Hatha Yoga

In the last two decades yoga has exploded in America—more specifically Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga is the physical practice of yoga. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit language. When translating Sanskrit, often times multiple words are used so you can gain a better understanding of the word. Yoga means “to yoke, join two things together or balance out two polarities”.

It is important to take a step back and realize language was created to bring about a mental construct around something, in an effort to communicate with other beings. Your mental construct may not be the same as mine. It is also important to realize that yoga is older then any modern day religion. Yoga is not a religion, instead it is a tool that can be applied to any and every aspect of life.

Recorded history doesn’t go further back than 3,000 years. The rest has all been handed down orally. The original translation around yoga is said to mean yoking God and human. Where and when the Hatha Yoga part came along is also a bit of a mystery. Some scholars say it was spontaneous movements that came out of meditative states while others say it was learned by watching animals move and imitating their movement. The latter of the two would explain why many poses have animal names.

Classically speaking the yoking in Hatha Yoga is Asana and Pranayama. Asana literally translates as seat. Pranayama translates as extension of life force. There are thousands of interpretations of Hatha Yoga—Empowered Yoga is a contemporary approach. Hatha Yoga was the first form of exercise ever created and works powerfully on balancing out the strength and flexibility of the body. It helps train the mind to be stable which brings clarity and breeds cultivation of wisdom.