Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga is a physical style of yoga that originated over one thousand years ago*. It is a refined, powerful and transformative practice that calls on the body, breath and mind to work as one. In this class you will be lead through a balanced practice of yoga postures (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama) and mindfulness techniques (samyama) to improve not only the physiological systems of the body, but also steadiness of mind and a more intimate connection to yourself.

The word Hatha comes from the Sanskrit terms “Ha”, meaning sun, and “Tha”, meaning moon. The postures, breathing techniques and mediation practices help to balance pairs of opposites that exist within us: right and left, feminine and masculine, hot and cold, rationality and intuition, movement and stillness. Through the course of life, we have the tendency to favour things that we “like” and avoid things that we “don’t”, which gradually create imbalances in our bodies and habits in our minds. Hatha Yoga helps us to undo our conditioning to become ourselves again.

In modern times, Hatha Yoga has branched out into many varieties including Flow, Power, Yin and Restorative. In the West, the word “yoga” has become synonymous with “hatha yoga”. At Kushala, we offer many types of Hatha Yoga for all-levels. We recommend you try an “All Levels” Yoga class to get a feel for the spectrum of benefits that yoga offers.