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Hatha Yoga: The Hidden Language, Symbols, Secrets & Metaphors

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Sometimes my body feels like it's speaking in tongues. That tight shoulder, the pain in my lower back - what does it mean? What is my body trying to tell me? Originally published in 1988, Hatha Yoga: The Hidden Language details Swami Radha's systematic approach to understanding the symbolism of the asanas and messages from the body.

I first encountered Hidden Language a couple of years ago during a morning Hatha Yoga class at an ashram. I was surprised when the instructor asked us to pull out our journals and write words we associate with trees before we lifted into the Tree pose. We came out of the pose and reflected further on the tree as a symbol, and then the instructor posed questions: Where are your roots? What nourishes you? We went into the pose again, reflecting on the questions and being receptive to insights. It seemed so mysterious and yet obvious: Hatha Yoga asanas are based on real, tangible things - trees, flowers, birds, structures. Of course these physical forms have the potential to function as metaphors as well.

"Hidden Language Hatha Yoga is both deeply personal and brilliantly universal," writes ascent columnist Swami Lalitananda in her introduction to the new edition. "Through attention to the symbolism of the asanas, we can discover layers of meaning and make connections that change our lives. Because we are listening to the body, our reflections take on an honesty and reality that the mind can't deny."

After that initial class, I bought the Hidden Language book and have worked with it on a regular basis. The questions and reflections on the poses have helped me translate the discordant dialogue between my body and mind. My copy of the book is dog-eared and covered in notes - this new edition is to be released just in time.

It's difficult to make a good thing better, but this new edition is a vast improvement on the original. Much remains the same: each chapter is a different asana, with twenty-two altogether - basics such as Tadasana (the mountain), Matsyasana (the fish) and Garudasana (the eagle) - and they are presented in the same order.

There are some new additions as well. The line drawings have been replaced by the artful photography of Derek Shapton. This is not to say that the changes are merely cosmetic - the new edition is much more user-friendly. The bibliography is updated and appendices on mantra, Kundalini Yoga and other spiritual practices have been added.

I am still trying to decipher the secret code of my body, and Hatha Yoga: The Hidden Language is an excellent guide. This book will satisfy long-time practitioners of Hidden Language Hatha Yoga and introduce a new generation of yogis to a brilliant approach to the deeper meaning and full potential of Hatha Yoga.

I thought hatha yoga, the asanas, was about the body. Then I picked up this book and found out that the poses have a much richer purpose than making my body feel good. I tried just standing in the Mountain pose, just standing still going nowhere as Swami Radha suggests. Oh, I thought, that's easy, probably too easy. What does it feel like to stand still? Just standing there. I can do that! Ten seconds later my foot's tapping the floor. And my mind's thinking, thinking, thinking--I got things to do--I can't just stand here.

That was when I began to understand how the asanas reveal what my mind is doing. I've tried several of them now using Swami Radha's suggestions for reflection. Balancing on one leg in the Tree, asking, Can I bend like the willow or do I stand rigid like the oak? I waver and suddenly realize I'm hanging on, gritting my teeth. Bending forward in the Tortoise, looking for that quiet place within, I feel sheltered, protected, safe, and my body eases itself deeper into the pose. It likes this place. So does my mind. Triangle, reflecting on the cave of the heart. What are the three steps to the sanctuary? Patience, maybe? Compassion? The words start to flow, words to reflect on, words to think deeply about.

The way my body does the pose tells me what my mind is like.

This book takes hatha yoga to deep places inside. It's been a revelation to me.

This work by Swami Sivananda Radha brings the meaning of yoga to life. She points the way, through questioning and through thought provoking concepts. As she explains the ancient asanas she provides us with a key as to how best to know and understand the messages and the secrets that are locked in our bodies. It is a powerful work, as through her sharing of her knowledge and her experiences she encourages the readers to practice and to experience for themselves. It is through our own inner knowing that the Teachings are alive.Through our listening and living the language of the symbols and the metaphores in our daily experiences that we connect with our own power and our own connection with the Divine. It is a living gift, an opportunity that is to be valued and cherished as you value and cherish your own daily living.

I loved this book, took lots of notes, and review it often. It provides things to think about in yoga poses, symbolism and possibilities. Great book! Covers about 12 poses.

This book is an amazing resource for taking your hatha practice deeper, not in the body, but in the mind. It has clear instructions about how to work with an asana and how to really use it to learn about yourself, beyond the body, into the mind and spirit. As a physical therapist, a Somatics practioner and a yoga teacher I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in taking their hatha to a new level of understanding.

Excellent book. Must buy. Depending on the depth and duration of your own practice, this book will reveal to you the meaning behind the asanas and several layers of meanings in fact. Some of these you may have realized or intuited through your own practice. This book is well complimented by reading Radha Diary of a Womans Search. The lineage of the writer is from Swami Sivananda, so you know you are getting the authentic knowledge, not some re-hashed marketing that people seeking to create "brands" of yoga can come up with. Happy reading and happy practicing!

Lovely artistic interpretation of asana that only comes to light when one has fully embraced the practice.Nicely organized and detailed enough to explore one asana and how our mind reacts in that asana.
The copy I have has a front cover that has symbols on it rather than the person in posture, and I think that is a better reflection of the books content. camella Nair - Author of Aqua Kriya Yoga

I liked the way this book is set up. Being a yoga instructor who teaches students How TO Be Yoga Teachers, I thought this book may be instructive and it is. I use it as a Recommended book on my list! Lynda