What is Hatha Yoga? Know the Benefits of Hatha Yoga Asanas

Originating in ancient India, yoga is a mental, spiritual, and physical discipline practiced for health benefits and relaxation through postures, breathing control, and meditation. Through its asanas, yoga aims at developing harmony between the human body, his mind, and his surroundings or environment. Recently, Hatha Yoga, a form of traditional yoga, has become a globally popular mind-body exercise along the lines of Pilates, Tai Chi, etc. This complementary and alternative medicine offers numerous fitness and health benefits to its practitioners.

Yoga is an asana practice for the body, soul, and mind. It is a system where breathing control and physical poses help the body be in shape, combat diseases, and lead a healthy lifestyle. In a busy world with a busy schedule and sedentary lifestyle, the body and mind need rest to rejuvenate. What better way than to practice yoga?

Hatha yoga means stubborn training in yoga. It involves pranayama, dhyana, and dharana. The following article is all about what Hatha Yoga is and what it is good for.

What is Hatha Yoga?

Hatha means forceful in Sanskrit. Although it might seem to have a negative impact, forcefulness in Hatha Yoga is positive. Hatha Yoga denotes focus, restraint, and dedication to achieve self-transformation through intense physical and mental discipline. In its present form, Hatha Yoga refers to slow-paced classes that focus on stretching and holding the posture for longer durations. In Hatha Yoga, you focus on balancing, twisting, squeezing, or bending your body to soothe your body, mind, and spirit.

History of Hatha Yoga 

Hatha yoga saw its rise from Raja yoga. It means surpassing the mastery of the art of Yamas and Niyamas and forgoing other orders of asanas. It started in the 15th century. The Natha lineage was a set of yogis so keen on learning asanas that they did not wait to master Yama and Niyama but began practicing, skipping the order. Since the practice required concentration, they kept practicing until they mastered it. It came to be known as the ‘stubborn practice of yoga’.

Concepts Of Hatha Yoga 

The concept of Hatha yoga is to enlighten the physical disciplines. It combines with the spiritual goals of meditation. Hatha yoga is about controlling the physical and emotional energy of the body. Once the body gets the energy, Raja yoga controls the mind. Hatha yoga is built on the concepts of breathing exercises (Pranayama), energy sea (Mudra), energy locks (Bandha), and shatkarma (internal cleansings).

Hatha Yoga Pradipika 

Swami Svatmarama wrote Hatha Yoga Pradipika in the 15th century. It is said to be the oldest manual of Hatha yoga. ‘Pradipika’ is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘to illuminate’. As the manual sheds light on Hatha Yoga, hence, the name ‘Hatha Yoga Pradipika’ was given. Hatha Yoga Pradipika consists of 4 chapters, such as Asanas, Pranayama, Mudras, Bandhas, and Samadhi.

Props Which Used In Hatha yoga 

The use of props in Hatha Yoga depends on the type of asanas. For example, Tadasana uses a belt as a prop. The practitioner must wrap the belt around the upper body so that both sides hang down.

The following are props used in Hatha yoga:

• Belt
• Blocks
• Chair
• Blanket 
• Wall
• Bolster 

How is Hatha Yoga Different From Vinyasa Yoga?

Hatha yoga incorporates strong physical practices that energize the entire body with precision, alignment, and stillness.

Vinyasa incorporates physical practices with breathing techniques, flow, and rhythm. Vinyasa is a faster-paced asana that requires a higher breathing technique to control the breath.

Hatha yoga is slow and enables the pose to stand still for a longer duration. It demands stretching of the poses.

Hatha Yoga Benefits

• Hatha Yoga builds flexibility and improves mobility.
• Hatha Yoga is an effective way to build strength and core muscles.
• Hatha Yoga helps keep your joints healthy.
• Hatha Yoga stimulates your immune system by increasing blood circulation.
• Hatha Yoga helps in relieving inflammatory diseases like arthritis, digestion, diabetes, etc.
• Hatha Yoga develops a sense of balance and stabilizes your body by strengthening the support muscles.
• Hatha Yoga instills self-control by disciplining your mind and body.
• Hata Yoga is effective in reducing stress and anxiety.
• Hatha Yoga provides relaxation and peace of mind by improving your sleep quality.
• Hatha Yoga improves self-awareness and transcends your body into a meditative state.

Hatha Yoga Poses For Beginner

Although it might seem confusing or intimidating, starting Hatha Yoga at home is quite simple. You can start small and hold the poses for a moderate duration of around 30 to 60 seconds, then gradually increase them. Follow these top Hatha Yoga asanas to improve your physical and mental health:

1. Downward-Facing Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Adho Mukha Svanasana is a crucial pose for Hatha Yoga to open the back of your body and build strength. As part of the Sun-Salutation (Suryanamaskar) sequence, you can use this yoga pose as either a transitional or a resting pose.

• Start the pose from a tabletop position by coming to your hands and knees.
• Place your wrists under the shoulders and your knees under the hips. Push your hands onto the floor.
• Move the weight of your body from your arms to your quadriceps, like the plank pose.
• Rotate your thighs and keep your heels towards the floor with your tail high.
• Bend your knees as you exhale, release, and come back to your hands and knees.

2. Low Lunge Pose (Anjaneyasana)

• From the downward dog pose, bring your right foot forward between your legs.
• Align your right knee over the heel and move your left knee towards the floor.
• Keep your right knee fixed, stretch, and move your left back by straightening your left thigh.
• Inhale and lift both your arms towards the ceiling. Try to bring your arms together if you can.
• Switch sides and repeat the exercise.

3. Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

• Start with your belly on the floor with your palms resting alongside your body at shoulder level.
• In the beginning, keep your legs slightly apart and join them firmly together in due course.
• Lift the crown of your head towards the ceiling by pressing into the floor.
• Draw your hips down as you open your chest.
• As a beginner, keep your arms bent and straighten them gradually as you master the pose.

4. Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)

• To do the Triangle pose first you need to stand straight and maintain a distance of about 3–4 feet between your legs.
• Keep your right foot at 90 degrees and your left foot at around 10–15 degrees. Balance your weight evenly on both feet.
• Inhale and spread out your arms.
• As you exhale, tip your body to the side by moving your right hand towards the right shin.
• Move your left hand towards the ceiling.
• Switch sides and repeat the steps on the left side.

5. Tree Pose (Vrkasana)

• Stand straight in the mountain pose and distribute your weight evenly on your feet.
• Shift your weight into your right foot as you lift the left foot off the floor.
• Bend your left knee as you keep your right leg straight, and place the left sole on your inner right thigh.
• Apply pressure between your thigh and foot and hold the pose. Release by lowering your left foot on the floor. Switch your feet and repeat the asana

6. Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)

• Sit on the floor, keep your legs together, and extend your legs.
• Pull your toes back towards your shins and point them towards the ceiling.
• Bend your knees slightly, sit straight on your sit bones, and stretch your spine.
• Bend forward as you try to touch the feet using your hands.
• Tucking your chin into the chest, fold your torso between the legs.

7. Sage Marichi’s Twist (Marichyasana)

• Sit on the floor in Dandasana Pose with your legs in front of the body.
• Bend your right knee and keep the foot on the floor by placing the heel as close to your left sitting bone as possible.
• Keep your right hand behind your back, inhale, and lift your left arm towards the ceiling.
• Hook your left arm over your left knee as you exhale. Squeeze your upper arm into the thigh and twist yourself.

8. Corpse Pose (Savasana)

FAQs

1. Is Hatha Yoga harder than Vinyasa?

Hatha yoga is better for those who are new to yoga. We can say, Hatha yoga for beginners keeps easy. People with lower fitness levels and, who want to strengthen their inner core, prefer Hatha Yoga, as it is slower, relaxed, and maximizes stress reduction.

Vinyasa is for those familiar with yoga poses and looking for a good fitness level. If you like taking challenges, Vinyasa enables cardio and strength training workouts.

2. What is the difference between Hatha and Ashtanga yoga?

Hatha yoga is a seven-fold yoga technique. It aims to clean and balance the body, calm the mind, and strengthen inner peace and light. Hatha yoga begins with physical postures and later gets into the meditation zone.

Ashtanga yoga comprises eight limbs to help one lead a purposeful life. Ashtanga yoga deals with yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, praryahara, dharan, dhayana, and samadhi. Ashtanga yoga first focuses on the inner self and then on physical poses.

3. Is Hatha Yoga spiritual?

Practising Hatha yoga prepares oneself for spirituality. The practice first controls the body and then takes control over the mind and then the soul.