What is Hatha Yoga?
Hatha Yoga has thousands of years of rich history tracing back to ancient India. The term ‘Hatha yoga’ covers many different styles of yoga practice; Vinyasa, Ashtanga & Restorative yoga all fit under the ‘Hatha’ umbrella. But what does it mean to practice Hatha yoga specifically?
Hatha yoga encompasses a set of active practices that aim to achieve harmony & balance between the physical body, mind & energies. This includes not just asana practice (practicing physical postures), but also pranayama practice (using the breath as a medium for controlling the state of energy or ‘prana’ in your body) and other preparatory cleansing practices (shatkarma). These practices combined are designed to prepare the practitioner for meditation, by strengthening and purifying the body and balancing the ‘sun’ and ‘moon’ energies.
The word ‘Hatha’ is derived from the Sanskrit words ‘Ha’ meaning sun (representing alertness/activity) and ‘Tha’ meaning moon (representing intellect/passiveness). These energies can manifest as active/passive, hot/cold, awake/sleepy, yang/yin & more. Both energies co-exist within everyone & everything, and in Hatha practices we look to balance them within ourselves.
How does a Hatha class compare to other styles?
In practice, a Hatha class will typically be slower-moving than a Vinyasa class, but it is still an active class. You will link the breath with your movements just like in a Vinyasa class, but the focus is more on the alignment of the poses, and each pose will be held for longer.
The slower pace makes it beginner friendly, but more experienced practitioners will also benefit much from this strong practice.
About my Hatha Classes…
Intention
The main intention in my Hatha Yoga sessions is to ground ourselves in our practice and find balance between the physical body, mind & energy by turning our attention inwards and focusing on the breath as we move. Each practice is your own, to take at your own pace and tune in with yourself. I’ll encourage you to set your own personal intentions for each practice.
Class level
These classes are accessible for mixed levels, whether it’s your first time on the mat, or you’re a more experienced practitioner. Hatha is an active class, and mobility-wise; you should ideally be comfortably getting down onto your hands & knees (you’re welcome to bring a blanket to place under the knees to increase comfort), and standing with your weight spread equally through both legs. Most poses I sequence will have variations so there will options for you to take to tailor your practice.
Focus
The point of these classes is not to achieve, but rather to experience the process. By focusing on the breath, we bring our attention inward to help gain the most benefits from the practice. We’ll hold the poses longer than in a Vinyasa class, and focus on finding good alignment, with plenty of options to progress to deeper variations or to lighten intensity, depending on what feels good for you in the moment.
What to expect
Each class will start seated or lying down, grounding into the practice with some breathwork. We’ll then gently warm-up the body, before moving through a series of poses focused on building heat in the body. This class is not as dynamic or fast-paced as other styles of yoga classes, but still expect to finish the class feeling like you’ve worked your body! We’ll end with a cooldown, holding some slightly longer stretches before settling in to Savasana, the final resting pose.
Flow with Ro 