Hatha yoga physical essence of life that was constantly dripping down from the head and being lost. These techniques sought to either physically reverse this process (by inverted postures like the "viparītakaraṇī") or to use the breath to force bindu upwards through the central channel. Other texts like the "Vivekamārtaṇḍa", "Goraksaśataka", and "Khecarīvidyā" also teach the raising of kuṇḍalinī. The aims of these practices were siddhis (supranormal powers such as levitation) and mukti (liberation). The only other texts older than the Hathapradīpikā to teach Hatha Yoga ̣mudrās are the "Shiva Samhita", "Yogabīja", "Amaraughaprabodha", and "Śārṅgadharapaddhati". The "Hatha Yoga Pradīpika" is one of
Hinduism karma, cows and caste"; and Bhakti or devotional Hinduism, where intense emotions are elaborately incorporated in the pursuit of the spiritual. Michaels distinguishes three Hindu religions and four forms of Hindu religiosity. The three Hindu religions are "Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism", "folk religions and tribal religions", and "founded religions. The four forms of Hindu religiosity are the classical "karma-marga", jnana-marga, bhakti-marga, and "heroism", which is rooted in militaristic traditions, such as Ramaism and parts of political Hinduism. This is also called virya-marga. According to Michaels, one out of nine Hindu belongs by birth to one or both of the Brahmanic-Sanskritic Hinduism and