Hatha Yoga: An Overview

Hatha yoga is one of the four main traditions of Tantra Yoga. Hatha yoga is mainly practiced for health and vitality in this modern age. It comes from the words ‘Ha’ meaning sun and ‘Tha’ meaning moon unites in Hatha Yoga. It is commonly translated as the yoga, which brings combination "of the pairs of opposites."

It is the symbolic combination of active and passive energies, the opposites. Hatha yoga is sometimes also known as “forceful yoga.” It is from this yoga that several other styles of yoga originated including Power yoga, Bikram yoga, and Kundalini yoga.

History of Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a yogic sage in the 15th century in India. It is introduced to modern society by T. Krishnamacharya, a yoga teacher in Mysore Palace in south India, in late 19th century.

His disciples B.K.S. Iyengar, K.Pattabhi Jois and Indira Devi, and his son T.K.V. Desikachar, were involved in setting up their schools and spreading Yoga all over the world, especially in America.

Hatha Yoga tries to attain balance between body and mind, and also tries to free the more subtle spiritual elements of the mind through physical asanas, pranayama, and meditation.

It basically concentrates on the practice of asanas and pranayama to energize the subtle channels. Therefore it focuses mainly on the 3rd and 4th steps in the eight limbs of yoga.

Asanas

These are the various body positions, which help in the improvement of health and removing of diseases in the physical, causal, and subtle bodies. Actually, the word "asana" means “seat” in Sanskrit, which not only refers to the physical position of the body but also to the body position in relation to divinity.

These asanas are originally meant for Meditation, as the postures can make you feel relaxed for extended time period. A yoga practitioner can improve the flexibility of the muscles and bone strength, as well as non-physical rewards such as the development of will power, concentration, and self-withdrawal by practicing these asanas regularly.

Pranayama

Pranayama is derived from the words prana, which means life or energy source and ayama, which means to control. It is the science of breath control. It is very essential for a yoga practitioner to practice pranayama in hatha yoga for mastering ones' breathing patterns. The mastery of mind is within reach if one can master breath.

The flow of prana or vital life force through the body is regulated through breathing exercises. That energy is definitely required on the further steps of Hatha Yoga that ultimately may lead to samadhi.

In Special breathing techniques, the flow of breath though both nostrils are alternated, this brings balance to the two hemispheres of the brain, which is possibly the central objective of Pranayama. Kundalini Energy is also activated with the pranayama.

Some asanas are helpful in toning up your internal organs, and thereby preventing diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, and hypertension. They also bring balance to internal and glandular functions. In contrast, pranayama in hatha yoga can help manage asthma and bronchitis.

Read More

Study Shows Link Between Yoga and Exam Stress

Midterms, finals, SATs: Most of us undergo examinations at some point in our lives, along with the requisite increases in stress. Stress has the unfortunate side effect of weakening the immune system, as many sniffling students can attest. A recent study found a 12-week yoga intervention to protect against the impairment of cellular immunity and autonomic nervous system changes caused by examination stress.

Gopal and colleagues recruited 60 first-year medical students (all women, aged 17-20 years) and randomly assigned them to a 12-week yoga or no-treatment control group. The yoga group practiced 35 minutes per day. Each practice included yogic prayer (two minutes), Sukshma Vyayam (physical body warm-ups, six minutes) and Sthula Vyayama (subtle body warm-ups, four minutes), asanas (yoga postures, twelve minutes), pranayama (breathing exercises, four minutes), and dhyana (meditation, five minutes). The researchers measured self-reported stress and anxiety in addition to physiological and biochemical markers of stress and immunity. Participants were assessed before the yoga began (baseline) and 12 weeks later, while taking medical mid-term exams.

Participants in the control group significantly worsened on all parameters during the exam. By contrast, the yoga group reported significant decreases in subjective stress and anxiety, while physiological and biochemical measures of stress and immunity remained stable compared to the control group.

The impact of stress on compromised immunity and many other health problems has been well documented. Because one of yoga's primary theorized pathways of action is stress reduction, it may serve as a useful tool in the arsenal against a broader array of stress-related illnesses and conditions than those tested here. As suggested by this study, yoga may also exert a powerful protective benefit, effectively functioning as a form of preventive medicine.

Little yoga research has focused on yoga's potential as such, although a 2009 report of a study comparing yoga to physical education in a high school setting parallels the findings of the study reported here. Drs. Sat Bir Khalsa and Jessica Noggle of the Brigham and Women's Hospital found the yoga group to significantly improve on measures of anger control and fatigue relative to control subjects. In support of the notion that yoga may function as preventive medicine, the control group’s mental health worsened over the course of the study, while the yoga students either showed minimal change or slight improvements.

The implications of these researchers’ results, combined with a growing body of research literature that suggests yoga may impact multiple domains of health, is both remarkable and provocative. Imagine if, as suggested by Dr. Khalsa, all students experienced yoga as a form of mind-body hygiene (similar to brushing your teeth) in order to protect against stressors and optimize health. Given that most lifestyle diseases—the leading cause of death in the US—are preventable, yoga’s potential to support health and well-being is considerable.

Have you found yoga to reduce exam stress or anxiety? Do you get sick less often when you practice yoga?

Read More