By its numerous asanas or fixed postures it [the Hathayoga] first cures the body of that restlessness which is a sign of its inability to contain without working them off in action and movement the vital forces poured into it from the universal Life-Ocean, gives to it an extraordinary health, force and suppleness and seeks to liberate it from the habits by which it is subjected to ordinary physical Nature and kept within the narrow bounds of her normal operations. In the ancient tradition of Hathayoga it has always been supposed that this conquest could be pushed so far even as to conquer to a great extent the force of gravitation.
~ Sri Aurobindo
Ref: CWSA Vol.23-24, The Synthesis of Yoga, Page: 34
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