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Hathayoga is also known as kriyayoga. Hathayoga gives importance to controlled breathing and practice of different postures. The object of hathayoga is to provide with the aspirant physical and mental fitness. By the practice of hathayoga, one gets peace, contentment and immunity to disease and decay. Control of the body and of the vital energies is the main prescribed practice in hathayoga. According to this, a correct and regulated rhythm of the breath is imperative for proper control of mind. It is said that, pranayama not only regulates the breathing process but it also brings about the much-needed order and one-pointedness in the thinking process.223 It is to be noted that the process is much the same as the one outlined by Patanjali. But the emphasis is on posture and purificatory practices. In hathayoga, the main components are-the eight limbs of Patanjali's Yogasutra of Patanjali viz., yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, 68

pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. In addition to these eight limbs, hathayoga prescribes muscular contractions (bandha), 224 gestures (mudra) and purificatory practices." As shown before, postures have special significance in hathayoga, a great variety of it is described. It is said that there are 84 main asanas and four of them (padma, siddha, svastika and ugra) are considered as very important. Bandhas are complementary to pranayama. The most important bandhas are three viz., mula-bandha, jalandhara-bandha and uddyana-bandha. There are 25 mudras described for practice; but in Siva samhita there are only ten. The purificatory practices are six in number viz., dhauti, vasti, neti, lauliki, trataka and kapalabhati .226 225 Hathayogapradipika (c.1350 C.E), Gheranda samhita (c.1650 C.E) and Siva samhita (c.1750 C.E) are regarded as the most relevant for the study of hathayoga. Other treatises are Visvakosa and Anubhavaprakasa.