HATHA YOGA FITNESS FOR THE BODY, breath AND MIND
In hatha yoga there is a systematic series of postures and stretches that help strengthen and rebalance the body. What makes this system unique is its underlying philosophy. In yoga, all methodologies are aimed in the direction of self-transformation and self-understanding. The human body can be a wonderful tool or a cumbersome burden. It can be a source of joy or a source of misery. To transform it into a vessel for happiness, you will have to understand how bothjoy and misery are created. At first glance, this may seem obvious.
You know that you won’t be very happy when your back is in spasm or your neck is so stiff that it is giving you a headache. But there are subtler indications of a happy or unhappy body that come long before crippling back pain. One indication of imbalance is a change seen in the breathing pattern. All of us know that we are breathing and thinking beings. But in truth, most of the time you are not consciously breathing, rather your breathfl ow is automated in accordance to your most consistent style of breathing. When your physiology changes during sickness or stress , the harmony of the breathis disrupted and muscle spasms and tightness can be the result. Unaware of this importance of breathregularity, we miss the warning signs that an altered breath pattern is trying to announce.
A happy body is one that is not just free of pain, but one that also maintains a healthy, open and relaxed posture. Your posture should lift your ribcage slightly, relieving excess pressure from the lungs and heart. This allows for deep diaphragmatic breathing and healthy functioning of the heart. Hatha yoga is a systematic series of stretching, balancing and strengthening asanas (postures) and exercises that allows you to achieve this kind of body.
There are three main components to physical fitness: 1) energetic and physical strength, 2) cardiovascular endurance and 3) fl exibility. Hatha yoga addresses all three. The word hatha refers to a blend or balance of the sun and the moon, or the active and passive energies of the body. Therefore, it makes sense that practicing hatha should leave the body balanced and address your needs for stretching, strengthening and aerobic activity. However, hatha alone is not recommended as a sole source of aerobic exercise. I encourage everyone to spend at least 30 minutes every day walking, jogging, swimming or biking as a regular component of your exercise routine.
To develop a loving relationship With your hatha practice, it may be helpful to think of it as your own personal massage therapist. Just as a massage therapist would, the asanas of hatha release muscle spasms.
In these newly-relaxed muscles, circulation increases and the tissues of the body rejuvenate as blood brings in fresh oxygen and nutrients and carries away waste products. Muscles that are in spasm can pull your body out of its natural alignment, distorting your posture by hiking up a shoulder or a hip.
Hatha fine tunes the body by releasing these distortions and restores a proud and comfortable posture. Twisting, bending, stretching and holding your body in the unique asanas of hatha gives your body a massage that even the most skilled therapist couldn’t provide for you. That’s because hatha massages and rejuvenates all of your internal organs. It heats and lubricates deep inside achy stiff joints to restore your range of motion. A good hatha routine is like getting a massage from the inside out.
While it is true that exercise will help you in achieving happiness, exercise alone is not enough. True and lasting happiness can’t be attained simply by running a six-minute mile or becoming so fl exible you can put your toe in your ear. The sages who gave us the gift of hatha yoga understood this.
Although it is a valuable set of exercises on its own, the real potential of hatha is revealed when it is applied as a foundation for practicing the subtler exercises in the greater discipline of yoga science. These subtler exercises are pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation. When these three practices - hatha, pranayama, and meditation - are combined properly, the fl ower of happiness will most certainly blossom in your heart.
A good hatha teacher is one who has studied all of the aspects of yoga and understands where hatha fits into this broader picture. Such a teacher may spend just as much time providing you direction for your breathand the focus of your mind as they do providing direction for your physical body. Our body has amazing potential for recovery and healing if it is allowed the opportunity. Proper use of the mind and the breathprovide the environment for this potential to come forward.
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