Atman “The purpose of Hatha Yoga” by James Bryan The purpose of Hatha Yoga is to align our self with the SELF called Atman. Atman, (Sanskrit: “self,” “breath”) one of the most basic concepts in Hinduism, the universal self, identical with the eternal core of the personality that after death either transmigrates to a new life or attains release (moksha) from the bonds of existence. There is no need to have this religious view as you can think of it in terms of a radio and radio waves. The body is the physical radio. The radio waves are the life-force (spirit/ soul). The practice of Hatha Yoga is to tune our body to better receive the radio waves. In the vast majority of people, their radio is not tuned properly and their minds are filled with static, which prohibits clear thinking, which leads to less than optimal actions. I smoked marijuana (lightly) from the ages of 13 to 28. I chose to stop because I did not like the foggy head I had for the next two days. It took me a full year to be at a party and be able to say no, without secretly wishing I had said yes. Now I don’t ever think about it because it is not part of my mindset. I neither desire or reject it. It has no impact or influence on me. I started studying yoga with Nicky Knoff at 28, so there is a connection. From the yogic perspective, the individual needs to make the conscious decision to confront and overcome their vices, not only for the benefit of themselves, but also for the betterment of society. The yogic approach to overcome negative behaviour is not to suppress it, but too supplant it with positive behaviour. Physical activity is superior to intellectual attempts, because it is based in reality. The arena of the mind is not real and permanent changes have to be brought into reality to have the desired effect. The body has its own deep reservoir of wisdom and when we tap into it, we align ourselves with God. This is of course, the purpose behind Hatha Yoga. All of us suffer from mental illness (out of tune) to a degree. It can be slight or it can be full blown craziness. As yoga teachers, the full blown crazies are out of our league to deal with, but we can help the majority. Really, they can help themselves by attending your classes and tuning their radios.