Yoga legacy may be divided into 3 layers, roughly speaking.
1. "Yoga Sutras" by Patanjali
2. Goraksha's "Siddha Sidhanta Paddhati" and " Hatha Yoga Pradipika" by Svatmarama
3. "Gheranda Samhita" and "Shiva Samhita"
If you look through these texts without a bias then you'll see that all of them are predominantly meditative. Only "Gheranda Samhita" stands out of the crowd because it is a negligent and inaccurate variation of the earlier texts. It seems that the author of "Gheranda" didn't have any copy of "Yoga Pradipika" and put his verbal knowledge ( passed to him by his teacher) on paper which was no more than modified "Yoga Pradipika".
"Gheranda Samhita" is an interesting case because from the first sight it seems more exhausting in practical detail. It gives the bigger number of asanas ( 32) and mudras ( 25). It talks more about the conditions of yoga practice. But if you take a closer look at the text you'll see that much of this detail is pretty useless, incoherent and rather misguides than clarifies the subject.
Furthermore, while "Gheranda" adds second rate detail to the previous yoga texts, it spoils the important lines of "Hatha Yoga Pradipika" omitting or twisting their meaning.
When you realize that hatha yoga is a meditative practice then you'll see yoga in different light. What seemed complex would become more clear. You will become much more sensitive to the teachings of the first known yoga proponents like Patanjali, Goraksha and Svatmarama. You will realize that they are the best teachers you can take lessons from in our times when innovation obscures the core practice. And I have to say that it has become extremely difficult to approach original yoga practice in a practical way. So difficult that if you reveal the teaching of Svatmarama to the yoga practitioners in its true meaning then you'll be regarded as inadequate.
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