Hatha Yoga

Yoga in its most original form

Many yoga styles practiced today have their actual origin in traditional Hatha Yoga, also called Patanjalli Yoga or Raja Yoga. A style of yoga that has been passed down from teachers to their students for thousands of years and that found its way into the Western world through Paramahansa Yogananda. He refers to the yoga sutras (verses) of Patanjalli.

Yoga in its traditional form is designed to quiet our minds. For only with a calm, stable and untroubled mind can we find true enlightenment and happiness. In practice, we use the asanas (yoga poses) to connect our body with our breath, and then connect the breath with our mind to quiet it.

“If Yoga was about flexibility, all the gymnasts of the world would be enlightened.“

-Yogarupa Rod Stryker-

Contrary to the common assumption that yoga is about flexibility, it is much more about stability. After all, a stable body promotes stability and calmness of mind. The fact that regular asana practice also makes the body more flexible is a nice side effect. I deliberately call it asana practice here, because practicing asanas alone is not yet yoga. Yoga is breathing, yoga is meditation. Therefore, the classical Hatha Yoga classes always consist of asanas (yoga poses), pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation.

The word Hatha can be divided into the syllables “Ha” and “tha”. This can be translated as Ha = the sun or prana (life force) and tha = the moon or mind. The yoga classes can therefore be divided into so-called sun or sun classes and moon or moon classes.

Moon Hatha

Moon Hatha is the first level of Hatha Yoga practice. Moon Hatha is like medicine for our modern, busy minds. Here, the yoga poses are held longer to build stability in the body and quiet the mind. The focus here is on exhalation. This is lengthened bit by bit during the asana practice, activating our parasympathetic nervous system. This ensures that we enter a state of rest, the heart rate slows down and digestion is set in motion.

The focus of the asanas here is on forward bends and twists, which cultivate the energies Apana Vayu and Samana Vayu. Apana Vayu is the energy that flows from top to bottom and outward in the pelvic area. As a result, it has a very detoxifying effect, both on a physical and psychological level. Through a focused practice with forward bends, one can really let go on both a physical and mental level, and subsequently feel grounded and in balance. The energy Samana Vayu is the energy that circulates from top to bottom and in the navel area. Thus, it influences our digestion and metabolism. The energy has a centering and balancing effect and provides physical as well as mental stability.

Moon Hatha classes are therefore especially suitable for people who have a stressful daily life, who have a lot on their mind, who feel a bit anxious and out of balance. The classes are especially suitable for those who are easily upset, easily angered, and quickly become heated both physically and mentally. Regular practice can counteract sleep problems, digestive problems, and lower spine problems. Regular practice can also increase the ability to concentrate and meditate.

Moon Hatha Yoga and Surfing

From a surfer’s point of view, Moon Hatha classes are ideal for balancing after surfing. Practicing forward bends has a balancing effect to the posture on the surfboard, where we are permanently in hollow back. After a very active and for our body exhausting surfing session, a calming and balancing Moon Hatha class is just the right thing to drive the body and also the mind back down.

„Once the Moon has been made steady, the Sun can be made to rise.“

– Hatha Yoga Pradipika –

Sun Hatha

Sun Hatha is the second level of Hatha Yoga practice. A stable and calm mind is the basic requirement for this. Sun Hatha is a more dynamic, activating practice than Moon Hatha. The focus here is on controlling the life energy prana, which is increased through certain breathing techniques (use of kumbhaka, bandhas and mudras).  By gradually lengthening the inhalation, we activate our sympathetic nervous system, which causes our heart rate and blood pressure to increase. The body is prepared for physical and mental performance.

The focus of the asanas in the Sun Hatha classes is on the backbends and the side bends, which cultivate the energies of Pran Vayu and Vyana Vayu. Pran Vayu is the energy that flows from the outside in and then upward. By practicing backbends, we can consciously take this energy into our bodies and recharge “our batteries.” Pran Vayu has a rejuvenating effect and enhances our receptivity. Vyana Vayu is the energy that circulates throughout the body. Through a specific asana practice of side bends, this energy can be stimulated. It strengthens our vitality and our joy of movement.

Sun Hatha classes are therefore especially suitable for people who feel sluggish and lazy or who are sad and depressed. Sun Hatha practice stimulates a positive basic attitude towards life and can counteract weak circulation and weakened immune systems.

Sun Hatha Yoga and Surfing

From a surfer’s point of view, Sun Hatha classes are ideal for the time before surfing, as they prepare you very well physically and mentally for the next session. Practicing forward bends and sun salutations ideally prepares you for the movements during surfing. By activating the sympathetic nervous system, we become alert and receptive to the quick reactions that will be demanded of us later in the line-up.

Learn more about the interaction of yoga and surfing in our blog post – The perfect symbiosis.

My path to traditional Hatha Yoga

About twelve years ago, my former roommate took me to a yoga class for the first time. I was still very skeptical about the whole thing, because I thought that everything is too spiritual and too “hippie-like” for me. But I quickly had to admit that this Hatha class for beginners was very beneficial for me. At that time, I was still working shifts in a residential group for mentally ill girls, which could be very challenging at times. In addition, my group leadership was a great challenge for me personally, and the team meetings on Thursdays were very hard on my nerves. So the evening yoga class was just what I needed to wind down after a stressful day at work.

In the course of time, I changed my job and place of residence, but I remained faithful to yoga, sometimes more and sometimes less. I found a new yoga studio in my new place of residence for me, where at the beginning of the class a lot was explained about the philosophy and anatomy of each class. So the desire to dive deeper into this science and learn more about what is behind each practice came up for me as well. It was clear to me that as soon as I had the time, I would like to do a yoga training in India – the place where everything originated thousands of years ago. So I kept googling my way through the countless offers of yoga schools and providers, without really knowing how to decide on one of the offers.

After a three-month journey through Asia, I finally arrived back in Canggu, Bali. This is where I had spent my surfing vacations for the last few years. Yoga was always secondary for me, because I could do it at home and surfing was not. Until I entered “The Practice” in Canggu for the first time and read the announcement for the “200 hours Teacher Training”. Suddenly it was clear to me: This is where I want to go! This is exactly where I would like to start my training right now.

But I still had to be patient for a little while. After all, the plan was to fly back home and go back to my job at the time. However, the desire to do the yoga training was unbroken. And so, shortly after my return, I applied for a Teacher Training the following year. In order to put my plan into action, I had to quit my job in Germany, as it would not have given me the time I needed. But since I had to make a career change anyway, this was only the first step that finally made me turn the rest of my life upside down and go to Asia for a while. And so it was that three quarters of a year later, in the hipster hotspot of Canggu, with the hipster guy par excellence, I completed what is probably the most traditional training outside of India.

Yoga is so much more than just practicing some poses. Yoga is a science and together with its sister science Ayurveda, a targeted practice can help to counteract imbalances of a physical and psychological nature. This is what fascinates me so much about this traditional approach. And the further I dive into this science, the more it captivates me. So today I am not only a yoga teacher, but also forever a student of this traditional school. In my yoga classes, I therefore not only want to teach asanas, but to pass on knowledge. It is important to me that my students understand what we practice and why we do it this way.

Finally a few words on the way

Hatha yoga is less about perfect and fancy yoga poses and more about the correct use of the special poses and their effect on our body. Therefore, don’t just practice the yoga you feel like, but practice the yoga you really need!

„Yoga is not about touching your toes, it is what you learn on the way down.“

– Jigar Gor –

written by Nadja