हठयोग

HATHA YOGA – FACING THE DRAGON

“A man was breaking up the soil, when another man came by, ‘Why are you ruining this land?’ ‘Don’t be a fool! Nothing can grow until the ground is turned over and crumbled. There can be no roses and no orchard without first this that looks devastating. You must lance an ulcer to heal it. You must tear down parts of an old building to restore it, and so it is with a sensual life that has no spirit in it. To change, a person must face the dragon of his appetites with another dragon, the life-energy of the soul.” ~ Rumi

Hatha yoga was created when the need was to provide another means of quieting the mind and reducing stresses. With the increase in distractions we needed another means of doing just this. One may say the physical form hatha yoga was because of progress in society like the industrial revolution, the silk road and all the other forms of commerce connecting people with business.  Thus additional forms of hatha physical yoga were manifested and hatha yoga does just that. . . quiets the mind. Hatha combines a practice on the mat (physical) to get the body to quiet down, the mind to go shhhhhhhh and the soul to finally breathe. Hatha is the most common practice around the world. The reason hatha yoga is the most common practice shouldn’t be too complicated to understand as we have more and more reasons to be stressed and have more reasons to find ways to de-stress. Hatha yoga provides this physical benefit.

New to yoga?

Here are some tips for the beginner yoga student:

When you walk onto your mat it is important to practice with a positive attitude. Your willingness and your positive energy will bring you a positive result. Notice walking into a studio and smiling, notice that others are smiling too. It’s all about choosing your attitude to create your practice. When starting on your pursuit, have no expectations. Remember to breathe in love and exhale doubt. This is your practice, this is your pursuit for connection and your teachers are there to help. Listen to your body, love your body and keep a mindful eye on your breath as you inhale movements and exhale into folds. Oh yeah, and once more . . . Have Fun!