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HATHA YOGA FOR BEGINNERS-5 UNIQUE TIPS

admin | November 18, 2017

Followings are the main aspects to begin Hatha yoga.

A Hard Row to Hoe

Hatha yoga initially may seem to be a formidable undertaking, especially for those who have pain. Extreme stiffness and disability – Indeed, fur some students, such practices as asana or pranayama become the hitter pill of their practice, a source of discomfort and daily struggle, something to avoid.

Usually, such an altitude is rooted in some form of competitiveness and the idea that we must hurry toward enlightenment and keep up with other incipient sages, Perhaps because of the external component of many of the practices, its easier to fall into our familiar modes of achievement-oriented thinking when practicing hatha than when practicing other forms of yoga.

Some hatha teachers even encourage an external orientation, emphasizing the importance of getting into the proper position rather than the process of gentle self-awareness and consistent practice. Thus, students struggle against the limitations of tile body, rather than lovingly exploring them. This friction is unnecessary and largely unproductive, if you can remember that the essence of hatha is the process—daily diving deep into the moment to gather the pearls of conscious experience-you will see hatha from a different perspective.

A fruitful hatha practice requires putting aside our need to compare ourselves with others and to measure our progress. Consider the following learning principles, which are integral to the practice of hatha yoga. Youll discover that they can be used to illuminate and ease progress in any endeavor, worldly or spiritual.

Honor Your Capacity

• Making a realistic assessment of your capacity and accepting it are signs of maturity. If you frequently exceed your capacity, the result will be pain, discomfort, possible injury, and a net loss in the progress you are seeking. Practicing to your capacity requires self-awareness, the core teaching of hatha yoga. Once you begin to practice from this standpoint, the progress of others becomes irrelevant. Your own practice becomes deeply rewarding and potentially exciting as your exploration and discovery deepens.

Practice Regularly

• Consistent effort brings progress. Practicing intensely is not as beneficial as practicing regularly. Regular practice with awareness of your comfortable capacity assures steady progress- Practicing occasionally yields little fruit.

Create Self-Discipline

• Any externally imposed discipline eventually comes to feel stifling. We naturally resist efforts to control our behavior—self-discipline, on the other hand, is motivated by our own interest or desires. Discipline simply means making choices. If you priorities are based on your goals and interests, yoi become self-disciplined. But if you practice at the suggestion of others or out of a need to fulfill someone else’s expectations, you will end up with a hollos going-through-the-motions practice, devoid of inspiration, inner awareness, and a sense of fulfillment.

Begin Where You Are

• We are often dissatisfied with who we think we are, and so begin practicing yoga with the idea of overcoming our perceived limitations. If we are struggling to escape ourselves, our practice may become parched by greediness. This can lead us to reject ourselves and pretend to be someone else. A typical example is the beginning hatha student who thinks he must duplicate the teacher’s perfect posture immediately.

Twisting into an uncomfortable shape, he misses the point entirely. You can begin only from where you are. The Doorway into Higher Awareness the Gheranda Samhita, another principal text of hatha yoga, says: “Like an unbaked earthen pot thrown in water, the body is soon decayed [in this world]. Bake it hard in the fire of training in order to strengthen and purify the body.” We have all been thrown into this river of life. Without proper training, we experience disease and discomfort, rather than ease and Joy. Hatha yoga develops the body, breath, and mind, and grants vibrant health to those who practice regularly.

At the same time, it provides a base for many other disciplines—hatha can help the practitioner be successful in any field of action. Best of all, hatha can guide us to convert this body into a shrine, a temple in which the Supreme Consciousness can shine in all its glory.