So what is yoga and why is it hat more of your friends are trying it out nowadays?
Is yoga only about fitness? How can it reduce stress and what do yogis mean when they say it is a physical, mental and spiritual practice?
In this article we’ll explain how it’s possible for yoga to change people’s lives and why Hatha yoga, one of the most common types of yoga across the globe, is also one of the best styles for beginner yogis.
The Importance of Yoga
Ask any yogi why they return to the mat for frequent practice and their range of answers will show you just how colourful and complex the practice of yoga is. Some people enjoy the physical workout, others the blissful relaxation at the end, some the associated mindfulness while most rest in the fact that they feel better after each class.
The most obvious answer might be a new concept to some; how yoga helps people of all ages to balance their stress levels while keeping their bodies healthy and their souls rejuvenated.
Directly translated, yoga is a Sanskrit word that means ‘to yolk’ or ‘to join’.
Its main objective is to bring harmony within us by aligning the body, mind and soul.
Does this mean you have to adopt a new religion? Absolutely not!
Yoga is rooted in ancient spiritual practices, but over the years it changed from a purely spiritual practice into a wide variety of adaptations to suit yogis of all types and backgrounds. It’s an inclusive, no-harm, compassionate and accepting practice that allows any and every one to find their truth as they work towards becoming a better person, whether that is in a physical, emotional or spiritual way.
Most of us work on computers daily, drive every day and have developed habits that negatively influence our postures. We also work and live in a stressful time and the unfortunate reality is we have to learn to adapt and deal better with stress if we want to excel at living. A frequent yoga practice will ensure you don’t lose focus of who you are, develop a better mind-body connection and live with more awareness and joy.
The blissful experience of a yoga class is due to the various practices that make it up.
Breathing and moving with intention increases cardiovascular benefits, increases the flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body and contributes to a positive physiological response to our bodies. It's also been proven that yoga leads to improved views of ourselves.
Scientific research has also proved that yoga continues to be popular due to thevfollowing benefits:
- It reduces the grey matter in the amygdala of your brain, the part associated with fear
- It improves mood by regulating hormones like dopamine, increasing GABA and serotonin while reducing the stress hormone cortisol
- Improves metabolism and helps with weight management
- Improves heart health by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, while increasing your heart’s resilience (heart rate variability)
- Detoxifies and cleans the system
- Strengthens, tones and stretches muscles
Learn more about the benefits of Hatha yoga in this article.
How you choose to involve yourself in your personal practice or a class will determine the efficiency, as it’s proven how mindful movement, with full mind and body engagement, leads to exponential benefits.
The class and teacher you choose will also influence whether you follow a more traditional or more modern style of yoga. You can choose classes that are orientated towards physical fitness, or you can join a specialist class, like Kundalini where the focus shifts more towards awareness around the expansion of consciousness.
What is Hatha Yoga?
Also known as postural yoga, Hatha is a spin-off from tantric yoga with more focus on asanas (poses) and less of a focus on ascetic yoga practices. Essentially all types of yoga we practise today derived from Hatha yoga in India around 350 – 1600 CE.
The history of yoga remains a bit blurry, but we know for certain that the first comprehensive text on the practice was influenced by texts like the Bhagavad-Gita and the Mahabharata. Patanjali’s yoga sutras was written 50-100 years after these texts and is a text that focusses on the eight limbs of Ashtanga that yogis can practise on their way towards enlightenment. One of those eight were asanas or postures.
Skipping more than a 1 000 years forward, the Hatha Pradipika came into existence where the 15 first poses were drawn and documented as part of the hatha yoga practice. It became the most popular form of yoga and most of the poses we know today stem from those basic asanas.
From there, yoga spread to the western world and the rest, as they say, is history. You can read more about Hatha yoga history here.
Hatha = Ha (sun) + Tha (moon)
The Hatha yoga meaning is thus associative with the unity between the moon and the sun energies within us.
The yin and yang, the energetic and calm, the warm and cool. This duality within us is what has kept us searching for the balance to create holistically healthier and happier versions of ourselves.
Why Hatha Yoga for Beginners?
Most yoga classes and types include the basics of yoga as taught by the ancient yogis, but the way in which a class is structured or what is included will differ from one type of yoga to another. Classes are made up of a range of practices to cast a spotlight on how each part within us connects.
During a normal Hatha class you might encounter practices like:
- Pranayama (breathing techniques)
- Asanas (the various postures of the class)
- Meditation or mindfulness practices
Not all classes are the same as some teachers focus heavily on the postures and physical body parts. Even in those classes the mental focus, balancing and breathing exercises will have a positive impact on you, but it’s important to find the teacher and type of class that will benefit you most.
Hatha is much slower than the popular Vinyasa style of yoga and allows the beginner to settle into poses before the next one is attempted. A good hatha teacher will show you how to make a pose easier or make it harder, allowing people from all ages and fitness levels to adapt easier to a class.
The type of yoga you choose will determine whether the focus is more towards physical, mental or spiritual aspects. It should be clear by now that all yoga have a bit of everything in it, but if you are looking for something special you can explore these forms of yoga as well:
- Ashtanga Yoga
- Iyengar Yoga
- Kundalini Yoga
- Bikram Yoga
- Yin yoga
- Restorative yoga
- Power yoga
These are only some of the many different styles of yoga and there are even some exciting forms like yoga dance for the more expressive individuals.
The Principles of Hatha Yoga
Do you want to adopt a yogic lifestyle? One where you live with full awareness every day?
This will include a daily practice that goes further than the physical poses, where a lot of spiritual and ethical principles start to influence the yogi’s daily work and life. Some choose to become vegan to protect the earth’s resources and most develop quite an intensive meditation practice.
We’ve already mentioned the eight Ashtanga yoga limbs, which laid the foundation for most yogic principles, but Hatha yoga has developed its own set of principles. These are also practices that yogis do to purify the body, but you'll notice that many were adopted from Patanjali’s eight limbs:
- Shatkarma – practices where saltwater is used to purify and clean the areas of the body where mucous membranes are found
- Asana – The poses we are so familiar with that helps to compress and purify the body
- Pranayama – Seen as the vital force of life, breath is also used to purify the thoughts and body
- Mudra – Gestures in specific parts of the body that are said to clear energy channels for purification
- Bandha – Locking certain energy centres in the body
- Dhyana – Singularly focused meditation
- Samadhi – The ultimate objective of enlightenment
How deep into the yoga world do you want to go?
Your practice is what you want it to be and you can simply include breathwork and asanas. If you are interested in yoga philosophy you'll also enjoy our other article discussing Hatha principles.
The Hatha Yoga Poses
Different techniques are used to enhance and create variations of asanas, but one of the main threads in yoga are the basic poses that originated from ancient Hatha. Back then there were no standing asanas, but over time yogis from India developed the approximately 84 poses that are used in most western yoga styles.
Modern Hatha yoga includes standing poses, balancing poses, forward folds and a whole range of flow movements and salutations. In Vinyasa yoga you'll do a flow of excercises and asana with breath and the historical Hatha poses are held slightly longer.
Each posture comes with a sanskrit name, has a very descriptive translation and you'll note that there is a posture to help with almost any physical and or mental challenge.
Back bending and twisting poses, like the camel, crow, cat and cow pose, are all ways to work into back pain and problems. Most of the poses are a means to improve your posture while muscles are strengthened, and some poses as example will take your focus inward to improve concentration. Its always advisable to do a proper warm-up and start with beginner poses before taking on harder poses like the crow pose.
Read here about more of the beginner Hatha poses you can try at home and tips around how best to approach yoga when you are starting out.
You can also make your life easier joining a local yoga studio or book a private Hatha class. You won't have to search for 'Hatha yoga near me’, you can find them right here on Superprof and we’ll bring a Hatha teacher to you. You can book online classes for a customised class from experienced Hatha yoga teachers.
Let them show you how to do it best and experience how Hatha can improve your mind, body and soul.
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