Hanthawaddy Yoga History

Around the 5th Century B.C. several early tribes from India, Tibet and China established a spiritual community on the Irrawaddy River to be known later as Sri Ksetra.. One of the earliest written records of Chinese emissaries and traders traveling on this route reported (around 500 B.C.) that:

                “Early in the morning with the rising sun, young and old men of villages and towns practiced elaborate sets of exercises using their bamboo and wooden long staff. They performed their vigorous sequence of exercises, standing, sitting, kneeling and squatting…           These exercises were supervised by elders.”

According to Hindu scholars, the most notable one was the Pyu people who migrated into Burma to escape from numerous wars between various kingdoms in eastern India. They were “Brahman” or from the priestly caste.. The Pyu, whose tradition was deeply rooted in the lifestyle of the eightfold yoga system from Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras,  established a highly peaceful Hindu kingdom in the great Irrawaddy Valley. They were joined by other tribes determined to live a spiritual lifestyle. One of those tribes was from Southern Tibet whose “Ko Gahn” system of zones influenced their yoga practice and refined the Hanthawaddy yoga system.  By the 3rd Century AD, they had built their elegant capital at Sri Ksetra with hundreds of golden stupas, temples and monasteries. Their high cultural ideals embraced spiritual beliefs of Brahmanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Tantricism, Mysticism, and Shamanism.. They were also known to practice different forms of Yoga such as Raja yoga, Karma yoga, Tantric yoga, Hatha yoga, Dhanda yoga, Letha yoga, Longi yoga and others.

Predominantly vegetarian, the Pyu discouraged killing and placed strong emphasis on preserving the lives of all creatures, great or small. They created an agrarian society complete with sophisticated systems of canals, elaborate irrigation devices and advanced methods of animal husbandry. The Pyu kingdom became one of the major trade routes between India and China. Roman embassies traveling from Rome to China from 97 – 121 AD used this peaceful region for their overland journey.

The Roman ambassadors reported that chains, fetters and prisons were unknown in this peaceful society. Harsh punishments and executions were not practiced as in the surrounding kingdoms. Killing for territorial gain, political dominance and vengeance was against the cultural values.

Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who traveled and studied at Sri Ksetra described this kingdom as a “peaceful land,” a “holy land,” and “the land of a thousand temples.” Pilgrims from the surrounding states visited various monasteries of this region. Chinese traders used the region for rest and restocking of goods before they made their rugged journeys to India, Persia and other countries.

The Pyu settled in these delta areas because they were fertile and protected by the mountains. The rivers carry away debris and waste as well as bring in life and fresh nutrients. These river valleys or deltas were known as Waddy. Hantha means peaceful, hence Hanthawaddy (place of peace).This yoga system  developed utilizing the Ko Ghan system with the nine zones, the alignment of the staff (Dhanda) training, and with the controlled breath and energy meditation of Min Zin became known as Hanthawaddy (peaceful place). Our body is the place or temple. Since other streams and rivers join in the valleys there is reference to “joining” of the peaceful place. This is what we should find or establish within our temple. We should feel familiar and comfortable with this phenomenon. To do this we must learn to establish balance and equilibrium within ourselves and to develop the ability to clean or to flush out the negative thoughts and emotions.
           
Hanthawaddy Yoga

Hanthawaddy Yoga has a unique pattern of breath combined with the specific motion of the body as it flows from posture to posture. In Hanthawaddy Yoga the goal is a peaceful mind and not achieving the posture itself. The posture is just trying to help you achieve the goal of inner peace. However; correct postures are essential to provide us with the energizing of the chakras. If the posture is done wrong you won’t have synchronization. Inhale to center, set three specific triggers and exhale on the twist or bend away from center.

Since Hanthawaddy has it’s origin in the ancient Hatha Yoga system, any movement one direction from center is balanced by a movement the other direction.  Simplicity of motion is the goal. Stress and trauma, like debris, need to move through and flow to release or flush from the body. This system can be an answer to the question “How do I solve this trauma so that it will not accumulate”? Trauma, tension, and stress accumulate in the back, muscles, colon, etc. Even emotional turmoil needs to flow away from us or we can become slaves to our emotions. .Hanthawaddy is a form of  “emotional hygiene”. Every morning we should be washing our emotions from a posture of anger to a posture of peace.

We need specific” asana”  or postures to generate energy through certain areas of the body and “prana“ pattern of breath which controls the flow of life force .Out of the 63 Hanthawaddy postures I have included the core 33 postures which covers all major areas of the body.  With the relaxation currents of the breathing and the pathways which open through the movement we are able to release and flush away the traumas and awaken our own healing processes.

 This yoga requires three things

1.Motivation

2. Self discipline – regularity
  a) concentration- focus
  b) relaxation
  c) visualization
      1. breath pattern - visualize
      2. pathways of energy
      3. visualize peace

3. Perseverance with Endurance

            This yoga system complements and is part of the Bando Yoga system.
Dhanda, Letha, and Longi prepare and develop the triggers and energy pathways of the body. This yoga system also makes the energy work of Min Zin tangible and will take this form of meditation to a higher level.