Hatha Yoga 101

By: Janifer Anderson

The goal of Hatha yoga is physical health and balance. Some Hatha practitioners believe that true awareness is predicated upon a healthy body.

Most of us know Hatha yoga as the series of asanas or postures. Asanas are contemplative in nature and were originally intuited by yogis through meditation. These movements are believed to facilitate the release of blockages (disease) within our bodies. Another aspect of Hatha yoga is breathing. We breathe approximately 23,000 times per day and consume about 400-500 gallons of air. In respiration, comes “prana,” or life-force. Pranayama is literally the “science of breathing” or “control of life force,” — the goal is to achieve deep and proper respiration and this in turn contributes to optimum health. Conversely, if we don’t let our life force flow, if we hamper our breathing, we are hampering our potential for optimal health.

Practicing physical yoga isn’t tough. While asanas have ideal alignment goals, what is equally important is how you feel when you are in posture. Through regular practice, you will find that you become more aware of the body/mind connection and this manifests not only physically and mentally but in your emotions as well.

Daily yoga practice doesn’t have to take a long time – an investment of a few minutes a day will have a cumulative impact on your life that exceeds the time few minutes you spend each day.

Janifer Anderson loves yoga and has written articles on her personal journey.