Hatha yoga Yoga. Hatha yoga practice has many elements, both behavioral and of practice. The Hatha yoga texts state that a successful yogi has certain characteristics. Section 1.16 of the "Hatha Yoga Pradipika", for example, states these characteristics to be "utsaha" (enthusiasm, fortitude), "sahasa" (courage), "dhairya" (patience), "jnana tattva" (essence for knowledge), "nishcaya" (resolve, determination) and "tyaga" (solitude, renunciation). In the Western culture, Hatha yoga is typically understood as "asanas" and it can be practiced as such. In the Indian and Tibetan traditions, Hatha yoga is much more. It extends well beyond being a sophisticated physical exercise system and integrates ideas of
Karma in the current life, as well as the nature and quality of future lives - one's "saṃsāra". "Karma" is the executed "deed", "work", "action", or "act", and it is also the "object", the "intent". Wilhelm Halbfass explains karma (karman) by contrasting it with another Sanskrit word "kriya". The word "kriya" is the activity along with the steps and effort in action, while "karma" is (1) the executed action as a consequence of that activity, as well as (2) the intention of the actor behind an executed action or a planned action (described by some scholars as metaphysical residue left in