11/21/2025
I recently added this class to my schedule and the first question out of students mouths was what is Hatha Yoga?
My answer? You’ve already been doing it.🤩
Hatha Yoga is the ancient system of yoga that prepares the body and mind for higher states of meditation. 🪷
Through the practice of asanas (postures), pranayama (breath control), mudras (hand gestures), and bandhas (energy locks), the practitioner purifies the body, steadies the mind, and awakens prana (life force).✨
It is a path of discipline and balance, uniting strength, flexibility, and awareness to cultivate harmony between body, mind, and spirit. 💜
All of the forms of yoga we practice in the West today comes from Hatha:
🌿 Major lineages/styles that come from Hatha Yoga
1) Kundalini Yoga 🔥🔥
Kundalini — the concept of a dormant spiritual energy at the base of the spine — appears in very early yogic and Ta***ic texts, long before Hatha Yoga was formalized.🔥It is ancient and rooted in early Ta**ra and Upanishadic teachings. It is referred to as the Mother of All Yoga and
Hatha Yoga was created as a method to awaken and channel Kundalini.
2) Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga
Founded by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Faster-paced, athletic, structured series — but rooted in traditional Hatha principles of breath, bandhas, and drishti.
3) Iyengar Yoga
Founded by B.K.S. Iyengar. Deeply aligned, precise, uses props — all built on classical Hatha postures and philosophy.
4) Vinyasa Flow
Evolved from Ashtanga. Creative sequencing linked with breath, but still grounded in Hatha asanas.
5) Sivananda Yoga
A classical lineage founded by Swami Sivananda & Swami Vishnudevananda. Directly rooted in traditional Hatha: postures, pranayama, relaxation, and meditation.
6) Bikram / Hot Yoga
Uses 26 Hatha postures and pranayama in a heated room.
7) Yin Yoga & Restorative Yoga
Although modern adaptations, they still arise from the Hatha foundation of asana, breath, and energetic balance.
8) Ta**ra Hatha / Traditional Himalayan lineages
I’d love to share this sacred practice with you and help you connect deeper with the importance of why we practice yoga in the first place💜
Monday 4-5 pm Yoga Center of Black Mountain