Yoga has been adapted in various forms and ideologies by everyone.
Few improvised types of yoga range from Kundalini Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Swara Yoga to Power Yoga, and even Beer Yoga.
The oldest known text written on Yoga is by sage Patanjali, known as the Yoga Sutras. These sutras can be translated to 195 or 196 aphorisms written to explain the whole and soul of yoga in its entirety.
Discovering Hatha Yoga
Hatha Yoga is essentially the worldview that guides pseople the way to actually live lives. Its fascinating enigma that promises potent wisdom to those who slow down to experience stress-free life with an open heart. It flows into many areas of life allowing you inherently to make yoga as a way of life.
It is founded traditionally by Matsyendranath and its earliest texts can be traced to Sanskrit and Pali writings.
It is a branch of yoga that alludes to the system of physical techniques. By its literal meaning, it suggests “sun” (ha) and “moon” (tha), the yoga of balance. Hatha Yoga practices are compiled to align and calm your body, mind, and spirit for meditation practices.
Why Hatha Yoga?
Recently, our society has gathered pace, our stress levels have gone through the roof and we have become increasingly obsessed with money, job titles, and appearances. Everyone is overworked, overstretched, and overwhelmed. Hatha Yoga infuses life with beauty and instills yearning for more simpler and meaningful life.
It provides us an intuitive response to beauty that reflects the absolute true nature of life.
It provides us with the acceptance and appreciation of the impermanent, imperfect, and incomplete nature of everything.
Hatha Yoga is the state of heart, the deep in-breath, and slow exhale. It provides us with a deep sense of appreciation for a perfect moment in an imperfect world. Enjoying life by truly being in it and experiencing reality on terms of reality.
This is the practice of aligning human systems with the state of highest consciousness presently. It arises from an in-depth comprehension of body mechanics by using asanas and sustaining higher strength and energy within.
With physical practices, Hatha Yoga helps us in creating a body that’s not a hurdle to our meditative practices.
It is the practice to take the physical form beyond limitations.
What is Hatha Yoga?
Hatha yoga combines asana practices along with pranayama, mudras, shatkriya, and shatkarma.
The well-known text on Hatha yoga – ‘Hatha Yoga Pradipika‘ is a collection of combined Hatha Yoga texts. It includes the mandatory fifteen primary postures, seven of which are seated and eight non-seated, as well as an additional postures, which eventually equal to 84 asanas.
At Centre Lothlorien we practice Indian Classic Yoga, which is Yoga before it was divided. Hatha Yoga however provides the base for all the Asana’s that we teach. You can watch our youtube channel for impressions. Our one month Teacher Training is for a large part based on Hatha Yoga teachings and includes an introduction to Hatha Yoga Pradipika.