Hatha yoga ethics, diet, cleansing, pranayama (breathing exercises), meditation and a system for spiritual development of the yogi. The Hatha yoga texts place major emphasis on "mitahara", which connotes "measured diet" or "moderate eating". For example, sections 1.58 to 1.63 and 2.14 of the "Hatha Yoga Pradipika" and sections 5.16 to 5.32 of "Gheranda samhita" discuss the importance of proper diet to the body. They link the food one eats and one's eating habits to balancing the body and to gaining most benefits from the practice of Hatha yoga. Eating, states "Gheranda samhita", is a form of a devotional act to the
Ashtanga vinyasa yoga and never taught by Sharath. However most of his teachers who claim to have been taught by him will teach the above methods, exercises, & postures, even though none of what they teach is part of the Ashtanga method of instruction under Sharath. Pattabhi Jois also did not require students to independently drop back and come up from back bending before progressing to the 2nd series. Sharath changed the requirements, and has now made this mandatory. However, it is important to note that Pattabhi Jois was the founder of the system, and taught each of his original students differently, instructing