Hatha Yoga is a particular system of yoga that focuses on the purification of the physical body as leading to the purification of the mind and vital energy. Hatha Yoga marks the development of the full body postures now in popular usage. In its many modern variations, Hatha Yoga is the style that many people associate with the word ‘Yoga’ today.
Yoga is a way of living and not a religion; it aims to have a healthy mind and a healthy body. We are all in a mental, physical and spiritual being. It helps us to promote balanced development of the three aspects. Another form of physical awareness is to exercise, which can only assure only physical well-being, yoga comes in a different way.
A good way to make your free time more relaxing is by doing some yoga. The primary focus of yoga is on the general well being of the individual. Yoga is good for your mental health and stress reduction, as it encourages the mind to focus and relax.
If you have taken or seen a Yoga class you may have heard “Lead with your Heart Center” (or something else similar). The Heart Center in Yoga refers to the Heart Chakra. The Heart Chakra is the 4th of 7 Chakras (or Energy Centers in the body). These centers are often used as reference points in Yoga, Chinese Medicine, Thai Massage or other traditional healing methods.
Yoga and India aren’t strangers, yet we find Yoga’s popularity suddenly spiking after it’s embraced by the west. It has become the thing to do to be fit with celebrities swearing by it. It is as if Yoga is a ‘novel’ concept or is reinvented by the west. After it has become the ‘in’ thing, there are two sets of people- the ones who do it and others who don’t. Most of people who do it, adopt yoga for life while the others don’t want to do it because of the myths around it or don’t know how.
The benefits of Yoga practice are obvious to those who have a firm commitment to take positive action. The difference between empowerment, and failure, is that successful people never give up. Yoga is a mechanism by which practitioners gain mastery over their lives.
Yoga! It is not just a way to exercise, but it helps to improve immune system too. This fact is known about Yoga throughout the ages. The exercising techniques and the various postures used to perform this kind of art are externally easy and can be done anywhere anytime. Some efforts to learn such exercises can actually pay in the long run. It helps to maintain body weight, body shape, decreases the probability of heart diseases like stroke and blood pressure and also helps in curing diabetes and asthma.
Are you interested in yoga? Has your partner recently started yoga lessons? Maybe your doctor has suggested you take up yoga as a form of stress management.
As a Kundalini Yoga Teacher, students approach me everyday with questions about this unique and beautiful yoga. Thanks to all of you who have shared your thoughts so freely with me! Your open curiosity provides me with confirmations and “a-ha” moments about this yogic path of self discovery, soul searching, healing, and awakening.
Steve Jayanta Paquette was born in Nova Scotia and spent much of his childhood in Atlantic Canada. He has recently returned to Nova Scotia after living for 10 years in a yoga ashram where he studied the ancient practices of yoga and meditation. He lives in Yarmouth and shares mindfulness, meditation and yoga as moving prayer in studios, churches and corporate settings around Atlantic Canada.