What Hatha yoga is hasn’t changed for thousands of years. However our thinking and perception of it certainly has. Language is a powerful thing, and in different cultures the same word can have a variety of definitions. Throughout the evolution of yoga practice, the same word – Hatha – has come to mean different things too. Popular thinking ‘in the West’ (an all-too-common expression now), is that Hatha yoga is about balancing the body and mind. ‘Ha’ represents the esoteric sun, and ‘tha’ the moon. The practice of Hatha yoga aims to join, yoke, or balance these two energies.

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A yoga class described as ‘Hatha\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' will typically involve a set of physical postures (yoga poses) and breathing techniques. These are typically practised more slowly and with more static holds than a Vinyasa flow or Ashtanga class. And indeed, that is how we describe our Hatha yoga classes on EkhartYoga. Literally however, Hatha means ‘force’ and is more traditionally defined as ‘the yoga of force’, or ‘the means of attaining a state of yoga through force’. So Hatha yoga can be considered as anything you might do with the body.
Hatha to help you feel delightful - free class with Andrew Wrenn
This class, in the Hatha tradition, offers the opportunity to connect and explore the subtler aspects of ourselves – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually – and to perhaps realise we are so much more than our feelings. With classical postures such as Downward facing dog, Swan, forward bends and twists, this practice will promote grounding and calm, and a connection with the stillness and clarity which we all possess. Enjoy!
Origins of the Hatha Yogis
At the same London lecture, Jim Mallinson – author of the title \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Roots of Yoga\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' – observed; “Yoga has been turned into something you can ‘fit in’ to a busy modern lifestyle. But it came from something that was the complete opposite, and was viewed very differently to how we view yoga now”. Whilst the majority of us ‘fit in’ a morning practice, or ‘pause’ to switch on a five minute meditation app, the ancient Hatha Yogis were renunciates. That is, they renounced their lives, families, jobs and worldly responsibilities in favour of a life as an ascetic.