a n d rest a mom ent Repeat sev

, .

'

eral times m o ving it in and out It is surprisi ng how

, .

much c ontrol one may gain over these stubborn mus

cles with a little practice This ex erc i se will not only
.

reduce the fatty layers over the abdomen but will also ,

greatly strengthen the stomach m uscles ( 2 ) Give .

the abdomen a good ( but not rough ) kneading and

rubbing .

A S ETTI N G UP
-
E X ERCI S E .

This e xercise is inte n ded to give o ne a grace ful and

natural m an n er o f standing and walking and to cure ,
“
him of the habit of slouchi n g and shambling along , .

If faithfully practiced it will cause you to m anifest a n

erect graceful carriage It e n ables you to so carry
, .

“
yourself that every organ has plenty of elbow room -
,

and every part Of the frame is properly p o ised and

c ounter poised This or a S i m ilar plan is followed by
-
.
, ,

th e military authorities of many cou n tries in order to ,

give their young offi cers the proper carriage but its ,

good e ffect in these cases is somewhat marred by other

military practices which cause a sti ff ness which does
not come t o those who practice this exercise apart from
the drill The exercise is as follows follow it care
.
—

fully : ( I )Stand erect with heels t ogether toes slightly

, ,

pointed o utward ( 2 ) R ai s e th e arm s up by the sides

.

( with a circular m ovement ) until the hands m eet over

the head thumbs touching each other ; ( 3 )Keeping
,

knees sti ff ; the body rigid ; the elbows unbeh t ; ( and

shoulders bent well back as the movement is m ade );
bring down the hands sl owly with a sideway circular
, ,
 PHYSICAL EXERCISES . 29 3

m otion until they reach the sides of the legs the little
,
“ ”
finger a n d the inner edge ( the chopping edge )of th e
- -

hand alone touching the leg and the palms Of the hands ,

faci n g straight to the front The soldier gets the .

right position by touching the little finger of each hand

to the seam of his trousers ( 4 ) Repeat several ti m es .
,

s owly re m embe r
l W ith the hands in the last po si
.

tion having b een placed there by the m otio n stated

, ,

it is very difficult for the shoulders to warp forward .

The chest I S proj ected a little ; the head is erect ; neck is

straight ; the back straight and hollowed a little ( the
natural position ) and the knees are straight In .

short you have a fine erect carriage h ow keep it It

, ,
—
.

will help you to stand in this position and then keep , ,

ing the little finger along the trouser leg sea m place -
,

walk around th e room A little practice o f this kind

.

will work wonders with you and you will be surprised ,

at the i mprovement which you have wrought upon

yourself But it takes practice and perseverance
.
,

and so does everything else worth havi n g .

Now this is about all o f our little system o f e x ercises .

I t is simple and unpretentious but wonderfully e ff ect ,

ive It bri n gs every part of the body int o play and i f

. ,
“
faithfully followed will indeed m ake you over physic
ally . Practice faithfully and take an interest in th e
,

work Put some m ind into it a n d re m ember always

.
,

what y ou are doing the work ( or play ) for Carry .

“
the thought Of STRENGT H AN D DEVELOP
”
ME NT with you when you e xercise and you will ,

get much better results D O not e xercise soon after

.

a meal or i mmediately before one Do not overdo

, .

things start with a few repetitions of any e x ercise at

—

fi rst and then gradually inc rease it until you hav e

,
 HATH A YOGA
'
20 4 .

reached a fai r nu mber of repetitions Better go

.

thro ugh the ex ercises seve ral ti m es a day ( if po ss i ble )

rather than atte m pt to d o too m uch at one period of e x
erc is e
.

The above little Physical Culture syste m will d o ,

“ ”
as m uch for you as will man y high priced courses
of instruction either personal or by m ail They have
—
.

“
s t oo d the test o f ti me and still are up
,
They
are as si m ple as they are e ff ective Try th em and be
.
,

strong .
20 6 HATHA YOGA .

Bathing has been practiced by all races o f men m ak

ing any prete n se Of culture and civilization In fact .
,

it m ay be said that the us e of the bath is a m easuring

rod by which the cultu re Of a nation m ay be determined .

The greater the use of the bath th e greate r the amount

,

of culture and the fewer the baths th e less culture

, , .

The ancient people carried the use Of the bath to a

ridiculous e xtent departing from the natural m etho ds
,

and run n ing to such extremes as perfumed baths etc , .

The Greeks and Romans m ade the use of the bath a

requisite of decent living and m any of the ancient
,

people were far ahead of modern races in this respect .

The Japanese people to day lead the world in th e

-

recognition o f the importance of the bath and in its

faithful practice The poorest Japanese would rather
.

go without his meal than without his bath One may .

go into a crowd in a Japanese city even on a warm day

and fail to notice even the slightest unpleasant odor .

Would that as much could be said of a crowd in Amer

ica or Europe ! With many races bathing was and is ,

to day a matter of religious d uty the priests recog

-
, ,

niz ing the importanc e o f bathing and knowing that

,

I t could be best impressed upon the m asses in this way ,

having incorporated it among their religious rites The .

Yogis while no t regarding it as a religious rite never

, ,
'

theles s practice bathing j ust as if it wer e

Let us see j ust why people should bathe Very few .

o f us really understa n d the m atter and think it is

merely t o get rid of the dust and visible dirt which
has accu m ulated upo n our skin But there is m ore than
.

this to it i mportant as m ere cl eanliness is Let us see

,
.

j ust why the skin needs to be clea n sed .

W e have explained to you in an other chapte r, the

,
 TH E YOGI BAT H . 20 7

import anc e of a normal perspiration and how if th e ,

p or es of the S ki n becom e clogged or clos ed the b o dy is ,

u nable to get rid of its waste products And how .

does it get rid Of the m ! By th e S kin breath and the ,

kid n eys Many persons overwork their kidneys by

.

m aking the m do both their own work and that of th e

S kin as well for natur e will m ake o ne organ do doubl e
,

work rather than to leave its work undone Each por e .

is the end of a littl e canal called a sweat tube which -

,

extends way down into the surface of the body Ther e .

are about of these little canals to each square

inch of our skin They are continually exuding a
.

m oisture called perspirati on or sweat which moisture

, ,

is really a fluid secreted fro m the bl ood and laden with

the impurities and waste m atter of the syste m Yo u will
-
.

rem ember that the body is constantly tearing downtissue

and replacing it with new m atter and it m ust get rid o f
,

its waste j ust as a family must get rid o f its waste sweep
ings and garbage And the skin is one of t h e m eans
.

by which the waste is removed This waste if al .

,

lowed to remain in the system acts as a breeding plac e

,

a n d f ood for bacteria germs etc and that is why na

, , .
,

ture is so anxious to get rid o f it The skin als o exudes

.

an oily fl uid which is used t o keep the skin soft and

flexible .

The skin itself is constantly undergoin g great

changes i n its structure j ust as is a n y other part of the
,

body The outer skin often called the scarf skin is

.
,
-
,

co mpo sed of cells which are short lived and are con
,
-
,

s t ant ly being sloughed o ff and replaced by younger cells

forci n g their way up fro m beneath the old ones These .

wornout and discarded cells for m a coating o f waste

matter on the s urface of th e skin if they are not ,
20 8 H ATHA YOGA .

b rushed o ff or washed Off Of cours e quite a numb er .

of the m are rubbed Off by th e clothing but a consider ,

able quantity remain and the bath or a wash is needed

,

to get rid of them .

In our chapter on the use o f water as an irrigator

for the internal m an we told you of th e importance
,

of keeping the pores open and how soon a m an would ,

d ie if his pores were sealed as S hown by experiments ,

and occurrences in the past And this accumulatio n of .

wornout cells Oil perspiration etc will at least par

, , , .
,

t ially seal up the pores unless the body is kept clean .

And then again this filth on the surface of the skin is

, ,

an invitation for stray germs and bacteria t o take up

their abode there and thrive Are you extending this .

invitation to your friends the ger m s ! W e are not ,

speaking of dirt obtai n ed from the outside world now

we know that yo u would not carry that around with
you but have you ever thought of this waste m atter
—

from your own system which is j ust as m uch dirt as

,

the other and sometimes occasions worse results !

,

Everyone should wash o ff his body at least once a

day We do not m ean that a bath tub is necessary
.
-

( alth o ugh a tub is o f course a great

, convenience ) but , ,

a good wash o ff is requisite Those who have not a

-
.

bath tub can get j ust as good results by taking a towel

and a basin a n d passing the wet towel over the entire
body r insing the towel after the first rub and then go
, ,

ing over the body the second ti m e .

The m ost desirable ti me for a wash Off or a bath is -

in the early morni n g immediately after arising The

, .

even i ng bath is also a good thing Never bathe im .

m ediately before or im m ediately after a meal Give

,
.

the bo dy a goo d rubbin g with a rough cl oth which will ,

2 10 ,
HATHA Y OGA .

almost unknow n to them The pers o n practicing it be .

comes like a strong hardy tree able t o face all kinds

, ,

of weather and seasons .

Right here let us cauti on our readers against adopt

,

ing a to o cold bath at the start Don t do this parti en .

’
,

larly if you are of impaired vitality Try water at a .

pleasant temperature at first and then work down ,

toward a little cooler gradually You will so on strike a

, .

degree of temperature that is m ost pleasing t o you

stick to that But d o not punish yourselves This m orn
. .

ing cool wash down should be a thing of pleasure to

-

you not a punishment or a penance When you have

, .

“ ”
once caught the knack of it you would never think ,

of giving it up It makes you feel good all day long

. .

You feel a little cool as the wet cloth is applied to the

body but this is followed in a moment or so by a m ost
,

delight ful reactio n a n d a feeling of war mth In case .

you take a cool bath i n the tub instead of a wash down ,

-
,

do not stay in the tub more than one minute and use
'

your hands vigo r ously the whole ti me that you are in

the water .

If you take these m orning washes you will n ot need ,

”
m any warm baths although an occasional soaking,

will d o you good and you will feel better fo r it Give

, .

yourself a good rubbing down and put on the clothing ,

over a dry skin ( in the case of a warm bath ) .

Persons doing m uch walking or standing will fi nd , ,

that a foot bath at night j ust before retiri n g will pro ve ,

m ost restful and conducive to a goo d night s sleep

,
’
.

No w don t forget this chapter as soon as you hav e

’

read it but try the plan it advocates and see how much
, ,

better you will feel After trying it for awhil e y ou

.
,

will no t think o f giving it up .

 THE YOG I BATH . 21 x

TH E Y OGI M ORN I NG W A S H -
D OW N .

The following may give you som e ideas regarding

the way to get the best results from the morning wash
down It is very invigorating and s trengthening and
.
,

will m ake one feel the beneficial e ff ect all the day .

It begi n s with a little exercise which c auses the bloo d

t o circulate and the Prana to be distributed all over the
body a fter the night s rest and renders the bo dy in the
,
’
,

best condition in which to take the cool wash down or -

bath .

P reliminary Exercis e ( 1 ) Sta n d erect in a military

.

attitude head up eyes front shoulders back hands at

, , , ,

sides ( 2 )Raise the bo dy slowly on toes inhaling a

.
,

deep breath steadily and slowly 3 )Retain the breath

,
.

for a few seconds m aintaining the sa m e positio n

, .

(4 ) Sink slowly to the first po sition at the sa m e ti m e ,

exhali n g the breath through the nostrils slowly , .

5) Practice Cleansing Breath ( )

6 Repeat several .

times varying by using right leg alone then left leg

, ,

alone .

Then take the bath o r wash down as described on -

,

the prec eding pages If you prefer the wash d o wn

.
-
,

fill the basin with cool water ( not too cool but j ust a ,

pleasant stimulati n g temperature which will bring on

the reaction ) Take a rough cl oth o r t ow el and soak it
.

in the water and then wring about half the water out of
,

it Beginning with the chest and sh oulders then the

.
,

back then the abdom en then the thighs and then the
, ,

low er legs and feet rub the b od y all over vigorously

, .

Wring the water out of the towel several tim es in going

ove r the body in order that the entire bo dy shall re
,

c eive fresh c ool wate r upon it Pause a s econd or so .

2 12 HATHA YO GA .

sev eral tim es during the wash dow n and take a couple -
,

of long deep breaths D o no t be in too m uch of a rush

.
,

but go about it cal m ly A t first few t i mes the cool

'

water may cause you to shrink a little but you will soon ,

g et used to it and will

, learn to like it D o not m ake .

the m istake of commencing with too cool water but ,

rather work down the temperature by degrees If you .

prefer the t ub to the wash down half fill the tub with
-
,

water of the proper temperature and kneel in it whil e ,

you do the rubbi n g then plunge the whole bo dy under

,

the water for a m oment and then get o ut at once

, .

Following either the wash down or the tubbing one -

,

should rub the hands vigorously over the b ody several

times There is something i n the human hands which
.

cannot be duplicated by a cloth or towel Try it for .

yourself Leave a little m oisture on the surface of the

.

skin and then get into your underclothes at o nce and

, ,

you will be surprised at the peculiar glow which will

come ov er you Instead of the water m aking you fe el
.

chilly you will experience a peculiar feeling of warmth

on all parts of the b ody covered by the clothing under ,

which a little m oisture has been left on the skin In .

case of either wash down or tubbing follow the wash

-
,

or bath with the following e x ercise after the under ,

clothing has been put on :

Conc luding Exer c is e ( 1 ) Stand erect ; stretch out
.

arm s straight in front of you on the level of the ,

shoulders with fists clenched and t ouching each other ;

,

swing back the fists until the arms stand out straight ,

sideways from the shoulders ( or still a little farth er

,

back if th ey w ill go there easily without forcing ) this ,

stretches the upper part of the chest ; repeat several

ti mes and then rest a moment ( 2 )R esum e the clo s .
 CHAPTER XXVII .

TH E S OLA R E N ERGY .

Our students are o f course m ore or less fa milia r

, ,

with the fundam ental scientific principles of astronomy .

That is t o say they are aware that even in that infini

,

t es imally s m all portion of the U niverse o f which we

have any knowledge through the sense o f sight even ,

when aided by the m ost powerful telescopes there are ,

milli ons o f fixed stars all of which are suns equal in

—
,

size to and in some cases many times larger than the

,

sun governing o ur particular pla n etary syst em Each .

sun is a cent re o f energy for its planetary system Our .

s un is th e gr eat er radiator of ener gy for our planetary

system which is composed of several planets known

,

t o science and several still unknown to astronom ers

,

our own planet the Earth being but one o f a large

, ,

family .

Ou r sun like th e oth er suns is continually thr owin g

, ,

o ff energy into space which energy vitalizes its sur

,

rounding planets and m akes life possible on them .

Without the rays of the sun life w ould be impos sible

,

o n the earth— even the most simple form s of life known

t o us We are all dependent upon the sun for vitality
.

vital force This vital fo rce or energy is of course that

.

which th e Yogis know as Prana Prana is of course .

everywhere yet c ertain centres are constantly bein g

,

used to abso rb and again send this energy to keep up a —

perpetual current as it were Electricity is everything

.
,

but still dyna mo s and like centres are necessary to

 S OLAR E NE R GY .

g ath er it up and send it o ut in concentrated for m A .

const ant current o f Prana is m aintained between th e

sun and its several pla n ets .

It is generally taken for granted ( and modern

science does not dispute it )that the sun is a m ass of
seething fi re a sort of fiery furnace and that the light
—
,

and heat which we receive are the emanations from thi s

great furnace But th e Yogi philos ophers have always
.

held di ff erently They teach that although t he consti

.

t utio n o f the sun or r ather the conditions prevailin g

,

there are so di fferent fro m those prevailing here that the

,

hu man m ind would have m uch difficulty in forming an

intelligent conception Of them still it is not literally a ,

m ass of matter in combustion j ust as a blazing ball o f ,

burni g coal would be nor is it as a ball of m olten

n —

iron Neither of these conceptions are accepted by the

.

Yogi teachers They hold on the contrary that the

.
, ,

sun is co mpo sed largely of certain substances very simi

la r t o the newly discovered substance known as
“
radiu m . They do not say that the sun is composed
o f radiu m but have held for many centuries that it is
,

co mposed of nu m erous substances o r form s o f matter , ,

having properties similar to those observed to exist in

that substance which the Western w orld is j ust now
think ing so m uch about and which its discoverers hav e
,

termed radium We are not attempting to describe or

.

explain radiu m but are m erely stating that it seem s t o

,

possess certain qualities and properties which the Yogis

teach are possessed in varying degrees by the several
“ ”
substances forming the sun m atter It is very prob -
.

able that some of the other sun substances may yet be -

found on this planet rese mbling r adiu m and yet h av

—

ing points o f di fference .

2 16 HATHA YOGA .

This sun substance is n ot in a molten state or in a

-
,

state of c ombustio n as we generally use the word But .

it is constantly drawing to itself a current o f Prana

fr om the planets passing it through so me w onderful
,

proc ess o f Nature and sending a return current to the

p lanets As. o ur students kn o w the air is the principal
,

s ource fro m which we e x tract Prana ,but the air itself

r ec eives it from the sun We have told how the food

.

we eat is fi lled with Prana which we extract and use

,

but th e plant s receive their Prana from the sun The .

sun is the great store house of Prana for this solar sys
-

te m and is a m ighty dynamo constantly sending forth

,

it s vibrations to the limits of its system V italizing ,

eve rywh ere and m aking possi ble li fe physical li fe we —

,

m ean of c ourse
, .

This book is n ot the plac e in which t o atte mpt to

describe th e wonderful facts regarding the sun s work ’
,

which are known to the best Yogi teachers and we ,

touch up on the subj ect m erely that our students will

kno w the sun for what it is and reali z e what it m eans
,

t o all living c reatures The Ob j ect o f this chapter is to

.

bring t o your m inds the fact that the sun s rays are ’

filled with vibrations o f energy and life which we are ,

using every moment o f o ur lives but which we are m os t ,

likely not using to the degree possible to us Modern .

and civili z ed people seem afraid of the sun they —

darken their ro oms cover themselv es all over with

,

heavy clothes in order to keep out its rays f run away

-

from it in fact Now re m ember right here that when

.

we speak of t he sun s rays we are n ot speaking of ,

heat Heat is produced by the actio n of the sun s rays

’
.

com ing in contact with the earth s atmosphere outside ’

—

o f the ea rth s atm osphere the inter planeta ry

’
-
2 18 HATHA YOGA .

most beneficial and t hose who rise early and get th e

,

be n efit of these fresh rays are t o be congratulated .

After the sun has risen about five hours the vital c i ,

feets of the rays lessen and then gradually decr ease as

,

the day nears its close You will n ot i c e that fl ower

.

beds which receive the early morning sunshine thrive ,

much better than those wh o get only the afternoon

rays All lovers of flowers understand this and realize
.
,

that sunshine is as necessary to healthy plant life as is ,

water air and good s oil Study the plants a little get
, .
—

back to nature and read your lesson there The sun

, .

and air are wonderful tonics why do y ou n ot partake —

of the m m ore freely !

In other parts of this book we have spoken Of the ,

p ower of the mind to attract to the syste m an additional

share of prana from the air food water etc And this, , , .

is t rue of the Prana Or vital force in the sun s rays ’

“

y o u may increase the benefit by the proper mental atti

tude Walk out in the morning sun lift up your head

.
—
,

throw back your shoulders take a few goo d breath s ,

o f the air which is being charged with Prana from the

sun s rays Let the sun shine on you And then form
’
. .
,

the m ental im age suggested by the words while you re ,

“
peat the following ( o r similar ) mantra m : I am
bathed in Nature s beautiful sunlight I a m drawing
’
—

from it life health strength and vitality It is making

, , .

me str ong and full of energy I feel the influ x of .

Prana I feel it coursing all throu gh my s yste m fro m

—
,

my head to my feet invigorating m y entire bo dy I

, .

”
love the sunlight and get all its benefits
, .

Practice this whenever you get an Oppo rtunity and ,

th en you will gradually begin to realize what a goo d

thing you have been missing all these years while you
 S OLAR ENERGY . 2 19

hav e been running away fro m the sun D o not unduly

.

expose yourself to the m id summer sun on hot days

-
, ,

particularly about noon But W i nter and su mm er the

.
, ,

early m orning rays will not hurt you Learn t o love

.

t h e sunlight and all that it stands for

.
 CHAPTER XXVIII .

FRES H AI R .

N ow d o n ot pass by this chapter becaus e it treats of

,
-
,

a very common subj ect If you feel inclined to so pass

.

it by then you are the very pers o n for whom it is in

—

tended and by whom it is most needed Those who

, .

have looked into the matter a n d have lear ned som ethi ng
of the be n efit a n d necessity of fresh air will not pass ,

this chapter by even though they may k n ow all that it

,

contai n s they are glad to read the good news agai n

—
.

And if you d on t like the subj ect and feel inclined to

,
’ ‘

skip it then you surely need it In other chapters of

, .

this bo ok W e have spoken Of the importance of breath

i n g both in its esoteric as well as its ex oteric phase
—
.

This chapter i s not i nten ded to take up the subj ect of

breathing again but will merely give a little preach
,

ment upon the necessity of fre sh air and plenty of it a —

preachment much needed by the people of the West ,

where hermetically closed sleepi n g rooms and air tight ,

-

houses are so m uch i n vogue We have told you of the .

i m portance of correct breathing but the lesson will do ,

you but little good unless you have good fresh air to
breathe .

This thing of people shutting themselves up in

tightly closed rooms lacking proper ve n tilation is the
, ,

m ost st upid idea that one can con c eive of How people .

can do it after a c quai n ti n g themselves with the facts t e

garding the actio n a n d functi ons of the lu ngs is more ,

than the thinking man can answer Let us take a plain .

,

c ommon sense brief l oo k at this subj ect

-
, .

2 20
2 22 H ATHA Y OGA .

up your syste m so that you will be all right o n the

m orro w And in order to do this w o rk right she re
.
,

quires at least norm al conditions She ex pects to be .

supplied with air containing the proper proportion of

oxygen air that has bee n exposed to the sunlight of
—

the preceding day and which has thereby been fres hly
charged with Prana Instead of this you give her noth
.

ing but a limited amount of air half poiso ned w ith the
,
-

refuse o f your body No wo nd er she gives you n othing

.

but a patch work j ob someti mes

-
.

Any room that smells of that peculiar fetid odo r that

you have all noticed in a po orly ventilated bedroo m is ,

no place for y ou to sleep in until it has been ventilated

and kept supplied with fresh air The air in a bed .

room should be as nearly as possible kept as pure as

the outside air Do n t be afraid of catching cold Re
.
’
.

member that the m ost approved m odern method o f

treating consumption calls for the patient t o be kept in
the fres h air at night no m atter how cold it is Put on
, , .

plent y o f bed covering and you will not m ind the cold
,

after you get a little used to it Get back t o nature ! .

Fresh air do es no t m ean sleeping in a draught re ,

me mber .

And what is true Of sleeping rooms is al so t rue of

living rooms offices etc O f course in winter one
, , .
,

may not allow too m uch of the outside air to get into
the house as that w ould bring down the temperature
,

to o l ow but still there is a happy compromise which

,

may be m ade even in cold clim ates . Open the window s

once in awhile and give the air a chance to circulate in
and out In th e evening do not forget that the lamps
. ,

and gaslights are using up a goodly supply Of oxygen

als o s o fresh en things up a littl e o nce in awhile
—
,
.
 FRESH AIR 22 3

Read up so m ething on ventilation and your health will ,

be better But even if you do not care to go that deep

.

i n to the matter think a little bit of what we hav e said

, ,

and yo ur common se n se will d o the rest .

Get o ut awhile every day and let the fresh air bl o w

upon yo u It is full of life and health giving properties
. .

Y ou all know this and have k n own it all your lives

, .

But nevertheless you stick i n doors in a manner which

, ,

is entirely foreign to Nature s pla n s NO wonder you

’
.

do no t feel well One cann ot violate nature s rules with

.
’

impunity D o not be afraid o f the air Nature in

. .

te n ded you to use it it is adapted to your nature and

— -

’
requi rements So don t be afraid of it learn to love
.
—

it Say to yoursel f while walki n g out and enj oying

.

“
the fresh air : I a m a child of Nature she give s —

me this pure g oo d air to use in order that I may ,

grow strong and well and keep so I a m breathing

, .

in health a n d stre n gth and energy I am enj oying .

the sensation O f the air blowing upon me and I feel ,

its be neficial e ff ects I am Nature s child and I

.
’
,
”
enjoy her gifts Learn to enj oy the air and you will
.
,

be bless ed .
 CHA PTER X XI X .

’
N ATU RE S SW EET RES TORER—
S LEEP.

Of all
o f nature s functions that should be under
’

stood by people sleep seems th e o ne which should be

,

s o si mple that n o ins t ruction or advice should be needed .

Th e child needs no elaborate treatise upon the value

and necessity o f sleep
’
it j ust s leeps that s all
—
And ,
.

the adult w ould d o the sa m e i f he lived closer to na

’
ture s ways But he has surrounded him self with
.

such artificial environ ments that it is al most impos s i

ble for hi m t o live naturally But he m ay go a con
.

s id erable distance o n th e r eturn j ourney to n ature ,

notwithstanding his un fav o rable environments .

Of all the foolish practices that m an has picked up

on his travels away from nature his habits of sleeping ,

and rising are a m ong the worst H e wastes in ex cite

.

m ent and s ocial pleasures the hours which nature has

given hi m for his best sleep and he sleeps over the,

hours in which nature has given hi m the greatest

c hance t o abs o rb vitality and strength The best sleep .

is that taken between the h ours of sunset and mid

night and the best hours for out of d oor work and the
,

absorbing o f vitality are the first few hours after the

sun rises S O we waste at both ends and then w onder
.
,

why we break d own in m iddle age o r before -

.

During sleep nature does a great part o f her repair

w o rk and it is highly i mportant that she be given this
c p po rt unity We will not attempt to lay down any rul es
.

abo ut sleeping as di ff erent people have di ff erent needs,

,

and thi s chapter is merely given as a slight s uggesti o n .

2 26 HATHA YOGA .

bod y and takes the tension Off his m ind and gradually ,

drops o ff into a peaceful sleep

We will not give here any s pecial directions regard
ing the bringing on o f s leep t o p eop l e wh o have
su ffered with sleeplessness We believe that if they
.

will follow the plans for rational and natural living

given in this book they will sleep naturally without
, ,

any special advice But it may be as well to gi ve one

.

or two bits of advice alo n g this line for the use of ,

“ ”
those on the way Bathi ng the legs a n d feet in c oo l
.

water j ust be fore retiring produces sleepiness Con

, , .

c ent rat ing the mind on the feet has been a help to ,

m any as it directs the circulation to the lower part o f

,

the body and relieves the brain But above all do not
, .
,

try to go to sleep this is the worst thin g in the world

—

for o newho really wishes to sleep for it ge n erally acts ,

the other way The better plan if you thi nk Of it at

.
,

all is to ass ume the m ental attitude that you do not

,

care whether or not you sleep right Off that you are —

”
perfectly relaxed are enj oying a good loaf and
—
,

are perfectly satisfied with things as they are I magine .

yourself a tired child resti ng in a half drowsy way

,
-
,

no t fully asleep nor fully awake a n d e n deavor t o act ,

out this suggestion Do not bother about later in the

.

night and whether or not you will sleep then j ust

,
—

“
live in that particular mom ent and enj oy your l oaf
, .
!

The exercises given in the chapter on Relax ation

will get you i n to the habit of relaxi n g at wi ll and
.
,

th os e who have been troubled with sleeplessnes s will ,

find that they m ay acquire entirely new habits .

Now we know that we cannot expect all Of our

,

students to go to bed like the child and awaken early ,

like the child or the farmer We wish that this were

, .
 SLEE P . 2 27

po ssible but we realize j ust what m odern life par

, ,

tic ularly in the large cities requires of one S o all , .

that we can ask our students to d o is to try t o live as

cl o sely to nature in this respect as possible Avoid so .

fa r as you can late hours a n d excitement at night a n d

, ,

whenever you get a cha nc e retire early and rise early , .

We realize of course that all this will interfere with

, ,
“
what you have been taught to regard as pleasure ,
“
but we ask that in the midst of this c o called pleasure -

you take a little rest on ce in awhile Soo n er or l ater .

the race will return to more s imple m an n ers o f living '

and late hour dissipation will be regarded as we now

regard the use of n arcotics dru nkenness etc But in , , .

“
the m eantime all that we can say is do the best you
,

can for yourself .

If you are able to get a little time Off in the m iddle

of the day or other times you will fi n d that a half
, ,
”
hour s relaxation or even a little snooze will d o
’
, ,

wonders toward refreshing you a n d e n abli n g you to do

better work when you arise Ma n y of our m ost suc .

c ess ful business and professional men have learned thi s ,

secret and many a time when they are repo rted as

,
“ ”
being very busy for a half hour they are really lying -

on their couches relaxing breathing deeply and giv

, , ,

ing nature a chance to recuperate By alternating a .

little rest with o n e s work he will be able to do twice

’
,

as good work as if he had worked with o ut a break or

rest Think over these thi ngs a little you people o f
.
,
“
the Western world an d you may be even more stren
,

”
uo us by varying your strenuosity by occasional re
“
laxation and rest A little letting go helps o ne to
.
-

take a fresh grip and to hold ou all the harde r -

.
 CHlAPTER XX X .

REGEN ERA TI ON .

I n this chapter we can but briefly direct your atten

tion to a s ubj ect of vital importance to the race but ,

which the race generally is not ready to seriously con

sider Owing to the present state Of public Opinion
.

upon this subj ect it is im possible to write as plainly

,

as one would like or as is really n ecessary a n d all writ

, ,

ings upon the subj ect in question are apt to be c ons id

“ ”
ered as impure although the only Obj ect of the
,

writer m ay be to counteract the impurity a n d improper

practices indulged by the public However s ome .
,

brave writers have managed to give the public a very

fair acquaintan ce with the subj ect of rege n eration so ,

that the maj ority Of our readers will readily u n derstand

what we mean .

We will not take up the important subj ect of the us e

o f regeneration as applied to the relation of the tw o
sexes as that subj ect is so important as to require a
,

v o lume by itsel f and then besides this work is scarcely

, , ,

the one in which this subj ect should be discussed in de

tail We will however say a few words on the s ub
.
, ,

j ec t . The Yogis regard as wholly un n atural the ex ecs

ses entered into by the m ajority of men and into which ,

they compel their part n ers in m atrimony to join They .

believe that the sex pri n ciple is too sacred to be s o

-

abused and feel that man Often descends below the

,

level of the brute in his se x relations With but one o r .

t wo excepti ons the lower a n i mals have se x ual relat io n s

2 30 HATHA YOGA .

fl ex action and su ff ers sympathetically The Com .

p let e Breath ( described elsewhere in this b o ok ) pr o

duces a rhyth m which is nature s own plan for keepin g
’

this i mpo rtant part of the s ys tem in normal condition

/

and from the fi rst it will be noticed that the reprod uc

, ,

tive functions are strengthened and vitalized thus by , ,

sympathetic refle x action giving tone to the whole

,

system By this we do no t mean that the ani m al pas

.

s ions will be aroused far from it The Yogis are ad

—
.

vo c at es of continence and chastity and purity in the ,

m arriage relation as well as out Of it They have .

learned to c ontrol the animal passions and to hold the m ,

subj ect t o th e control of the higher principles o f the

m ind and will But sexual control does not mean
.

sexual weakness and the Yogi teachings are that th e

,

m an or woman whose reproductive organism is nor

m al and healthy will have a stronge r will with which to
control himself o r herself The Yogi bel ieves that
.

much o f the perve rsion of this wonderful pa rt o f the

syste m com es fro m a lack of normal h ealth and results
fro m a m orbid rather than from a n o rm al conditi o n o f
the reproductive system :
The Yogis als o know that the s ex energy m ay be
-

conserved and used for the develop m ent of the body

and m ind of the individual instead o f being diss ipated
,

in unnatural e xcesse s as is th e wont o f s o m any unin

form ed people .

We give in the foll owing pages o ne of the favorite

,

Yogi exercises for producing this result Wh ether or .

not the student wishes to follo w the Yogi the ories o f

clean living he will find that the Complete Breath
,

will do mo re t o restore health t o this part of the sys

te m than anything else ever tried Re member now .
, ,
 REGENE RATI ON . 23 1

we mean normal health not undue develop ment The

, .

sensualist will find that normal m eans a lessening of

desire rather than an increase ; the weakened m an o r
wo m an will find that norm al m eans a toning up and
relief fro m the weakness which has heretofore de
pressed hi m o r her We d o n ot wish to be mis under
.

stood o n this subj ect The Y ogi s ideal is a b ody

.
’

strong in all its parts and under the contro l of a m as

,

terful and developed will animated by high ideals

, .

The Yogis possess great knowledge regarding the

use and abuse Of the reproductive principle in both
sexes Som e hints of this esoteric teaching have fil
.

tered out and have been used by Western writers on

,

the sub j ect and much goo d thereby accomplished In

, .

this book we cannot go into a discussion Of the under

lying theo ry but will call your attentio n to a m eth od
,

whereby the student may be enabled t o trans m ute the

repro d uctive energy into vitality for the whole syste m
instead of wasting it and dissipating it in lustful indul
g enc es The
. reproductive energy is creative energy ,

and m ay be taken up by the syste m a n d trans muted

into strength and vitality thus serving th e purpos e of
,

regeneration instead of generatio n If the young m en .

of the Western world understood these underlying

principles they would be saved much m isery and nu
,

happiness in after years and would be stronger men

,

tally m orally and physically

, .

This trans m utation of the reproductive en ergy gives

gr eat vitality t o th o se practicing it It fills the m. with
great vital force which will radiate fr om the m and
,

cause the m t o be known a s

“ ”
m agn eti c perso nalities .

The energy thus transm uted m ay be turned into new

channels and u s ed to great advantage Nature has c on .
a
2 32 HATHA YOGA .

d ensed o f its most powerful m ani festations o f

o ne

prana into reproductive energy as its purp os e is to c re

,

ate. Th e greatest a mount O f vital force is con een

t rat ed int o the smallest space The repro ductive organ
.

is m is the m ost powerful storage battery i n an i mal life ,

and its fo rce m ay be drawn upward and used as well ,

as expended in the ordinary functions of reproduction ,

or wasted in riotous lust .

The Yogi exercise for transmuting reproductive en

o rgy is si mple It is coupled with rhyth m ic breathing
.

and is easily perform ed It m ay be practiced at any

.

ti m e but is strongly reco mmended when one feels the

,

instinct m ost strongly at which time the reproductive

,

energy is m anifesting and m ay be easily transmuted for

regene r ative purposes W e give it in th e nex t pa ra
.

graph The m en Or women doing mental creative

.

work or bodily creative work will be able to use this

, ,

creative energy in their vocations by following the ex ,

erc is e drawing up the energy with each inhalatio n and

,

sending it forth with the exhalation Th e student will .

understand of course that it is not the actual repro

, ,

d uc t ive fluids that are drawn up and used but th e ,

n
etheric p ranic energy which a i m ates the latter th e —

s o ul o f the reproductive organis m as it we re , .

G
RE EN ERATI VE EX ERCI S E .

Keep the mind fix ed on the idea of Ene rgy and away ,

from ordinary sexual thoughts or i maginings If these .

thoughts come into the mind do not feel discouraged ,

but regard them as m anifestations of a forc e which you

intend to use for the purpos e o f strengt h ening y o ur
bo dy and m ind Lie passively o r sit erect and fix
.
, ,

yo u r m ind up o n t h e idea of drawing th e repro ductive

 CHA PTER XXXI .

TH E M EN TA L A TTI TU D E .

Th o se who have fa m iliarized the m selves with th e

Yogi teachings regarding the I nstinctive Min d and
its control of the physical body and als o Of the e ff ect
—

of the Will upon the Instinctive Mind will readily —

see that the mental attitude of the person will have

much to d o wi th his or her health Bright cheerful .
,

and happy m ental attitudes reflect them selves in th e

shape of normal functioning of th e physical body whil e ,

depressed m ental states gloom worry fear hate

, , , , ,

j ealou sy and anger all react upon the body and pr oduc e
,

physical inharmon y and eventually diseas e

, .

W e are all familiar with the fact that good n ews

and cheerful surroundings promotes a normal appetite ,

while bad news depressing surrou n di ngs etc will

, , .
,

caus e the loss of the appetite The me ntion Of som e

.

favorite dish will m ake the mouth water and the rec ol ,

lection of s om e unpleasant experience or sight may

pro duce nausea .

Our m ental attitudes are mirrored in our Instinctiv e

Mind and as that principle of m i n d has direct con
,

trol o f the physical bo dy it may readily be understood

,

j ust how the mental state takes form in the physical

action of functioning .

Depressing thought a ff ects the circulation which in ,

turn affects every part of the body by depriving it Of ,

it s p roper nourish m ent Inharmonious though t: de

.

stroys th e appetite and the consequence is that the

,

bo dy d oes not receive the proper nourishment and ,

t h e bloo d bec om es im poverished On the other ha n d

.
,

ch ee r ful Opti m istic th o ught promotes the digestion

, ,

3 30
 MEN TAL ATTITU DE . 23 5

increases th e appetite helps the circul ation and in

, , ,

fact acts as a general to n ic upon the system

, .

Many persons suppose that this idea of th e a ff ect of

th e m ind upo n the body is but the idle theory of o c onl
t is t s and persons interested along the line o f mental
,

therapeutics but one has but to go to the records of

,

scientifi c inv estigators t o r ealiz e that this theo ryis base d

upon well established facts Experi ments have been
.

tried m any ti m es tending t o prove that the body is

, ,

most receptive to the m ental attitude or belief and per ,

s o ns hav e been made sick and o thers cured by s imple

,

auto suggestion or the suggestion of others which in

-
,

e ff ect are but strong mental attitudes .

The saliva is rendered a poison under the infl uence Of

anger ; m oth er s milk beco mes poisonous to the babe i f
’

th e mother m anifests excess ive a n ger or fear The .

gastric j uice ceases to fl ow freely if the pers on becomes

depressed or fearful A tho us and instances of this
.

ki n d could be given .

D O yo u doubt the fact that disease may be primarily

caused by negative thinking Then listen to the testi
!

m ony of a few authorities of the Western world .

“
Any sev ere anger or grief is almost certain to be
”
succeeded by fever in c ertain parts of Africa S ir .
—

S amuel Baker, in the Britis h and F oreig n M adic a

Chim rgical Review .

“
Diabetes from sudd en m ental sh ock is a true pure ,
”
type o f a phy s ical m alady Of m ental origin S ir B .
—
.

“ ”
W Ric hards on in D is co urs es
. ,
.

In many cases I have seen reas ons for believing

,
”
that cancer had its origin in prolonged anxiety .

”
S ir Georg e Paget m Lec tures
“
.

“
I h ave b een surprised ho w often patient s with
236 HATHA YOGA .

pri m a ry c ancer of the li ver lay the caus e o f this ill

health to protr acted grief or anx iety The cases have .

been far too numerous to be accounted fo r as mere

—
M ur c his on .

“
The vast m aj ority of cases o f canc er especially o f ,

breast or uterine cancer are probably due t o m ental ,

”
anxiet y D r S now in The Lanc et
.
-
.
, .

Dr Wilks reports cases of j aundice resulting from

.

mental conditions Dr Churton i n the B ritis h M edical

. .
,

Journal rep orts a c ase Of j aundice arising fr om anxiety

, .

Dr Makenzie reports several cases of pernicious

.

“
anae m ia caused by m ental shock Hunter reports an .

ex citing cause of angi n a pectoris has long been known

”
t o be emotional excitem ent .

“
Eruptions on the skin will follow e x cessive mental
strain In all these and in cancer epilepsy and mania
.
, , ,

from m ental causes there is a predisposition It is t e , .

m arkable how little the question O f physical disease

from m ental influences has been studie -Ric har d

8 0 11 .

My expe ri m ents S h ow that irascibl e malevolent ,

and depressing emotions generate in the syste m in

j ur io us c om po u nds so m e o f which are e x tre
, m ely
po i s onous ; also that agreeable happy em otions generate
chem ical compo unds of nutritious value which s timu ,
”
lates the cells to manufacture energy Elmer Gates .
—
.

D r H ack Tuke in his well known work on mental

.
,
“ ”
disea ses etc written l ong before the Mind cure in
, .
,
-

teres t was m anifested in the Weste rn world gives ,

nu m erous c a s es Of diseases produced by fear a m ong ,

the m b eing Insanity idiocy paralysis j aundice pre

, , , , ,

m ature greyness and baldness decay of the teeth , ,

uterine troubles erysipelas eczem a and i mpetigo

, , .
 CHAPTER XXXI I .

LEAD BY T H E S PI RI T .

While this b ook is intended to tr eat solely upo n the

car e o f the phys ic al body leaving the higher branches
f

of the Yogi Philosophy to be dealt with in other writ

1 ngs still the leading principle of the Yogi teachings is
,

s o b o und up with the minor branches o f th e subj ect ,

and is s o largely taken into account by the Yogis in

t he si mplest acts of their live s that in j us tic e t o th e
,

teachings as well as to our students we cannot leave ,

the subj ect without at l eas t saying a few w o rds abo ut

this underlying principle .

The Yogi Philosophy as our students d oubtless kno w

, ,

hold that m an is slowly gro wing and unfolding fro m ,

the lower for m s and m anifestations t o higher and ,

s t ill higher expressions of the Spirit Spirit is in each

.

m an although Often s o obscured by the confining

,

s heaths of his lower nature that it is scarcely dis c ern

able It is also in the lower form s of life working up

.
,

and ever seeking for higher form s of expression The .

m aterial sheaths o f this progressing life the bo dies o f —

mineral plant low er ani m al and m an are but ins tru

, ,
—

m ents to be used fo r the best develop ment of the

higher principles But although the us e of th e material
.
,

bo dy is but te mp orary and the bo dy itsel f nothing

,

mor e than a suit of c lo t hes to be put on, wom , and

then discarded yet it is always the intent Of Spiri t to

,

p rovid e and m aintain as perfect an inst rument as po ss i

23 8
 LED BY TH E S PIRI T . 23g

ble It provides the best body po ssible and gives the

.
,

i m pulses toward right living but if fro m cause s ,

not to be mentioned here an i mperfect b ody is pr o

,

v id ed for th e soul still the higher principles strive t o

,

adapt and accommodate the m selves t o it and mak e the ,

best of it .

This instinct of self preservation this urge behind

- —

all Of life is a m anifestation Of the Spirit It works

—
.

through the most rudimentary forms of the Instinctive

Mind up through many stages until it reaches the high
est ma n ifestations of that m ental principle It als o .

manifests through the I n tellect in the direction of caus

,

ing the man to use his reasoning powers for the pur
pose Of mai ntaini n g his physical sound n ess and life .

But alas ! the Intellect does not keep to its Own work
, ,

for as soon as it begins to be conscious of itself it

begins to meddle with the duties Of the Insti n ctiv e
Mind and overridi n g the instinct of the latter it forces
, ,

all sort of unnatural modes of living upon the body ,

and see m s to try to get as far away from n ature as pos ~

sible It is like a boy freed from the parental restraint

.
,

who goes as far contrary to the pare n ts example and ’

advice as possible just to sho w that he is ind epend

—

ent But the boy learns his folly and retraces his
.
,

steps and so will the Intellect

—
.

Man is beginning to see now that there is s omething

,

within him t hat attends to the wa nts O f his body and ,

which knows its own business much better than he

do es For m an with all his Intellect is unable t o
.

duplicate the feats of the Instinctive Mind working

through the body o f the plant ani mal or him self A nd
,
.

he learns t o trust this m ental principle as a friend ,

and to let it work out its own duties In the present .

240 HATH A YOGA .

modes o f li fe which man has seen fit t o adopt in his ,

evolution but from which he will return to fi rst

,

principles s ooner o r later it 18 i m p o ssible t o live a

,

w holly natural life and physical existence m ust be

,

m ore or less abnormal as a cons equence But nature s .

’

instinct of s elf p res erv ation and acco mm odation is

a

great and it m anages to get along very well with a

,

t o ns id erable of a handicap and does its w ork much

,

bette r than one w ould expect considering the abs urd

and insane living habits and practices o f civilized
m an .

It m ust not be forgotten however that as m an ad

, ,

vances al ong the scale and the Spiritual Mind begi n s

to unfold m an acquires a so mething aki n to instinct

,

we call it Intuition a n d this leads hi m back to nature

—
.

We can see th e i n fluence o f this dawning consciousness ,

in the m arked m ovement back toward n atural living

and the si m ple life which is gr owing s o rapidly the last
,

few years We are beginning to laugh at the absurd

.

form s conventions and fashions which have grown up

,

around our civilization and which unless we get rid Of,

them will pull down that civilization beneath its grow

,

ing weight .

The m an and w om an in whom the Spiritual Mind is

u nfolding will become dissatisfied with the artificial
,

life and custo m s and will find a str ong inclinat ion to
,

return to si mpler and more natural principles of living ,

thinking and acting and will gro w impatient under

,

the restraint and artificial coverings and bandages with

which m an has bound himself during the ages He .

will feel the h om ing instinct after long ages we are

”
co ming ho me And the Intellect will respond and
.
,

s eein g the f olli es it has perpetrated will endeav or to

,
242 HATHA YOGA .

One should not attempt to divorce his belief in the

Spirit l eadings from his physical life fo r Spirit per —

vades everything and manifests in the physical ( or

,

rather thr ough it ) as well as in the highest mental

,

s tates . One m ay eat with the Spirit and drink with it ,

“
as well as think with it It will not do to say this .

is spiritual and that is not for all is spiritual in the

'

, , ,

highest sense .

And finally if one wishes to m ake the most Of his

,

physical life to have as perfect an i n strument as m ay

—

be for the expression of the Spirit let him live his life —

all the way through in that trust a n d confidence in the

spir i tual part of his nature Let h im realize that the .

Spirit within him is a spark f : o m the Divine Flame a —

drop from the Ocean o f Spirit a ray from the Central —

S un Let him realize that he is an eternal being always

.
—

growing developing and u n folding Always m ovi n g

, .

toward the great goal the exact nature of which man , ,

in his present state is u n able to grasp with his im

,

perfect mc ntal vision The urge is always onward and

.

upward We are all a part of that great Life which

.

is manifesting itself in an infi nitude of infinitud e of

forms and shapes We are all a part of I T I f we
. .

can but grasp the faintest idea Of what this means we ,

will open ourselves up to such an influ x of Li fe and

vitality that our bodies will be practically m ade over
and will m anifest perfectly Let each of us form an .

idea of a Perfect Body a n d endeavor t o s o live that ,

we will grow into its physical fo rm and we can do —

thi s
.

We have tr i ed to tell you the laws governing the

physical b od y that you may conform to them as near
,

as m ay be interposing as littl e friction as possibl e t o

—
 LED BY THE S P I RI T . 243

the inflow of that great life and energy which is anx ious
t o flow through us Let us return to nature dear stud
.
,

ents and allow this great life to flow through us freely

, ,

and all will be well with us . Let us stop trying to do

the whol e thing ourselves let us j ust LET th e thing
—

d o its own work for us . It only as k s confidenc e and

non-res istance— let us give it a chance .
 F O U RTE E N LE S S O NS

YOGI PH IILOS OPHY

ORI ENTAL OCCULTI S M
BY YOGI RAMACH ARAK A .

“ ” “
Author of S ci ence of Breath, H atha Yoga, Etc .

An uniqu e work c ov ering t he entire fi eld of t he Yogi Phil

osophy and Ori ent al Oc c ult is m s t ating t he m ost profound ,

t ruths and hi d d en m ys t eri es in t h e pl ai nes t s i m pl es t Englis h , ,

styl e NO S ans c rit t erms to p uz z l e t he read er Jus t t he bo ok

. .

you h av e b een waiting fo r .

Know, 0 p
D is c i le! t hat t ho s e who have p as ed
s

t hro u h g c he s ilenc e, and felt its pea c e, and ret ained

its s t engt h ,
e
t hey lon g t hat yo u s h all pa
ss g
t hro u h
it als o Therefo re,
. of L earning, wh en
in t he H all
p
h e is c a ab le o f ent ering t here, t he d is c ip le will
”
always find his m as t er Lig h t o n the Path .
—
.

Th is Bo o rs Well Printed New Ty p e Go od Pap er Over

'f — —

275 Pages S ilk Clo th Cover S trong Durable Binding

— —

P ri c e , P o s t p aid .
 A D V A N C E D C OU R S E ‘

YOGI PHI LOS OPHY

ORI ENTAL O
CCULTI S M
BY Y OG I RA M A C H A RA K A
” “ ”
S cience cf B reatlz H aiku Yg F oa fl m
“
A u thor f
o , a,

Lessons ,
”
E tc .

C H I S book on s i s ts of Tw elve Les s ons o rig in ally is s u ed in

c
m onthl y p arts treatin g u p on the m or e ad vanced branch es
,
,

of t h e Y o g i Philosoph y and Oriental Occultis m I t is p rac

.

tically a s e q uel to o ur book F ourteen Lessons 1 n Yog i Phi l

o s oph y and Oriental Occ ul tis m and conti n ues the teac h in g s
’’
,
”
of th e F o urteen Less on s ,
and leads the s tudents to hi g h er

p lan es of tho ug ht a,s well s howin g him t h e dee p er p hases of

o ccult truth . Thi s book is intende d onl y for thos e wh o feel
an earnest attractio n towar d the hi g her teachi n gs I t is onl y .

fo r earnest s tudents ins p ire d by the hi g hest motiv es

, Th o se .

fo r w hom th es e teachin g s are inten d ed will feel attr acte d to

t h em. I f y o u feel attracted towar d th is wor k we wil l be ,

g l ad to hav e y o u s tudy it if not we will feel j ust as kindly

, ,

towar d y o u and wi ll s en d y o u our bes t wishes for the h ast en

,

ing of the d ay w hen y o u w ill be read y for the advanced t each

in gs ; Th e m atter is one entirely for the g ui d ance of y ou r
H i g her S elf let it decide for y o u
—
.

This Boo k is Well Printea ew Ty p e -Good Pap er Nearly u

350 PageS S ilk Clo th Cover S tr o ng Dur able Binding

n -
 Hidden Treas ures
o f t he

Anc ient Oabalah

The Trans mutation o f
Pas s ion into Power

Th e S ec ret Teac h in g s of t h e G r eat M as t ers of E arl y T i mes

By E LI A S G E W U RZ

H E Q AB A LA H i s t h e s ec ret d o c t rine of t h e J ews , h an ed d

do wn t h ro u gh o u t t h e ag es g r eat by the Teac h er s t o t h eir
b
el o v e d d p d
i s c i l es , un er t h e s o l emn v o w of s ec rec y
y p p b
.

I n t h e 1 2t h c ent u r , h o wev er th e ri nc i al t ext o ok of

b d by v y d bb d
,

t h e Q a alah was w r i t t en o wn a er l earne ra i name

M o s es d e Leon Th is b
oo k i s k no wn as t h e Z o h ar and c o nt ains
b d
.

inexh au s t i l e mines o f o c c u l t k no w l e ge P ri c el es s t reas u res o f

y d v g d v y by
.

m s t i c l o r e are s c at t ere i n i t s o l u mes , awaitin i s c o er

t h e i nt ell i ent st u ent g d
g v y
.

A mo n t h es e i s a g r eat ar iet o f t ea c h i ngs on t h e i nner li fe,

t h e mo s t no t ewo rt h eing : yb T h e U ni t y o f G o d and Th e Uni v er s e,
Th e Law o f C aus e and E ffec t and Th e Law o f S p i r i t u al E v o lu t i o n
b d
.
,

Th e l angu age o f t h e Z o h ar t h e H e rew C h al ai c k no wn t o , ,

b u t f ew s c h o l ars c o ns t i t u t es t h e mai n d i fi c ul t y in t h e way o f

d dy b
,

t h os e es i ring t o s t u T h e Q a al ah
d b d g
.

Th e l earne as s em l i es o f o l en t i mes in wh i c h t h e reat

mas t er s o f I s r ael s et fo r t h t h ei r o c t ri nes , h a e d
een t h e o ri
,

v b g
i nal s o u rc es o f t h e p
h i lo s o h of p y
t h es e lat er a s M o ern d y d
d d d
.

o c c ult i s m t oo i s eri v e f ro m t h e s ame s o ur c e, and s h o u l the

y b b
, ,

p ages o f t h e H o l Q a alah b e ac c es s i l e s o me d ay t o t h e Engli s h

d
s t u ent h e wi ll b e as t o n
, i s h e and d d g
eli h t ed at th e wealt h o f o c c ul t
t rut h t h at h e w i ll fi nd
b g
.

T h e B oo k s of t h e Q a al ah are fo unt ains o f l iv in wat ers

and at a t i me o f g r eat s p i r it ual nee lik e t h e d
res ent , t h ei r p
,

t eac h i n s g d v p
ese r e s ec i al at t ent i o n as t h e c ri t i c al eri o in t h e p d
d
wo r l s h i s t o r
’
y g
t h r o u h w h i c h we ar e
,

as s i ng wi l l b e p
et t er u n b
,

d
d ers t o o d , if w e k no w t h e fo u n at i o ns o f t h e W i s o m Reli g i on d
p p d v y
,

P r ec e t s of t h e g eni u s w h i c h res i ed o er t h em , wh en t h e w ere

g
d eliv er ed t o t h e ea er s c h o l ars t o b e h an e o wn t o f ut u re g en dd d
er at 1 0 11 8 .

130 g
P a es ; B o un d in C lo t h ; P ri c e, P os tp ai d .
 The Yo gi Philo s o p h y o f
Mental D evelo p m ent

By Y OlGI RA M A C H A RA KA ,

”
R aj a Yoga is d evoted to th e develop m ent o f the l atent
pow ers in Man the gaining of the co ntrol of the m e n tal
—

fac u lties b y the Will the attain m ent of the mastery of the
—

lo w er s elf the develop m ent of the m i n d to the end that the

—

s ou l m ay b e aided in its u n fold m e n t M uch that the W est

.

ern W orld has been attracted to in late years under the

“ ”
na m e of Mental Scie n ce a n d si m ilar term s really comes
,

”
und er the h ead of Raj a Yoga .This form of Yoga recog
niz es the w on derful power of t h e traine d m i n d a n d will and ,

t h e m arvelou s results that m ay b e gained by the trai n i n g o f

t h e s am e and its application b y concentration a n d int elli

, ,

gent direction It teaches th at n ot only may the m i n d be

.

directed outw ard infl uenc mg outside obj ects and things
, ,

bu t that it m ay also b e turned inward a n d co n ce n trated

,

upon the particular sub j ect before us to the end that mu c h

,

hidden knowledge may b e unfolde d and uncovered Ma n y .

“ ”
of t h e gr eat inv entors are r eally practicing Raj a Yoga u n
con s c iously in this inward application of it while m a n y
, ,

leaders i n the world of a ff airs are m aking use of its outward ,

concentrated application in their m anage m ent of a ff airs .