“Hatha Yoga doesn’t transform the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees”, Yoga Instructor Belinda – Bhavana Yoga Studio

Why is hatha yoga so popular, and how can it improve your life?

Maybe a friend of yours is praising all the great benefits of hatha yoga. Perhaps your doctor or chiropractor has recommended hatha yoga as a wonderful way to improve flexibility, ease stress, and improve sleep.

Wait, there is more than physical improvements with Hatha Yoga. It helps improve your mind and your inner-self.

What Makes Hatha Yoga Different?

Yoga comes in a wide variety of styles, and hatha yoga is the most traditional type and has an interesting history. With hatha yoga, the practitioner focuses primarily on the use of asanas, or poses.

You’ve probably seen a variety of commercials showcasing hatha yoga. People roll out a soft mat, stand on it, and then gently stretch their arms and legs.

Other forms of yoga focus more on chanting, quickly moving around, or other types of activities, but Hatha yoga allows you to know more about your inner-self and your own physical body.

In hatha yoga, you learn how to ease your body into an alignment which helps it breathe better, build flexibility, and gently stretch.

In the long term practicing Hatha yoga can help improve digestion, improve balance, get healthier metabolism and more.

Breathing is an important part of the hatha yoga process. A slow, steady breath pattern helps to bring on calm serenity. Breathing styles are part of our built in fight-or-flight response. Focusing on the breath improves our sleep and brings attentive concentration to the rest of our day.

Often, a hatha yoga session will end with a short meditation. Meditation is great for releasing stress, build creativity, and strengthen patience.

Hatha yoga is fantastic for beginners, because there are a variety of fairly simple poses which can be done by practitioners of all ages and ability levels. There are poses which can be done on a chair or even a bed. Whatever a person’s physical challenges, there are ways to build on improvements to that person’s health.

How Does Hatha Yoga Help Your Body and Mind?

Our human bodies were designed to be in regular motion. For example, the lymphatic system which maintains a healthy immune system is ‘powered’ by motion. Our muscle contractions and releases are what transport the lymphatic fluids around our body. Yoga ensures that our immune system stays as strong as it can be.

Our metabolism and digestion often center around movements of our core muscles. Hatha yoga strengthens those core muscles. Gentle twisting and bending activities help the system move food items along while fully processing the vitamin content. This benefits every cell in our body.

Many challenges involved with aging can be tied to a lack of gentle exercise. Falls can often be prevented by building muscle tone and cultivating a better sense of balance. Failures in memory and concentration can be improved with a healthier blood flow and with a regular meditative practice.

When you build a regular practice with hatha yoga you can look forward to:

* Reduction in stress levels

* Improved sleep

* Better balance and flexibility

* Clearer focus and attention

* Easing of depression symptoms

* Lowering of pain levels

* Increased energy

Many people who practice hatha yoga find that the improved sense of focus and well-being lets them tackle other projects in their life which have gone neglected. These can involve organizing a home, managing unhealthy relationships, improving one’s health levels, and more. The better we feel about ourselves, and the more energy we have available, the better we are able to tackle the myriad of challenges that exist in our world.

Hatha yoga is wonderful for every body type, for every age group, and for every level of ability or disability. There are always ways to modify and extend poses to provide benefit for each body. Whatever your background or situation, give hatha yoga a try.

Bhavana Yoga Studio in Burnaby provide excellent Hatha Yoga Classes

Your body and mind will thank you.