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Hatha Yoga: The Yoga Star

Hatha yoga was first introduced to the world in the fifteenth century by Yogi Swatmarama. It has since become the most popular of the eight main styles. It is what most people are familiar with and think of when talking about yoga. Bikram Choudhury’s ever popular Bikram yoga techniques are derived from hatha yoga.

Most yoga centers around the country feature classes of different variations. Mental and physical well being are the focus of hatha practitioners. Although moral discipline, meditation, physical exercise, and breathing are part of the experience, Western yogis favor the postures and exercise to meditation and breathing.

The Low Down On Hatha Yoga

In Hindu teachings, hatha symbolizes the opposites in the world today: hot and cold, wet and dry, male and female. It’s not quite like ying and yang, but similarly close. The purpose of hatha yoga is actually to become one, attempting to solidify the differences that tear at your mind and body on a daily basis. If you can quiet the conflict, you can experience relaxation and give yourself time to begin a healing process.

Reflection is important because it clears the possible cobwebs for a clearer view. Why was your idea at work not taken seriously? Where are the problematic points in your relationship? How do you avoid those hot spots? Your muscles need a chance to emotionally unwind as much as you do. Hatha yoga is probably more physical than the other styles, so you can work out kinks in your mind as you work them out in your body.

There is not as much meditation involved; it is more a preparation for something more. Some critics see hatha is almost paltry and shallow because of the focus on the physical. But many people, especially new comers need to work on the physical to get the root of their tensions and anxieties. There has to be a level one somewhere, and hatha yoga is it.

Sometimes the break through you need does not happen on you therapist’s couch, but while fishing or shopping with a good friend. The postures, while at times physically demanding, are not so much about strengthening muscles as bringing yourself to a place of serenity. The icing on the cake is the very positive physical response of your body. If you are searching for both the icing and the meditation, hatha yoga could be the alley you want to be right up.