Hatha Yoga for beginners what it is, its benefits, and its basic rules

Hatha yoga is the most common type of yoga. Look at any fitness center – it will be on the list of offers, competing with Pilates, dancing, and stretching. You can even practice at home if you adhere to some simple rules.

Hatha Yoga

Suppose you correctly understand and apply the theory of Hatha yoga. In that case, you can improve your health, rejuvenate, become stronger “from the inside,” and achieve peace of mind—the word “Hatha” itself in different ways. In the West, it is customary for them to denote a bodily-mental balance. Translated from Sanskrit, “Hatha” is “effort” (where “ha” is the flow of active, rigid male energy of the sun, and the is the flow of passive female energy of the moon). In the Indian tradition, “Hatha yoga” is a “yoga of strength,” a means of achieving the state of yoga by staying in asanas that require the application of strength – physical and mental, not fitness. But a gentle, progressive development of a person’s bodily and psychological characteristics, including breathing and meditative practices.

The main idea of Hatha yoga is the development of flexibility. Each asana affects specific organs. The goal of doing any asana is to calm the mind and bring about enlightenment. All modern styles – ashtanga, vinyasa, Iyengar – are based on Hatha yoga because it is a classic. Having mastered this direction, a beginner “yogi” will readily comprehend the intricacies of any other branch of multifaceted teaching.

Is it possible to practice yoga effectively at home? Is it suitable for beginners? Today, yoga Hatha is the complete opposite of what it was before. They devote time to her before breakfast, repeat asanas after the coach online, refuse classes, and resume them whenever they want. Hundreds of years ago, yogis were ascetics who renounced worldly joys. Then the was a way of life. The bodies and senses were perfected by mind-blowing asanas, in which they stayed not for one or two minutes but decades: some stood on the toes of one foot, others hung upside down like bats, and others never sat down. For what? To become better, to be disciplined, to clear past karma.

It’s enough for us to have a safe workout and a noticeable recovery. Sometimes even without philosophy, but with the observance of simple rules.

The benefits of yoga Hatha for health

Initially, it is for people without health problems, so consult your doctor for advice if there are any diseases. If he allows it, practice at home, remembering that yoga is the way to flexibility, endurance, finding relief, and increasing external attractiveness. Scientists have long proved that it rejuvenates, erases wrinkles, solves problems with excess weight, and prolongs life.

Hatha yoga has gained incredible popularity all over the world for a reason. It helps to develop stress resistance and immunity to negative emotions. They come to her when they understand that traditional medical techniques give a short-term effect, drowning out the body’s reactions but not developing immunity to damaging factors.

Hatha yoga exercises help to solve problems with the spine and joints, as well as many other ailments since each asana has a comprehensive effect. And remember! For beginners, minimal effort is enough. Enjoy yourself, work steadily toward a better outcome, and study the classics without burning yourself out (if desired). Over time, you will notice that you began to feel better, regained composure, disciplined your mind, and stabilized your emotional state.

Daily Practice for Beginners: 10 steps to Yoga Hatha

• Time of day. Can practice Hatha in the morning, afternoon, and evening. From a therapeutic point of view, morning asanas are the most effective and energizing for the whole day. The evening is more suitable for deep relaxation. The choice depends on you and your ability to be alone with yourself for an hour and a half.
• Periodicity. It’s best to practice every day, but two or three times a week is also not bad. The main thing is the right attitude and the desire to improve.
• Conditions. Pre-ventilate the room. Turn on calm music or the sounds of nature – something that will immerse you in a peaceful meditative state that will help you disconnect from the manifestations of the outside world.
• An empty stomach. Give your body 1-1.5 hours if you have consumed something light, for example, vegetable salad. After a more dense meal, wait 3-4 hours before classes.
• The form of clothing. Choose something as comfortable as possible, cotton. Shoes are not needed, but prepare socks and a blanket for Shavasana – relaxation poses to complete the complex. In shavasan, you need to relax, warm up, and keep warm.
• Warm-up. Warming up the body before each session is a prerequisite to ensure your safety. Do without sudden movements. Even the simplest asana should be performed consciously, without automatism, very carefully to your body.
• Smoothness and softness. During the performance of asanas, one should not experience tension. It’s not “faster, higher, stronger”! is “neater, more restrained, more pleasant.” Did you feel resistance or even pain? Relax the effort or gently exit the asana. The body must get used to it and gain flexibility. Then you will master any pose without much difficulty.
• The complexity of the exercises. Do not try to tie yourself in a bow right away in the first lesson. On the second or third – you don’t need it either. Someday you will be able to easily stand on your hands, repeating more complex asanas after experienced yogis. But first, understand that it doesn’t matter. Your task is to work out the basic poses, combining staying in them with inner concentration and clearing the mind of fuss.
• Breath. Focus on slow, deep breathing. Do not inhale and exhale thoughtlessly, do not hold your breath too sharply. Be aware of how you take air into your lungs, how you fill every organ with it, and how you slowly exhale. With inspiration, stretch the spine with an exhalation, relieve tension, and deepen the asana.
• The quality of relaxation. What works best for unwinding depends on your disposition and your coping mechanisms. You can’t “quickly” perform all the asanas and run about your business. As already mentioned, you need to allocate one and a half hours for the session and leave time for Shavasana. Put on socks, wrap yourself in a blanket, lie down on the mat, and fix the effect of the exercises done for seven minutes, giving your body a rest and an impulse to recover.

Basic asanas for the first lesson of yoga Hatha

• After a pleasant warm-up, stand on the mat. Put your legs together, and straight arms turn palms forward. Inhale by raising your hands and joining your palms. The back is straightforward; the breathing is even. Tadasana, which works with all body muscles, stays in the pose for one minute. It straightens the back, relieves pain, and strengthens the abdominal muscles, hips, and ankles.
• Put your left shin inside your right thigh and your legs out to hip width. Try to catch your balance. Stay in this asana for half a minute. Concentrate. Is Vrikshasana, which tones the abdominal muscles and promotes hip stretching
• Stand up, stretch up, and straighten your back—hands-on-hips. Deepen your breath and raise your arms above your head. Exhalation, make a slope to the hips, touching the floor with your palms on the sides of each step. Stretch your chest to your legs with pleasure. At the point of extreme tension (but not pain!), fix it for 20 seconds. Straighten up is Uttanasana, stretching hamstrings and calves, strengthening thighs and knees.
• Get down on your knees, touch your buttocks with your heels, and reach for your hands forward. Palms should be shoulder-width apart. Press your palms to the floor. The gaze downwards. Lift, and move your body weight forward. Lift your knees off the floor. Lift the pelvis until the back becomes straight, “long.” First, stand on your toes, and lower your heels to the floor when ready. Breathe evenly and calmly, noticing how the chest naturally stretches to the hips. Sixty seconds in this asana is enough. Get down on your knees, and touch your heels with your buttocks again. Getting some rest is a dog with its Muzzle down – an excellent technique for improving posture and careful stretching of the arms, calves, and hamstrings.
• Lie on your back, hands on the floor, and Legs bent at the knees. Exhaling, lift the pelvis, lower back, chest, head, and neck; do not leave the floor. Close your hands under your back. Stay in this position for a minute is Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, which aligns the chest and shoulders.
• Lie down on your stomach. Bend your arms at the elbows—straight legs to the width of the pelvis. Exhale, stretch up with your whole body. The components are parallel to the floor. The legs rise above the mat. Linger in the asana, resembling a gymnastic “boat,” for a minute. A Salabhasana strengthens the spine, legs, hips, and abs.
• Finally, please have a good rest in Shavasana, which we described above.

Six principles of success in Hatha Yoga

Even if you are a beginner “yogi” and practice at home, do not forget that yoga Hatha is considered a science and art. It gives health and good shape, but most importantly – it awakens vital energies and is the gateway to self-realization. They can only open with unique keys. There are six of them:

• Enthusiasm. Tune in to the desire to practice, and catch the inner inspiration does not mean that now you will have to get up at 5 am every day to get up on the mat means that you have to answer the question: why do I need this? Does the answer inspire you? You are on the right track!
• Persistence. It is impossible to achieve physical and spiritual development in one day. You don’t need to stop if you don’t see significant results even after a couple of weeks. An hour of yoga daily is much more effective than a two-hour class monthly. Let go of the thought that your activity should bear fruit. Please do it for the sake of the process itself.
• Discipline. The most challenging principle, but it should accompany you in those moments when you do Hatha yoga and the rest of the day. Make minor, gradual adjustments to your food, sleep schedule, self-care routine, and the people and things that don’t offer you joy. If something harms the practice and you leave it in the past.
• Faith. In yourself, in your strength, in favor of exercise, in your way. Do not doubt that you have made the right decision, develop yourself, and become better.
• Bravery. It’s not about dangerous physical feats but about conquering your old fears. Spending an hour a day alone with yourself, plunging into the subconscious, you become bolder. You erase weakness from your body and brain by destroying a complex asana.
• Communication. Man is a social being. Start to approach communication selectively. Keep in touch with people who encourage your desire for success, inspire you, and fill you with positive emotions. Find a healthy balance between communication and loneliness.

The most challenging thing for you today is to spread the rug. The body desperately resists. Nothing bends, something creaks, clicks. But you have made an important step – you have forced the body to work for your benefit.