What is Hatha Yoga?

Many types of yoga fall under hatha yoga. To be defined as hatha yoga, the practice has to include the following elements: physical poses, breathing techniques, and meditation. Any type of yoga that presents these three elements is also considered hatha yoga. This includes Bikram, Ashtanga, Anusara, or Iyengar. 

What Does Hatha Mean?

Hatha is a Sanskrit word that means “force,” and translates very loosely to “movement or meaning.”

Hatha yoga is a tool for physical and mental transformation. This is because it demands that you pay constant attention to the breath. The postures you do can strengthen the body and the meditations can help focus and calm the mind.

The word hatha can also be broken down into ha, which means “sun,” and tha, which means “moon.”

You can think about hatha yoga as representing the balancing of two opposite energies. The sun and moon, front and back, top and bottom. If you hear a yoga teacher instruct students to “experience the effort and ease in a pose,” this is the hatha philosophy in practice.

The practice of hatha yoga blends a sequence of postures and breathing techniques to balance and unify energy in the body and mind. During a hatha yoga class, you should experience harmony between opposing energies, such as strength and flexibility, effort and ease.”

What to Expect During a Hatha Yoga Class

If you see “hatha yoga” on a class schedule, it will most likely be more gentle than the other classes and suitable for beginners.

Regardless of your level if you’re seeking a whole-body stretch and sense of balance in the body and mind, hatha yoga can be helpful.

Many intermediate and advanced yogis engage in hatha yoga through the practice of vinyasa flow, which is rooted in Ashtanga yoga.

Vinyasa essentially means to move a part of your body in a mindful way. Vinyasa is also synonymous with the idea of linking movement with breath. For each movement, there is one breath. Ashtanga yogis say this practice purifies the body and mind due to increased circulation.

Key hatha sequences of vinyasa flow are the sun salutations which has a focus on syncing movement with breath. Linking your breath with your movement turns your practice into a moving meditation. This allows you to cover all of the elements of hatha yoga in one fell swoop!

Article by: Sarah Stevenson

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