The Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The knower of Yoga should preserve his semen and thereby conquer death. Emission of semen is death; preservation of semen is life. This is a fascinating little book. Hardly anything is known about its author, Swami Swatmarama, other than that he created this book, which is largely a compilation o......more

Svatmarama, Brian Dana Akers, trans. Hatha Yoga Pradipika (2002) ***** Closest thing to a "source code" that we have The two best known English translations of Svatmarama's classical text on yoga from the Fifteenth Century are by Pancham Singh and Elsy Becherer. The former is 87 years old and the latt......more

Well, Hatha Yoga Pradipika is the complete, complex and comprehensive take on Hatha yoga - encompassing the entire spectrum of yoga philosophy and practice. With elaboration on each shloka, it throws enough light on the nuances such as shatkarma, pranyama, asana, band has, mudras and samadhi. Having......more

I am simply amazed by how powerful this book on Hatha yoga is. Probably one of the most authentic books on Hatha Yoga. One who is seriously seeking the spiritual path and is 100% devoted to his guru must read this book. I recommend this book for every earnest seeker of truth, who is trying to unders......more

Four stars because I enjoyed it. It's neat to know you're reading such an old text, right back at least close to the origins of yoga. I mean I learned a lot about how it has changed. Super quick read. Many interesting concepts and ideas about yoga, things to try. It must be said, there's a lot if "t......more