Hatha Yoga is a powerful healing tool for rejuvenating the body, mind and spirit. It has been proven to be especially beneficial in the treatment of stress-related illnesses.
Yoga exercises help purify the body and remove energy blockages so that nature can accomplish the task of curing disease.
Once you begin to practice yoga, you may gradually experience the benefits in your everyday life. Some of these benefits can include improved health, better sleep, a sharper mind and a happier disposition. You may notice improved suppleness in your body and a calmness that was not there before.
The beauty of Yoga is that it focuses on the entire being. Yoga poses work from the inside out, facilitating growth on several levels. Yoga can change your tastes and your habits.
Yoga originated in India several thousand years ago. There are actually several branches of Yoga:
Hatha Yoga : The physical path
Karma Yoga : The path of service and action
Jnana Yoga : The path of knowledge and study
Bhakti Yoga : The path of selfless love and devotion
Mantra Yoga : The path of chanting, invocation and sound
Raja Yoga (Royal Yoga): The path of meditation and higher consciousness
Hatha Yoga gives the body the necessary health, and strength to progress to higher levels. A goal of Hatha Yoga is to make the body strong, firm and supple so that it can remain comfortably seated in one position for extended periods of time in meditation. Hatha Yoga also balances, integrates and harmonizes the body's energy flows resulting in a sense of calm, vitality and inner balance.
Westerners often equate Yoga with the asanas, or exercises for the body. The asanas are actually one part of eight limbs:
- Yama: moral and ethical restraints such as nonharming, non-lying, nonstealing
- Niyama: observances such as cleanliness, contentment, hard work, Self-study.
- Asana: posture
- Pranayama: breath control
- Pratyahara: mind withdrawal from the senses
- Dharana: concentration
- Dhyana: meditation
- Samadhi: enlightenment
Yoga postures, breathing and relaxation exercises can be taken up by anyone who wants to improve his or her physical or mental condition. Each person can practice Yoga according to his or her needs, moving on to more advanced stages at their own pace.
- It is best to practice Yoga during the same time each day, when you feel fully awake and when the stomach is light. Traditionally, the best times for Hatha Yoga are dawn, noon and twilight.
- Create a special place in your home that invites you in and inspires you to spend time practicing Yoga and meditation. You may wish to include a blanket, pillow, candle, flowers, inspiring pictures and books.
- The temperature of the room should be warm—not too hot or cold.
- Soft, relaxing music can help you turn your attention inward.
- A typical one-hour practice can begin with a 5 minute relaxation focusing on breath, 10 minutes of warm-ups focusing on neck, shoulder, hip, wrist and ankle movements, 25 minutes of postures including floor, standing and balance postures, 5 minutes of breathing-- such as alternate nostril breathing, 10 minutes of relaxation/meditation, and 5 minutes of closing with a sound meditation.
- To learn the postures, you can rent a video, read one of many Yoga asana posture books available, or take a Yoga class. Many people take a Yoga class once or several times a week to meet like-minded people and bring new techniques home to their personal Yoga practice.
- The beauty of developing your own Yoga practice is that it can be done anywhere. You don't need a gym or special equipment—just your body and a positive attitude.
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