Hatha Style Yoga

What is Hatha style yoga?  It can be considered an umbrella term to describe many forms of yoga taught in the West today. But first, what is yoga?  Yoga is the union between body, mind, and spirit.  The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning “to yoke,” or “to unite”.  It is a physical, mental, philosophical and spiritual practice that originated in ancient India by the sage Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras.  It encourages connection with one’s body through moving, breathwork, stretching, balancing, meditating, ethical living and centring of the mind and spirit – it is about connecting to self.  The practice aims to create a union between body, mind and spirit, as well as between the individual self and universal consciousness.  Through this self-connection, we can begin to understand our limits and learn love for self and others.  Yoga teaches us to always be non-harming, therefore, no pushing past one’s edge, no stretching beyond your limit just listening to your own body – Ahimsa. Ahimsa is the Sanskrit word for non-harming, and it is an integral part of the philosophy of yoga also known as the 8 limbs of yoga.

What is Hatha Style Yoga?

Hatha derives its name from the Sanskrit words sun and moon – Sun (ha) and Moon (tha).  When this form of yoga is practised it can create balance with the sun and moon energy that lies in all of us.  The sun and moon’s energies are opposite to one another, the sun is regarded as masculine energy and the moon is regarded as feminine, and we all have masculine and feminine energy within us, but sometimes this can be unbalanced.  Hatha represents the dual and balanced nature of the universe where opposing energies like the sun and moon, strong and weak, and positive and negative energies sit side by side creating balance.  To create this balance within, Hatha Yoga doesn’t typically just offer yoga-asana which is the physical aspect of yoga (the poses).  It creates balance by combining asana, pranayama (breathwork), mudra, bandha, and dhyana (meditation).  Thus, balancing and harmonising the body, mind, and emotions, and on a spiritual level connecting the individual’s consciousness with universal consciousness.

What Does a Hatha Style Yoga Class Include?

I did my yoga teacher training under Indian teachers, in India and Hatha yoga was a strong, powerful practice which always included asana, pranayama, meditation, mudra and bandha.  Here in the West Hatha is more of a blanket name for the physical aspect of Yoga.  Also, typically (but not always) Hatha can be more aimed at beginners or those wanting a slower or more gentle practice and of course there is nothing wrong with any of that, with yoga, there is something for everyone and every body type.  Whether the class is full power or gentle I think a typical Hatha class should contain not just the physical aspect of yoga but a mix of asana, pranayama, and meditation this way yoga doesn’t just tone your butt, it helps you to heal, and grow and release trapped energy from old, stored emotions.  It draws your awareness inwards helping you to build a relationship with yourself and increasing your relationship with your intuition.  Thus, you are more able to guide the ship of your own life in a more healthy and attuned direction.  It can help balance the nervous system, the endocrine system and so on, bringing internal balance and harmony and reducing the risk of illness, disease, or injury.  Combined, they can help you cope better with stress, anger, anxiety, past trauma and so on as the interrelation between the emotional, energetic, mental, and physical body strengthens and you can start to notice when a disturbance in one of these areas in self is affected.

Hatha yoga is a beautiful practice, rich and full of ancient history, spirituality, magic, philosophy, and science.  When searching for a class, to truly experience the healing power of this practice check in with the teacher and ask if the class covers just the physical aspect or breathwork and meditation too.  If you decide that all you require is just a physical workout, then of course there is nothing wrong with that but hold true that Hatha Yoga has so much more to offer than just poses.

Strong Hatha style Yoga class – Colchester, Essex.

I offer a strong Hatha Flow class on Monday evenings in Colchester, Essex.  My offering stays true to what I was taught in the birthplace of Yoga, India. It is a strong class which always includes breathwork, meditation and asana along with mudra and bandha.

The Tree Room, Colchester – Monday 19.00-20.30, bookings are available at https://dharmabelle.co.uk/weekly-group-yoga-classes/