Yoga is, and will always be popular, with more and more people starting their yoga journey every day. The fact you’ve landed here would suggest you’re about to start your journey too.
One type of popular yoga discipline is Hatha. Hatha is a type of yoga that typically comes to mind when we think of yoga in a more general sense. It is a practice that involves the body, breath, and mind.
Classes normally last 45 to 90 minutes long and include breathing, meditation, and yoga poses.
It is believed that Hatha yoga relieves stress, improves emotional and mental health, and supports healthy habits, but is it a good form of yoga for beginners?
That’s the question we want to answer for you today.
In this post, we take a closer look at Hatha yoga, showing you what you can expect.
If you want to give Hatha yoga a try, make sure you keep reading!
What Is Hatha Yoga?
Before we go any further, we’d like to start by telling you exactly what Hatha yoga is. It doesn’t make sense to know if Hatha yoga is easy or not if you don’t actually know what it is.
Rather than being a style of yoga, Hatha simply describes any kind of yoga where poses are performed and practised.
This would include a wide range of yoga practices such as Vinyasa, Iyengar, and Ashtanga.
The word Hatha was first recorded in the 11th century. It is a Sanskrit word that means ‘Forceful’. The word represents a system of physical techniques.
Over the years, Hatha yoga has been developed by the western world into a widely practised style of yoga.
Generally, classes are considered to be more gentle and basic, with a greater emphasis being placed on body alignment and the mental benefits of each pose.
Is Hatha Yoga Good For Beginners?
So, is Hatha yoga good for beginners?
The answer is yes, Hatha yoga is a good yoga style for beginners. Thanks to its slower pace and gentler, more basic poses, beginners should be able to complete Hatha yoga classes with ease.
In fact, Hatha classes are a great place to start. If you’ve never tried yoga before, Hatha yoga can help you learn the basics in a more relaxing environment.
Each pose is performed much slower, giving you the chance to get the hang of each pose before moving on to a more intense style of yoga.
You’ll also find that your body benefits massively from Hatha yoga both physically and mentally.
It’s also worth noting that Hatha yoga is one of the easiest styles of yoga you can practice at home.
That might also help beginners as it gives you more freedom to learn yoga in whatever spare time you have.
What Are The Benefits Of Hatha Yoga?
Now you know more about what Hatha yoga is and how it can be good for beginners, let’s start looking at some of the benefits.
When it comes to the benefits of Hatha yoga, the benefits are almost endless.
Hatha yoga helps relieve stress, increase positivity, improve emotional and mental health, improve flexibility, and increase strength.
We’ve listed some of the best benefits of Hatha yoga below:
Improved Mental Health
One of the biggest benefits of Hatha yoga is improved mental health and wellness. This style of yoga can provide you with more clarity and increase your peace of mind.
During a Hatha class, your body releases endorphins. These are essential in relieving stress and even reducing pain.
As a result, your mood can be instantly boosted, making you feel much happier.
The effects of Hatha also help minimize the symptoms of depression.
Improved Strength And Cardio
If you want to improve your overall fitness levels without having to go to the gym, give Hatha yoga a try.
Hatha is the perfect alternative as it gets the heart pumping just like a full-body workout.
Despite being a slower style of yoga, Hatha still improves cardiovascular health and circulation. Over time, this helps to boost endurance.
If you practice Hatha regularly, you should start to see increased muscle strength and tone. Your core should also improve as well as your posture.
Increased Energy Levels
Another huge benefit of Hatha is the maintenance and increase of energy levels.
Increased energy levels not only help us tackle the day ahead, but they also ensure we feel much happier both mentally and physically.
Studies have shown that regular Hatha practice can make a huge difference in terms of energy levels. This is because you are taught to channel and focus your energy.
Improved Immune System
It is also believed that Hatha can help improve our immune systems.
Twisting and stretching your body stimulates the lymphatic system. It also increases the body’s drainage of toxins. Both of these factors help improve the body’s immune system.
With regular practice, the body should find it much easier to fight illness and infection.
What You Can Expect From A Hatha Yoga Class
Here’s what you can expect from a Hatha yoga class:
Breathing Exercises
Most Hatha yoga classes start with some form of breathing exercise. This includes practising various breathing techniques while performing different yoga postures.
You’ll practice the different postures while trying to maintain a focused breathing pattern.
Yoga Poses
Like any yoga class, you will be guided through a wide variety of yoga poses by a yoga instructor. The poses you perform will improve balance, flexibility, and strength.
In Hatha classes, there is usually a mixture of basic and advanced yoga poses included so that beginners and more experienced yogis can learn at the same time.
Meditation
Finally, you can expect there to be a period of meditation during your Hatha class.
This will usually involve lying on your back in a Savasana pose. During this meditation period, you will reflect on the session.
You’ll be encouraged to think about what you’ve learned, how you feel, and what you think about your next steps.
The instructor might play music during the meditation to create a more calming and relaxed atmosphere.
In Conclusion
Hatha yoga is a great starting yoga style for beginners. It is a style of yoga that normally consists of more basic, gentle classes that can be easily performed by novice yogis.
In this post, we’ve told you everything you need to know about Hatha yoga.
We’ve shown you what it is, why it’s good for beginners, the benefits associated with its practice of it, and even what you can expect from a Hatha class.
Hopefully, you now feel confident enough to take part in a Hatha class. If you do, why don’t you search for your local class online and see what you think? We’re sure you’ll love it!
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The positive effect yoga had on me was indescribable. Every aspect of my life improved, from social to mental, physical to emotional.
I want my website to help more people get into the world of yoga and teach them how to be present for themselves - even if that’s just for a few minutes a day.
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