What is Hatha Yoga

Explained

is a broad term that
encompasses any of the
physical practices of
yoga and it could mean a
lot of things.

Most group of yoga classes including
the contemporary types could be
categorized as

To put things in a clearer perspective,
is an endless and adaptable practice
usually tailored by the instructors for
the specific needs of their students.

For this reason, it can be difficult to give a clear and
definitive description of what it really is,
as instructors have a lot of freedom to choose what they
teach in a Hatha class.

What is the purpose of
HATHA YOGA?

Each Hatha yoga class is different from one another.
But what makes them similar is the use of breathing
techniques to link between body movements and poses.

This practice allows you to
free your mind of clutter
by focusing on the
moment while performing
well-rounded poses that
opens up your body.
It will improve your
concentration, strength
and flexibility.

What are the benefits of
HATHA YOGA?

In addition to
flexibility and strength
the yoga practice of Hatha
has many other health
benefits like:

Tones your
MUSCLES

Enhances physical
BALANCE

Promotes better
CIRCULATION

ALLEVIATES STRESS

Improves your
CONCENTRATION

Balances your
ENERGY

The other benefits of
Hatha yoga include:

Builds Immunity
The muscle movements in the
body help boost your lymph
circulation and drainage. This
aids the lymphatic system fight
diseases and flush out the body’s
toxic waste products from
cellular functioning.

It also fights budding infections
and destroys cells that could
potentially become cancerous.

Strengthen The Spine
Stretching and other forms of
physical exercise help tone the spine.
Medical scientists say that when the
spine is rigid, nerve impulses cannot
flow as freely and the body receives
weaker impulses.

If you keep your spine
healthy and flexible,
the nerves remain strong and they
branch out more from the spine.

Release
MIND AND BODY
tension

Hatha and all its other forms encourage you to focus on
your poses and breathing.

As the exercises help
relax your brain and
body, they also improve
your concentration
which means you can
achieve
a calmer and
more peaceful
state of mind.

Improves
Mood

Yoga, just like any other forms of physical exercise, can help
stimulate the release of the “feel-good” hormones in the body
serotonin and dopamine.

When these hormones are
flowing, they give you
that sense of
peace and relaxation.
It also lightens up your
mood throughout the
day and keeps you
feeling happy and
satisfied.

What is contemporary
HATHA YOGA?

Given that Hatha is such an open practice,
there are so many unexpected things that could happen in a
Hatha class.

Today, this type of practice is used
to describe gentler and more basic
poses with breathing
exercises.
You can expect a slower-paced
stretching, less intensive
meditations and some basic
pranayama breathing techniques.

If you have never
tried yoga before,
this is the first
category you can
experience as it
helps you work on
alignment,
relaxation,
flexibility and
strength
– all
important
characteristics
you must
possess to
accelerate to
more
advanced
classes.

What is
“Hatha flow”?

Some studios or private classes classify their sessions as
“Hatha flow”.

As mentioned earlier, Hatha is a very open practice and it
can be difficult to provide a clear description on what the
class will be until you have tried it yourself.

Most Hatha flow classes move from pose to pose in a
sequence without resting, hence the word “flow”.

This can be correctly described as a less scale of Vinyasa,
but on a moderate level of intensity of Hatha.

You might also see both Vinyasa and Hatha flow being
offered in the same studio

Just keep in mind that Vinyasa is more vigorous, while Hatha
flow is more advanced than the regular Hatha yoga class.

If you need more clarifications on both lessons,
you can approach the instructor or try the class yourself to
find out.

Is Hatha yoga for you?

A Hatha class is generally more appealing to the beginners
because of its gentle poses. It can be used as an introductory
course to yoga, but it does not mean that it is going
to be easy.

Hatha classes are still
quite challenging
physically and mentally
while providing
opportunities to stretch,
unwind, release tension
and improve your
physical fitness.

If you feel like Hatha is
too slow or not active enough
do not dismiss yoga completely.

You can always attend a different class
where they introduce more athletic ways to do yoga
(like Vinyasa or Bikram).