Hatha yoga is probably one of the best-known yoga styles in the world. What benefits Hatha Yoga offers and how it works exactly, we explain to you here.
What is Hatha Yoga?
Hatha yoga is probably the best known of all yoga styles worldwide and focuses on asanas (movement) and pranayama (breath) - but meditation also plays a role. The yoga style includes many classic yoga exercises such as the Sun Salutation or the Downward Looking Dog and is therefore particularly suitable for beginners. The term comes from Sanskrit and is made up of "Ha" (sun, power) and "the" (moon, stillness) - so Hatha Yoga is meant to unite two forces that are actually opposed to each other.
For Hatha Yoga, there is even a kind of basic work, the so-called Yoga Pradipika. Translated, Pradipika means lamp, luminaire, or light. Just like Hatha Yoga as a style itself, the Yoga Pradipika is probably the most famous scripture of yoga worldwide.
What are the benefits of Hatha Yoga?
Hatha Yoga emphasizes flowing, calm movements as well as breathing exercises that are primarily for relaxation. This is what makes this style of yoga so appealing to beginners. Regular Hatha Yoga has the following benefits:
Improves balance
Strengthens muscles and flexibility
De-stresses and has a relaxing effect/stress resistance increases
Loosens tensions and blockages
Blood circulation is improved
Sleep disturbances decrease
Heartbeat is calmed
Calms the mind and thoughts
Back pain and neck pain are reduced
The many positive effects can be attributed to the combination of asanas and pranayama. Of course, yoga cannot work miracles - especially if you are just starting out, you should give yoga some time to develop its health benefits. The more often you practice it, the easier the exercises become and the more flowing their effect. Mind and emotions come to rest, it is easier to put the concentration on the here and now.
Yoga: Important for beginners
Especially beginners should listen to their body when doing yoga. The aim of the Hatha exercises is to do something for your health and to carefully feel out your own limits - but not to recklessly go over them. That's why it's also important to perform the yoga exercises cleanly, at best under professional supervision in the beginning. Otherwise, all you need to get started is comfortable yoga clothes and perhaps a comfortable pad - there are plenty of yoga mats, for example.
These yoga exercises are part of hatha yoga
In yoga, there are usually three phases: Warm-up, the so-called flow phase, and the final relaxation. The following exemplary exercises are typical for Hatha and are also immediately associated with yoga, especially in the West:
1. cat and cow
These two exercises, along with the dog looking down, are ideal warm-up exercises in yoga to loosen up and warm up the muscles. To do them, get into the quadruped position and look straight down.
Inhaling, make a cat hump by rounding the spine and stretching towards the ceiling (cat). When you exhale, your gaze goes upward and you let your body "sag" in the middle (cow).
2. dog looking down
You start again in the quadruped position. Then you stand slightly on your toes, push your hands forward and push your whole body upwards so that an inverted V appears. You can hold this pose for a moment or alternately press your heels lightly toward the floor to stretch the back leg muscles. Then either return to Cat and Cow or begin the flow phase of yoga.
3. plank
The good thing about the flow phase of yoga is: you can vary and expand it as you like. One exercise that is often used is the plank. In this exercise, you extend your legs backward one after the other from a quadruped position and hold yourself on the balls of your feet in the back and on your hands in the front with your arms outstretched, just like in a push-up. Make sure that your back remains straight and does not form a hollow back. Tighten the abdomen, then hold this position for a few breaths. Then lower gently.
4. cobra
For the cobra, lie flat on your stomach with your arms bent at the sides of your body and your chest and forehead touching the floor. Now lift your head and, with the support of your arms, gradually push your upper body up and back as far as it will go. Hold this position for two to three deep breaths and then carefully lower yourself forward again.
Savasana as a final relaxation
It sounds a bit strange at first, but the most well-known final exercise in Hatha Yoga is the so-called Savasana - the corpse pose. To do this, lie relaxed on your back and stretch your arms and legs out to the sides. The feet point outward and the palms downward. Lie like this for a few minutes, breathing deeply and slowly in and out of your abdomen. Then end your yoga session by slowly sitting up and standing up.
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