Hatha Yoga

I want to know from first hand experience what all Hatha Yoga (common yoga, which involves many physical stretch poses, as opposed to the more meditation oriented yogas like Raja Yoga) really does and how effectively it does it. I was into it for a little while in the early 90's, but I might not have really given it a chance to do much. It was a lot of stretching while deeply breathing. Stretching can make you feel good, and so can deep breathing. After a yoga workout, I would feel pretty good, like I had just experienced light exercise and deep breathing and had stretched and relaxed my muscles, but it didn't blow me away enough for me to stay with it. There are some pretty extreme claims made about Hatha Yoga's long term benefits, such as balanced endocrine system and enlightenment and so forth. I am curious about how much truth there is in that and if anybody can tell me they have gone far in that direction. If you feel like Hatha Yoga has done a lot for you, please tell me what you think it does. So many people have gotten so dedicated to it that I suspect there must be something major to it. What is it? Thanks.

I'd like to know as well. I've been thinking about taking a hatha yoga class to compliment my Taijiquan/Qiqong routine.

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Originally Posted by grasshoppa

I'd like to know as well. I've been thinking about taking a hatha yoga class to compliment my Taijiquan/Qiqong routine.

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Me too I'm about to take Hatha Yoga class!

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Originally Posted by bonthan

Me too I'm about to take Hatha Yoga class!

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I'm glad to hear you set aside your insecurities. I hope all goes well, make sure to report back asap

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Originally Posted by grasshoppa

I'm glad to hear you set aside your insecurities. I hope all goes well, make sure to report back asap

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It's another month but I will report back.

:ghosttown:

Come on, now. Are there really no practicing yoga enthusiasts on THIS site? That would be a major surprise. Tell us about it! :bigteeth:

I've been doing vinyasa for a little over a year, but I couldn't find a hatha class with good rates.

If you'd like me to ramble about what I've done with vinyasa flow, I'd be more than happy to do so

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Originally Posted by no-Name

I've been doing vinyasa for a little over a year, but I couldn't find a hatha class with good rates.

If you'd like me to ramble about what I've done with vinyasa flow, I'd be more than happy to do so

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Yeah, thanks. What all does it do for you, short term and long term?

EDIT: Monster of a post. Mostly just me rambling about my own class, ask something specific if you want to know~

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Originally Posted by Universal Mind

Yeah, thanks. What all does it do for you, short term and long term?

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Mind you, this is the style of yoga that I take, which is different from others.
When we're here, we just sit. Stretching if we need too, usually in silence. Soft and very casual words, not much more. My instructor has a speaker set he brings, which he starts before class, usually just Indian strings, or monk-style humming. Mostly instrumental, with nothing but foreign languages being sung.

Starting with simple exercises should be obvious. He always starts with cat/cow/dog/plank/similar simple stretching sets.
From there, it's usually small things that change, but rarely the order. It's very methodical, doing the same beginning stretches.

Mid-class, there's usually a change-up, something different that we haven't done, or don't often do.
My instructor likes to keep the class all in one place. IE; if we start the after-warm-up class with standing, or in triangle pose, then he often goes through the variations on the pose a couple times before switching to something else. I never expect to go from standing up to sitting down more than twice in the same 10 minutes. (This might just be because everyone in my class is about 30 years older than me. :P)

By the end of the class, we're stretched, but by no means tired. No one breathes heavily, it's not a work-out. The class alays ends in corpse pose (savasana, if I recall the Sanskrit correctly), which involves simply lying on your back, face up, everything relaxed.
Never a morbid thing, the two minute body-nap we take here is often the highlight of my day. I can feel everything around me, vividly, clearly. Often one of the best feelings in the entire class.

What does it for me, is the warmness of my coach. I've had substitutes before, and even tried teaching others at one point, but it was hardly the same. He's very accomplished for his age, and always has a great way of saying everything. He talks about his poses in Sanskrit as well as English, rarely demonstrating a pose without telling us the Sanskrit version of it at the same time.

The most important part is my instructor, and the feeling around me. The background noise, most importantly. My class is held inside a Church, later in the day, so there's rarely any people walking by, let alone traffic.

I own my own mat, though I wish I had a size larger one. Check and see if your instructor provides mats in the class, or if you'll have to rent one, or most likely the best idea, to buy your own. Try them out first, if you can.

As for the spiritual side of it, my instructor is a Christian, with the philosophy of a Buddhist, and the personality of a neutral agnostic. I love his quips and quotes, the Sanskrit dialogue, and etc.
I can either reflect or cleanse, during the class. Whatever I need to do, it's always rejuvenating for me, a very personal thing.

As for the long term, I can touch my toes now, I know the correct way to bend myself without falling over, my balance has increased even more, and I'm always warmed up for fencing, as the classes are back to back with each other!
I wasn't able to reach my toes before I started, but after this and fencing, I can brush the soles of my feet :D
Jim, my instructor, says that you're not going to get very dramatic results from yoga, in any department. But I learned plenty from it all.

Yoga's always worth checking out, for me. Not for everyone, but if you find the right instructor, it can be perfect.

If I'm forgetting anything, or you want to ask anything specific, please do :D

Thanks. I had not heard of that before, and it sounds really cool. It sounds sort of Hatha like but maybe not full blown. I want to try one of those classes some time. So basically, you feel much more relaxed and limber and also warmed up after a class, and it keeps you limber in the long term. If you can ask him some time, I would love to know what Jim says are the "dramatic results" that come from yoga over time.