What is Hatha Yoga?

Learning about yoga is like learning a second language. Literally. Yoga is predominantly Sanskrit based which is an ancient language that is pretty much as different from English as it comes. With so many styles of yoga out there these days with all their wonderful sanskrit names, how do you tell which class is which and whether you’re going to enjoy the style that you turn up to?

Stretch Yoga practices predominantly Hatha Yoga – both in its traditional sense and with its more modern western interpretation. Looking at its original meaning hatha means ‘forceful’. Thankfully that doesn’t necessarily translate into its practice too much (no one is going to force you into a pretzel!), but instead is thought to be a reflection of its more forceful nature compared to other spiritual pursuits such as meditation and breathwork. Hatha is also translated to mean “sun” (ha) and “moon” (tha) which is believed to suggest its' aim to create balance in the body - between yin and yang,masculine and feminine, activity and rest, heat and cool.

In its more common western interpretation Hatha Yoga is often used to describe a practice which uses a combination of yoga poses (asana) practiced in conjunction with the control of breath (pranayama). It is the basis for all other yoga styles and variations, and is often seen as a simpler and slower moving style of yoga. Hatha poses work at increasing flexibility, strength, balance and focus. Alignment works on safety and the flow of energy and poses are held anywhere from a couple of breaths to a couple of minutes.

In recent times it sometimes feels like Hatha Yoga is the least sexy of the yoga styles. You aren’t going to drip sweat, lose weight or burn calories, the room is a normal temperature (not 5 billion degrees!) and dynamic words like ‘power’ and ‘flow’ don’t really apply. In fact, it’s a little bit like the Weet-Bix of the yoga world (all fibre and low-sugar without any enticing antioxidants or omega-3…), but we're a little dorky and love it anyways! Its yoga for normal people – people who can’t necessarily put their leg behind their head, don’t speak fluent sanskrit and sometimes need a few moments to catch up to what their teacher just said.

Hatha yoga is a staple style of yoga, and just like Weet-Bix, we’re sure it will stand the test of time. We currently run 5 Simple Stretch (Hatha) yoga classes per week, as well as 3 Stretch Foundations classes where you can learn the basics. Check out the Stretch Yoga Brisbane Timetable for more information, and feel free to ask us as many questions as you like about the class styles that we run!