You have been doing YOGA wrongly.

Before writing this article, I would like to pay my homage to my Guru, he who gave me all the knowledge and wisdom so compassionately. The whole world knows him as "Kaulantak Peethadeshwar Mahayogi Satyendra Nath Ji Maharaj". For me he is beyond the name and form, he is Lord Shiva himself descended down to society by the order of the Gurumandala for redemption of the Bhairavas and Bhairavis, who in the former life were connected with Kaulantak Peeth.

Secondly, I believe I am writing this article for a purpose. Primarily to give information to the Bhairavs and Bhairavis of Kaulantak Peeth about the various aspects of yoga and secondarily also to enlighten aspiring Yogis and people about the same which is secretive, unknown to the masses and also to those Yoga teachers who teach Yoga but do not know the basics facts of the Yoga, like why is an Asana done?, how is an Asana done?, What is the philosophy of performing an Asana?. I believe my writing shall clarify it all. I also believe that this article will serve as an eye opener for all sadhaks of Yoga and general masses to strive to learn the Yoga in its original and purest form.This is the first time in the history of Kaulantak Peeth such article is being written for the aspiring Yogis and for the people who are connected with Kaulantak Peeth to be enlightened on the topics of Spiritualism.

Yoga in Devanagari is written as "योग" which literally means to connect. There are some other definitions of Yoga too. Maharishi Patanjali says "योग चित्त-वृत्ति निरोध", to restrict and reshape the chitt's action. Lord Krishna in Bhagawad Geeta says "योगः कर्मसु कौशलम्", to perform any action excellently. It is also a very subtle spiritual instrument to liberate a human from all inner and outer bondage. The bondages of the body, mind, attachments, cravings and this universe. The liberation is done either by transcending all the tangible and non tangible objects and focusing the consciousness in something that is beyond everything, something which has a secular existence i.e the infinite GOD or for an atheist practisioner reaching the core of their own existence. When that particular state is attained it is a perfect yoga. It can be termed samadhi or a deep engrossment in the GOD, it is the same state and that state is the perfection of yoga.

The origin of the yoga is for the liberation of human from the clutches of the Maya. Lord Shiva, the ultimate compassionate Lord of all yogis created yoga. To understand the essence of Yoga one should first understand Lord Shiva. for example to know the country USA one should first know what founding fathers of America believed. The founding fathers of America gave much priority to individual freedom because they were then ruled by British Government and British Government levied huge taxes and left no stone unturned to silence the voice of the masses. That is for the reason America is founded upon the idea of individual freedom, less interference of the state into the private lives of the individuals and the right of a person to purse "life liberty and pursuit of happiness" as per Declaration of Independence 1779. 

Similarly if you look at Lord Shiva he resides in the Mount Kailash, Himalayas, a barren snow filled land where the temperature is extreme. It is such extreme that nobody can survive in those climate. The Himalaya marks the end of all civilization. A normal person cannot survive even a day without the help of any surviving equipments. The barren snow filled land that stretches from Russia passing Tora Bora of Afghanistan, Devi Hing Laj of Pakistan, the whole of Nepal and Bhutan, most parts of Tibet and Mt. Kailash too and ending in Burma. The snow filled barren land encompassing Mountain series and hills is called Himalaya and the extreme part of the Himalayas is the Maha Himalayas. The Himalaya and Maha Himalaya are both termed as "KAULANTAK PEETH" by the sages.

There has to be a reason why the great Lord of all known and unknown existence Lord Shiva, is pictured meditating in Mt. Kailash or at Kaulantak Peeth. It is because in Kaulantak Peeth, yoga was created by Lord Shiva and he gave the knowledge about it to Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Sapta Rishis. In return the Sapta Rishi, Lord Vishnu and Brahma practised it, developed  and propounded it to the society. Yoga originated in Kaulantak Peeth, that is for the reason yoga has some basic features which enables a practitioner to master their own body so as the person can adopt in any environment and can survive in the extreme climate without food and water.

Kaulantak Peeth is not a modern day coined term or any propoganda created by any person solely for business purpose, it is explicitly mentioned in the Scriptures. It is also known as Shambhala for the Buddhist, Siddhashram as mentioned in Ramayana. After lapses of time Kaulantak Peeth then came to be known by the name Kullutaa or Kulut. Today modern people call Kaulantak Peeth by the name Kullut Peeth but this would be a fallacy because modern day Kullu is just a small place. Some of the mentions in the scriptures are as follows:

१) कुलूतः कुहुका ऊर्णास्तूणीपादः सकुक्कुटः ।

माण्डव्या मालवीयाश्च उत्तरापथवासिनः ।।
(वामन पुराण - 13/43)

Mahabharata:

२) ततः कुलूताधिपतिश्चापमानम्य सायकै: ।
दशभिस्तोमरं भित्वा षष्ठया विव्याध पाण्डवम ।।
(महा. कर्ण पर्व - 12/35)

The prevalent assumption is that the Kulanta Peeth was the name of Kullu before Kulluta. According to the Kulanta Peeth Mahatamya scripture the introduction of Kulanta Peeth is given as follows:

अथातः संप्रवक्ष्यामि कुलांतं पीठमुत्तमम ।
यत्पीठं समाश्रित्य मुनयो सिद्धिमागताः ।।
अर्जुनस्य प्रसादाय दाधार शवरं वपु: ।
विपाशा च नदी यत्र नदी च यत्र पार्वती ।।
(कुलांतपीठ महात्म्यम 1/3,4)

The above verse literally means " Now I will explain the best Peeth of all the Peeth Kaulanta Peeth. The Peeth under which Sages took shelter and achieved perfection. To delight Arjuna lord Shiva took the avatara of the nomad jungle tribe in this peeth. The place where Vipasa and Parvati river flows.

जलन्धरस्य शैचान्ये हेमकूटस्य दक्षिणे ! 
दशयोजन विस्तीर्ण योजनत्रयविस्तृम् !!
उत्तरे व्यास तीर्थश्च दक्षिणे बंधुको गिरि: !
विपाश पश्चिमे भागे पूर्वे पशुपतिः स्वयम् !
अधिष्ठातृ च शबरी इन्द्रकीलम् पर्वतम् !!

The above verse literally means "At present it is located at north east of Jallandhar Peeth and southern area of Hemkut mountain. The holy place of vyasa is in its north, Bandhan mountain in its south. The holy Vyasa river flows at the western part and Pashupati is in the east. The presiding deity is the Goddess Shabari and its most important mountain is the Indrakilam mountain".

From above propositions one can infer that Kaulantak Peeth is the shelter for all wisdoms. Even the yoga originated from it, developed in it and directed to the society from it. Kaulantak Peeth is the Harvard University for spiritual knowledges and wisdoms. The Harvard has many faculties. The passouts of the university are regarded very highly, similar is with Kaulantak Peeth. From time immemorial the peeth has sheltered  more then 200 kulas (family, sects, lineages) of tantra and yoga. The sages of particular sectors are the Dean of their lineages. The sadhakas and students of the lineages with them carry the legacy of Kaulantak Peeth. The Harvard might be state or private regulated but Kaulantak Peeth is Lord Shiva regulated.

Kaulantak Peeth harbors the lineages of many sects and wisdoms. All originating from Lord Shiva. Yoga especially was originated on the Mt. Kailasha by the lord of all wisdom, lord Shiva. He at Kaulantak Peeth passed the knowledge of yoga to Ma Parvati, Saptarishi, Nath Siddhas etc. The sages who received the knowledges of yoga had their own lineages and kulas. So,Yoga also evolved with their own teachings. Basically in Himalaya there are some distinct peeth i.e Kaulantak Peeth as discussed above, Jallandhar Peeth which encompasses the land from Jallandhar of Punjab and also covers most of the Uttarakhanda terrains. Kaulantak Peeth is  mostly non inhabitant land compared to Jallandhar Peeth. Only souls who have perfected their body throught Yoga can live here and practice their penances in the extreme cold temperature.

The sages and seers of Kaulantak Peeth who had mastered all the facets and parts of yoga, they started to go to the society to impart basic teachings of yogas. This is where they gave sutras (yoga aphorism) for public. The lines of the sutras of  Shiv Sutra, Gheranda Samhita, Swaradaya, Hathyoga Pradipika, Patanjali Yoga sutra are still referenced today when it comes to explaining yoga. But this sutras are only basic sutras given by the sages of Kaulantak Peeth. It is just like the Dean of PHD faculty of Harvard prescribing the syllabus for the certificate level.

 For example, the modern day perspective of Yoga has to be credited to the eternal Mahasiddha Matsyendra Nath ji Maharaj and his disciple Goraksh Nath. Matsyendra Nath descended from Kaulantak Peeth to the society to revive all the lost teachings. Under his guidance yoga, tantra etc bloomed and prospered and their were no corners of  Indian sub-continent where the fragrance of those wisdom didn't enrich. The society had now moved in a new direction. The lost sciences of Yoga and Tantra had re-emerged again.

The modern day yoga which has reached the shores and cities of the west are just the basics of yoga. It encompasses only 5% of the whole syllabus of Yoga. Those yoga are only certificate level courses which only focuses on staying healthy through Asana, havind a sound mental health through Pranayama, directing the senses inward through Pratyahara, some dhyana (meditation) practices, Samadhi (an unattainable pursuit) and some incomplete knowledge of the sacred and partially revealed Kundalini Yoga. Infact in the west, the most distorted version of the knowledge of Kundalini has reached. People have started creating their own versions and they have been teaching it which is plain wrong. Even the knowledge of the Kundalini is just plain basics and they have started doing forbidden things in the name of Tantra and Kundalini.

Even the Yogas propounded by the sages of Kaulantak Peeth are of various natures. For eg, Pashupat Yoga is a hardcore hath yoga practice put forward by Maharishi Mahasiddha Markandeya. Laya Yoga by Mahasiddha Gorakshnath ji etc. So basically their are many forms of Yoga taught by the sages of Kaulantak Peeth. They may have their difference but one common attribute among all is that, the highest level of Hath Yoga or Laya Yoga or any other Yoga is not taught in the society. The original and the highest form of Yoga can only be learned in the caves, barren snow filled lands and in the meadows of Kaulantak Peeth.

The Peethadeshwara is the highest authority of the Peeth. Peethadeshwara is a person who has mastered all forms of knowledges like Tantra, Yoga, Karmakanda, Ayurveda etc. A Peethadeshwara is appointed through competition by the Gurumandala. The Peethadeshwara is treated as Lord Shiva himself. Currently, the Kaulantak Peethadeshwara is "His Holiness Mahayogi Satyendra Nath Ji Maharaj", he is the youngest Peethadeshwara of Kaulantak Peeth time immemorial.

The Peethadeshwara resides somewhere in the Himalayas that is unknown to the masses. No person can ever reach there without his/her blessings. The Peethadeshwara is held at such high esteem and sacredness that he/she doesn't teach yoga directly. Any aspiring sadhaka who wants to learn yoga has to have a basic knowledge about Yoga then there the sadhaka is taught by his/her Bhairavas and only if the sadhaka progresses then at the final stages, gets the chance to be initiated by Peethadeshwara. The basics of Yoga like Pranayama and Asana aren't taught by Peethadeshwara but by his/her Bhairava and Bhairavis. Only when a person is initiated by Peethadeshwara then the sadhaka is believed to have learned the Yoga directly from the source. The source which is the fountain of all wisdoms.

There are some basics of Yoga which has to be learned to know the higher aspects of yoga. Some basics of yoga are the Asanas, Mudras, Pranayamas, Bandhas(lock) etc. For example, the seven notes of Indian classical music are SA RE GA MA PA DHA NI, the notes are altered in a particular way to form a particular raga (mood) and then a melody is produced. In Raga Bhopali 5 notes  SA RE GA PA DHA is used for arohan and avarohan to produce a melody. The melody is the utility part of the whole 7 notes. Similar is with the basics of yoga, Asanas, Mudras, Pranayamas, Bandhas, Dhyana, Dharana combination is used to achieve a particular yoga. 

For example, the utmost secretive Sudarshana Kriya Yoga(not to be confused with sudarshan kriya taught by other sect)  of  Kaulantak Peeth uses Bandha, Pranayama, Dharana and Mudra to achieve a perfect body through Hath Yoga. The Sudarshana Kriya Yoga of Kaulantak Peeth was first taught to Maharishi Markandey by Lord Shiva and then he gave it to the other sages of Kaulantak Peeth, gradually from unbroken guru disciple lineage it was given to me.

 The yama niyama don't have the same acceptance like the other basics. Maharishi Patanjali lays importance to yama niyama while as Maharishi Dheranda/Gheranda lays more empasis on the inner/outer cleansing of the body by Yoga Kriyas like vaman, vasti, neti, dhauti and kapalbhati. 

• Pranayama: 

The Pranayama is one of the basics of yoga where the motion of the breath is regulated so as to achieve a particular state of body and mind. When a person is in deep meditation the person's breath becomes very slow and deep, his both nostril opens, both the ida and pingala nadi is activated. So if a person wants to reach the same state, all he/she has to do is make the breath slow and deep, and the state is attained.That is the essence of Pranayama, first to regulate the motion of the brain to silence the mind and secondarily for the utility part. 

Lord Shiva has prescribed more then 500-600 types of Pranayama but among then there are 72 basic Pranayama, representing the 72 nadis of human body. Kaulantak Peeth teaches all the 72 basic pranayamas. 

There are some Pranayamas which are inspired from animals. For example, Kapi Pranayama is based on how Monkey's inhale and exhale. 

• Mudra

Mudras are hand gesture made by the fingers for a particular purpose. According to the Panchanguli Tantra our five fingers represents the five "pancha mahabhuta" or the five basic elements, earth, air, water, fire and ether. The whole universe is made of those five basic elements. Since, the whole universe is made of five basic elements, the whole universe is within the two hands and 10 fingers of a person.

Since we are a mini universe, the mudra can be used to control the inner universe. Some points of the mind can be activated for the desired results. Infact mudra is also known as Mini Yoga where fingers of the person does the asana.

• Bandha (lock)

Bandhas are the locks a Yogi performs on his body so as to put a pressure on a particular point in the brain to give pressure to the nervous system. Bandha uses "pancha prana" to put pressure on the nervous system. One who controls the "panch prana"  controls the body. The person can elongate his/her life span. There are basically four types of Bandhas. Mula, Uddiyana, Jallandhara and Maha Banda.

• Asana

Asana are the physical act a Yogi performs to still and pause all the inner motions. There are many utilities of an asana. The primary is the pausing of all inner motions, if you can still the body you can still the mind too because mind and body are connected. The secondary is to be healthy. There are multiple utilities of Asana, It is also used for the combination like mudra, bandha etc to form a Yogic Kriya.

Lord Shiva created and developed 84 lakhs Asana i.e 8.4 million Asana for the welfare of the human. he created it and imparted it to the sages of Kaulantak Peeth. In return the sages of the Kaulantak Peeth developed it, researched it and then further imparted it to the sadhakas of respective lineages. The sages had a keen observation of the nature. They tried to emulate the nature and the creation of Lord Shiva by which  they also came up with their own asana. For eg,  Goraksha Asana and Matsyendra Asana were created by Lord Shiva but Goraksh Nath and Matsyendra Nath discovered it and furthered it through acute observation of their self and the nature.
Not many people know that Asana are basically divided into two parts in Kaulantak Peeth.

• Living Entity Asana: The Living Entity Asana were developed by the sages of Kaulantak Peeth by observing, emulating the living entity. They tried to emulate the body structure of the plants, animals and insect to see how their body reacts to the emulated Asana. Their finding were phenomenal. They then researched more on the research object, on how they breathe, how they react to external stimuli, and similarly came up with a blueprint to make the human body as phenomenal as the Asana itself. Asana are done for the betterment of the human body, to develop endurance and ultimately to lead a sadhaka to Samadhi. For example, the Bhujanga Asana were developed by observing, emulating and researching on snakes. Bhujanga means snake and it the snake pose the Pranayama is done accordingly. Similarl is with Dhruvasana, the asana on which Dhruva meditated on Lord Vishnu.

• Non Living Entity: The Non Living Entity Asana are the Asanas developed by observing, emulating the non living entity. Non living entity like the utilities of the traditional ages like Chakra, Hala (plough) were deeply researched. The sages then tried to emulate it and then observe the impact on their body. They then formulated it and imparted it to the society. 

Some Asanas which were utmost secretive and only known to sadhaks of their particular lineage were based on Gods and Goddesses they exclusively worshipped like Brahma Asana, Vishnu Asana, Rudra Asana. There are also similar Secret Asanas attributed to Rakshas,Gandharva, Kinnar, Daity, Devta, Yakshinis. The Asanas also varies with Gods and Goddesses and places. For example, Guru Goraksh Nath with his Guru Matsyendra Nath and their followers used to practice Asana on the pointed tip of the trident which is more then impossible for the modern day acclaimed Yoga masters.

The present day Asana that is taught by the Gurus of the Indian and International market, who even distribute commercial certificate in the name of Yoga, who have ISO certificate in teaching Yoga, who conducts Yoga teachers course, they simply don't know such basic facts about Yoga which I have exclusively mentioned in my post. The reason is plain simple, they weren't taught that way. They aren't to be blamed. They were also guided by similar people. A blind leading a blind.

That is for the reason the Yoga should be learned directly from the source. To avoid being trapped down in the rabbit hole of the "A blind leading a blind" aphorism, any person who wishes to learn yoga should learn Yoga from a capable Guru whose lineage can be traced to Kaulantak Peeth. We are not asking people to queue our ashrama, one is free to find and choose a particular Guru who can teach the right Yoga and receive their teachings and in return enlighten others too.  For example, we insist on learning Yoga the right way. In our Peeth the tradition of learning an Asana unless the Guru says is by sketching the Asana on a Bhojpatra barks. Below is one of the paintings of an asana which most be done in Kaulini lipi. The Kaulini dialect is one of the most secret and unrevealed dialect exclusively known only to the sadhakas of Kaulantak Peeth.

The asana is drawn in midst of a mystical Yantra. The Yantra has four Bhupura.In Tantra, the Bhupura means the gateway of the Yantra. The Yantra is the geometrical representation of the universe, we are a mini universe so the Yantra is geometrical representation of our own body. Inside the Yantra is an enclosed circle, and the sadhaka is portrayed in midst of the Yantra. The midst of the Yantra means the Bindu, and the sadhaka is being pictured performing an asana inside the bindu. It is a very secretive practise which is not known to the masses and Yoga teachers of the society.

Similarly, in the society only hand full Yogas are known. Some of them are Raja Yoga, Laya Yoga, Hath Yoga etc. But there are different Yogas which are only exclusively known and preserved by Kaulantak Peeth. Some exclusively known Yoga are Malkhamba Yoga (Tree Yoga), Water Yoga, Hanging Yoga, Air Yoga. Some other aspects of Yoga generally unknown to the public and is very secretive are the Bhoomi Pranayama and Bhumi Samadhi. How Bhumi Pranayama leads the sadhaks to Bhoomi Samadhi.

Furthermore, Yoga also had some utility in terms of body maintenance. Maharishi Dadichi, his bones were more harder then the Vajra. Diamond in India is known by the name "Vajramani". A diamond is a very hard and rigid gem. Maharishi Dadichi's bone were harder then the vajramani. Imagine how hard his bones were. The bones of him were later used to make the Vajra of the God Indra. This is only possible through Yoga. If some aspects of Yoga is mastered, the impossible will then turn possible.

We believe that there is no person left in this earth who can teach Yoga in its original and purest form. There is no person left who can teach all the Yogas and its different aspect as mentioned above. We in future would like to impart all these teachings to the eligible sadhakas. Till then one should start researching about Yoga. One should put the first step forward to begin the thousand miles journey of Yoga. When the right time comes and rises, the self effulgent Yoga will then shine and be known and revealed to the sadhaks.

Om Namah Shivaya.