Hatha
Yoga
The Hatha Yoga poses awaken energies and we cultivate a sense of balance, strength and stillness in each pose. We notice how we go into the pose, how we maintain it and how we come out of it. As we practice the pose we breathe, we notice how we feel and we attempt to find a sense of ease in each one. Through regular Hatha Yoga practice we begin to experience its benefits: flexibility, strength, more focused mind, more balanced perspective on life, and greater skill at relaxation. Because of the
physical nature of Hatha, concern with performance can affect our
capacity to listen to our bodies. It’s easy to become concerned
about whether we are doing the poses “right” or become
concerned about how we look in a pose. However, the heart of our
yoga practice is to cultivate awareness that will allow us to discover
and bring together our body, breath, mind and heart so the poses
serve as the vehicles in discovering more about ourselves beyond
the purely physical.
Mindfulness It is not that mindfulness, just paying attention, is the "answer" to all life's problems. Rather it is that all life's problems can be seen more clearly when our mind is clearer. Just being aware more of the time is a major step toward learning how to see through our opinions, fears and projections and to learn to see things as they actually are. When we begin to see more clearly how we are thinking, feeling and reacting we can begin to learn new ways of being and responding (not just reacting) to the things that are going on in our life and to respond more skillfully. There are no quick fixes to what life brings us, but we can become more aware so we can "own" each moment of our experience, the pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. We can develop ways to use our energy more effectively in stressful situations. However, this takes practice. Being mindful doesn't happen just because we have decided that it is a good idea to be more aware of things. Developing mindfulness requires a strong commitment to working on ourselves with enough self-discipline to stay with it. If we do, it is really amazing what we can discover and learn about ourselves, contributing to a greater sense of well-being. For more information on Mindfulness visit: www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe13.html, www.dharma.org, www.nyimc.org.
By cultivating
mindfulness in our Hatha practice we notice when our mind races
ahead, when we’re striving, when we’re judging, etc.
Sometimes slowing things down allows us to come back into the moment,
or if necessary stopping and starting again. Noticing when we lose
focus, when our attention wavers. Most importantly we remember it
is a “practice” which means consistency of effort and
discipline will lead to greater comfort and ease in the poses. As
we practice we are patient and kind with ourselves, moving, breathing
and remaining present in each passing moment. ADK
Yoga |
In
Mindful Hatha Yoga poses our effort is directed towards finding
a way of remaining in each posse while cultivating acceptance, patience
and to the extent it is possible to do so, a noncompetitive manner.
The body is different in each pose and it is different at different
times. The practice of Mindful Hatha Yoga allows us to be at home
in our body, to be present with what is, through movement, breath
and awareness. Because of the physical nature of Hatha we can become
preoccupied with how well we are “doing” the poses.
As we cultivate mindfulness we move from doing to being in the pose.
So, as we do each pose we are reminded to notice the breath, the
way we are holding the body and to notice sensations. We become
aware of feelings, emotions that arise and pass. There may be a
certain set of feelings or a sense that we could refer to as a mood.
And then there are the thoughts, things that pass across the screen
of our mind. We can begin to notice the impulse or intention that
precedes action as we move in and out of a pose and as we hold each
pose.