Hatha is also broken down as ‘ha’ meaning ‘sun’ and ‘tha’ meaning ‘moon’. This refers to the balance of the masculine – sun, hot, active – and the feminine – moon, cool, receptive – within all of us. Hatha yoga is a path toward creating balance and uniting opposites. In our physical bodies we develop a balance of strength and flexibility – something that is much needed with our current day lifestyles. We also learn to balance our effort and surrender in each pose.
Hatha yoga is a powerful tool for self-transformation. It asks us to bring our attention to our breath, which helps us to still the fluctuations of the mind, and be more present in the unfolding of each moment. According to legend, Shiva is credited with propounding hatha yoga. It is said that on a lonely island, assuming nobody else would hear him, he gave the knowledge of hatha yoga to Parvati, but a fish heard the entire discourse, remaining still throughout. The fish (matsya) later became a siddha (wiseman) and came to be known as Matsyendranath.