Top 5 things to do on the Hatha Yoga Page
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Hatha Yoga
Hatha Yoga is yoga, as far as most people are concerned. When the vast majority
of westerners refer to “yoga”, they are talking about Hatha Yoga. It can get a little
tricky to the novice, because really MOST forms of yoga (at least physical asana
practice) are types of Hatha Yoga. Ashtanga, Power, Iyengar…yup, Hatha. But that
said an Iyengar class and a Power Yoga class are going to look very different. It
is kind of like how butterflies and caterpillars really are the same animal…they
just look very different. Hatha is a caterpillar that has become many butterflies
of different colors.
Ha means Sun (the active, masculine energy) and Tha means moon (the passive, feminine
energy). Yoga means union, so “Hatha Yoga” really means the union of polarities.
By practicing Hatha Yoga you become more in balance and aligned with yourself. It
was originally used by the ancient yogis to prepare for Raja Yoga (meditation) to
achieve higher states of consciousness that lead to samadhi, or enlightenment. Basically,
it was designed to make your body so healthy and strong that it could withstand
enormous stress from very long seated meditation without distracting the mind. However,
in modern times, most practitioners of yoga simply use it to increase flexibility,
strength and peace of mind. Nothing wrong with either approach!
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Pranayama, or breathing exercises, are fundamental to Hatha Yoga. Each breathing
exercise has a specific effect upon the body and mind and its important to master
simple yogic breathing in Hatha practice. Simple yogic breath in Hatha is a long
deep breath in through the nostrils and out again through the nostrils. Your stomach
swells like a balloon with the breath and then when you exhale it shrinks back to
the spine. There are many variations and forms of this breathing, and but its simple
practice is important to learn in a class billed as “Hatha Yoga”. (Ashtanga and
Bikram, for example, have very different standard breaths, so be aware of the differences
in pranayama as you surf the styles of yoga.)
Hatha Yoga has over 200 physical poses, called asana, with hundreds of variations.
Many schools of yoga that have developed out of this ancient teaching of Hatha Yoga
focus in on a few of these asana and exclude others. (Kundalini Yoga for example,
does not employ headstands and Bikram Yoga uses a series of 26 postures.) Practicing
asanas prepares the organs and energy centers of the body, but also serves to unify
body and breath, and therefore bring the mind directly into the present moment,
helping to relieve stress.
A typical Hatha Yoga class will include centering, warm up, sun salutations, static
poses, balancing, and then relaxation. A class billed as Hatha Yoga will generally
be slower in pace. They usually last between 90 minutes and two hours. However,
a Hatha Yoga practice can be adopted and abbreviated to 20 minutes to suit the needs
of the practitioner.
A Hatha Yoga class is great for the beginner who wants to try yoga, experience asana
and see what yoga is about. If you don’t like it, many of the other types of yoga
provide very different experiences; keep yoga shopping until you find the one that
is right for you.
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