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About Hatha Yoga
About Hatha Yoga: It teaches us how to live a disciplined and righteous life. It is the study of the body, mind and intellect. It incorporates asanas or postures, pranayama or breathing and meditation in order to attain freedom from the woes of the world.
Yoga means union and was originally taught from generation to generation by a teacher to a student. Somewhere between 500 B.C and 200 B.C a great seer, Sri Patanjali wrote down the science of yoga; in the form of 4 chapters and consisting of 196 sutras (short statements). This treatise is known as ‘Patanjali Yoga Dharshana’.
According to Patanjali, there are eight aspects of yoga that lead to the attainment of freedom.
They are:-
1. Yama, a guide for conduct within society – social discipline or good behaviour; ethics and morals
There are five components, namely non-killing, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence and freedom from greed.
2. Niyama or personal disciplines that develop our individual qualities and draw out the best that is within us.
These are purity, contentment, austerity, study and faith or devotion to your perceived God.
Without the disciplines of Yama and Niyama chaos, violence, untruth, stealing, dissipation and covetousness reign. The roots of these evils are the emotions of greed, desire and attachment.
These ethical and moral rules bring change to the direction of our thinking.
3. Asana means control aand mastery over the body through various postures
4. Pranayama is control of breathing
5. Pratyahara refers to the control of the senses and mind
6. Dharana is concentration
7. Dhyana is meditation
8. Samadhi is freedom and ultimately absobtion of body, mind and soul with all that is
Hatha Yoga
The word ‘Hatha’ derives from two words: ‘ha’ – sun (male) and ‘tha’ – moon (female) and represents union. Union of self with all that is. It is one the best known forms of yoga with its practice first focusing on three aspects of yoga, namely asanas or postures, pranayama or breathing, pratyhara or withdrawing our senses. All these aspects prepare our body to be able to sit quietly in meditation.
Asanas …
Asanas are postures and they work on the physical aspects of body, putting the body into different shapes and positions. Some of them copy the characteristics of animals, birds, reptiles and insects after which they are named. Others are named after great sages and mythological characters, others are named after geometrical shapes.
The basic movements of asanas are stretching, twisting, and inverting. The muscles and joints are extended, contracted and relaxed. As a result of these actions stamina and strength are maintained and restored. They improve posture and help combat the effects of daily stresses.
Categorised into different sections each asana has a particular effect on different parts of the body. Asanas are grouped as follows:-
Groups of asanas:-
Standing Poses are the foundation of all other poses and so teach the principles of correct movement.
Sitting poses alleviate stiffness in the knees, hips joints and the groins.
Twists relieve back pain by keeping the spine supple. The actions of compressing, stretching and massaging the internal organs keeps them healthy. They can be performed in standing, seated and inversions.
Forward Bends fall into two categories – i) bending forwards from an upright position and ii) bending the trunk over the legs from a seated position. They are calming, aid in recovery and promote good sleep.
Balance Postures develop muscle tone and agility and they increase co-ordination and concentration.
Back Bending stimulates the nervous system as they increase flexibility of the spine. Because they also open the chest, they bring courage and help with depression and anxiety.
Inverted Poses revitalize the whole system. Being topsy turvey, improves circulation and also tones the glandular system; especially from Headstand (Sirsasana) which activates the pituitary gland (the master gland) and from Shoulder stand (Sarvangasana) which strengthens the nervous system and activates the thyroid and parathyroid glands.
Asana keep us healthy and make our minds sharp and the intelligence alert. They help us to learn, remember and grasp things faster.
Pranayama …
Pranayama is the prolongation of the four functions of breath, namely inhalation (Puraka); exhalation (Rechaka), and the pauses (Kumbhaka) in between inhalation and exhalation.
Further more, we first need to understand how we breathe before controlling it. Pranayama teaches techniques to improve the four phases of breath through encompassing the extension and expansion of the time, the space and the quality of each phase.
Pratyahara …
Pratyahara defines ways of controlling and quietening the senses and the mind. We have 5 senses of perception which are the eyes, ears, tongue, nose and skin. We also have 5 organs of action which are hands, legs, organs of speech, organ of elimination and organ of reproduction.
The three monkeys – see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. This is pratyahra, controlling orselves so thatb we do not commit any wrongs.
Svatmarama … a sage
Svatmarama further developed a system of practice embracing the physical body as a means to achieve enlightenment. His book Hatha Yoga Pradikipa is a practical treatise with 4 chapters. Detailing methodology of how to practice 15 asanas, the connection between breath, mind and life and describing 8 pranayamas. He further explains what mudras are for and describes 10 mudras and expounds how to reach samadhi. This exploration of physical-spiritual connections and body centred practice is what we primarily think of as Hatha Yoga.
A more recent Yoga master is Shri T. Krishnamacharya who promoted yoga in the 1920‘s and 1930‘s. He produced three students that would continue his legacy and increase the popularity of Hatha Yoga; B.K.S. Iyengar; T.K.V. Desikachar and Pattabhi Jois.
The Iyengar Methodology
The Iyengar Yoga System is founded on Patanjali’s 8 branches of yoga and is known for its scientific method, accurate practice and dedication. B.K.S. Iyengar has classified and analyzed over 200 asanas finding out their anatomical exactness and their physiological effects.
He also explored and classified the various pranayama techniques. Iyengar yoga is a term penned by B.K.S. Iyengar’s students to differentiate it from other styles. However, B.K.S. Iyengar refers to his methods of teaching as just Yoga.
There are 3 defining aspects of Iyengar Yoga; Technique, Sequencing and Timing.
Techniques teach correct placement and correct body alignment.
Sequencing is the order of practice; this can change according to season, age, reason, injury
Timing is the length of time required to maximize the benefits of each asana. This is different for the different asanas, some are held for 30- 60 seconds, some for 5-10 minutes or longer.
There is no distinction between one yoga and another. They all have the same roots and they all have the same purpose. The methodology of different teachers is what brings the different systems to light.
“Yoga is a timeless pragmatic science evolved over thousands of years dealing with the physical, moral, mental and spiritual well-being of man as a whole.” (1)
My Yoga Jouney:
“BKS Iyengar Yoga Association Australia
The Diaphragm:
The Diaphragm is the main muscle used in breathing and it needs to be kept soft. It relates to the solar plexus and although it is a physical organ it has tremendous bearing on our mental state. If your diaphragm hardens breathing becomes heavy and one can feel sorrow or fear. Therefore aim to keep the diaphragm soft
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Moving the Hips :
The hip joints control the direction, speed and quality of the movement of the legs. They also act together with the groins. Therefore, when the hips are stiff, the groins are also hard and the lower back becomes rigid
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Through yoga we learning to move the hips and the legs in various directions so that we gain more freedom in our joints
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Healing Back Pain
The mechanical function of your spine affects and is affected by alignment, flexibility and strength of many parts of your body. This means that the whole body affects your back
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Approach to back rehabilitation:
Firstly by accessing and correcting posture as well as gaining strength and flexibility
Secondly learning relaxation techniques, so one becomes sensitive to correct movements which in turn help to prevent pain
In conclusion reversing the destructive cycles of body mechanics to be free of pain
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The Shoulders, Arms and the Neck:
If there is stiffness in the shoulders it results in the arms being incapacitated and because the shoulder blades and collar bones don’t work efficiently, the trunk cannot keep erect. This results in a poor and unstable posture
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Also, if the head is pulled forward because the thoracic vertebrae are tight and immovable, this will lead to compression, tension and pain in the neck and throat
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Learning to relax muscles and to stretch the arms properly will help give more mobility to the upper back which will then help to combat both these issues
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The Knee Joint:
The knee has three distinct movements, hinge, glide and rotation and it is rare that we use the knees without the hips and ankles
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We therefore look at bringing the knees into structural alignment with the feet, shins, thighs, hips and sacrum and to creating space behind the knee joint. Also, looking at poses to help strengthen the muscles around the knees
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Relaxing the head
When the mind experiences stresses, anxieties, work pressures or emotional upsets, the repercussions are mainly felt in the head
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In Yoga the first step is to relax the body in simple supported poses because lying down eases the body and with the support breathing improves