What Branch of Yoga Serves You?
It’s a big ocean of practices out there. Jump in!
What is Hatha Yoga?
The word hatha, meaning “union through discipline of force” is a branch of yoga that focuses on connecting with the physical being through postures to prepare for a deeper spiritual practice.
Hatha yoga refers to a branch of yoga focusing on the mastery of physical being through a set of physical exercises (known as asanas or postures), and sequences of asanas designed to optimally align your skin, muscles, and bones. The postures are also designed to open the energetic channels of the body—especially the main channel of the spine (Sushumna Nadi)—so that energy can flow freely. Hatha yoga is also focused on the interconnection of breath and movement.
It is a great place to begin your steady yoga practice and has grown in popularity in the West as a form of “exercise” that develops strength, flexibility, bodily relaxation, and mental concentration.
“Hatha is also translated as ha meaning “sun” and tha meaning “moon.” This refers to the balance of masculine aspects—active, hot, sun—and feminine aspects—receptive, cool, moon—within all of us. Hatha yoga is a path toward creating balance and uniting opposites.”
What Is Therapeutic Yoga?
A subset of yoga therapy, therapeutic yoga is a holistic approach to healing. It is an empowering, self-healing process in which a personalized practice is curated toward client centered goals merges with ancient yogic techniques to balance the 5 bodies (physical, emotional, mental, energetic, and spiritual).
Blending the techniques of ancient Eastern healing practices (such as yoga) and Western understanding of anatomy, bio-mechanics, and physiology , therapeutic yoga offers individuals a one on one look at the optimum way to overcome physical, mental, and emotional concerns. Creating awareness is the first step to cultivating change in our body and mind. Through deepened awareness and increased knowledge, we become empowered with the skills necessary to transform and heal our body, mind, and spirit, reducing our need to rely on external influences, such as medications.
Basically anything you feel that is stopping you from living your most authentic and wholehearted life can be looked at through the lens of applying yoga as therapy.
“There is no specific timeline or recovery time – healing is based on your readiness to make meaningful change and stay committed to the practice.”
What Is Restorative Yoga?
Taking the time to rest, relax, and restore is essential to living well. The more stress we experience the more it’s effects build within us. Negative effects of stress like irritation, frustration, sleep irregularities, poor circulation, headaches, muscular tension, poor digestion and elimination, are just some of the ways it shows up in your lives. Regardless of what triggers your stress, the manifestations of stress wreak havoc on our physical, mental, emotional, and energetic bodies. Luckily there’s a remedy to combat the effects of stress on our body- deep relaxation and rest. Different from sleep; relaxation and deep rest is a state where there is no movement, no effort, and the mind can become quiet.
Restorative yoga works closely with the fascia system. Fascia is a receptive tissue. The web of fascia that hold our organs is correlated to our hormonal system. When we rest the stress hormone, cortisol, lowers. Cortisol causes blood flow to go away from vital organs and to the extremities. The aim of restorative is to harmonize our states of being and calm the nervous system.
Restorative yoga is a receptive practice in which the body is fully supported and there is an invitation to relax as to soothe the nervous system. Restorative practices tends to begin where other yoga styles end -Savasana- the final resting pose. Poses in restorative yoga are held for an average of 5 minutes plus. It can also serve as an entry point for meditation techniques (concentrate or visualization) or just an opportunity to slow down and rest into yourself.
“There is nothing stronger in the world than tenderness.”
What Is Yin Yoga?
In the dark and stillness of night is when our inner demons like to come out to play. Yin yoga is a receptive practice of surrender and release. This branch of yoga uses stillness and long holds (up to 5 minuets) to challenge the mind to rest into discomfort, notice habitual thought patterns and tendencies, and drives us to come face to face with the inner demons that hold us back.
Walking the edge between discomfort and true pain acts as resiliency training for the nervous system. This type of practice teaches us to use our discernment to decide for ourselves if what we are experiencing is actually dangerous or simply just uncomfortable. Yin yoga asks us to assess whether or not our experience is propelled by the physical sensations in our body or the mental narrative within our minds.
Yin yoga can be a great entry point for meditation, self-study, and increasing our ability to cope with discomfort. By just being, yielding, and allowing we can grow into the capacity to accept the things in life we can not change and remain unshaken in states of stress and discomfort.
“All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.”
What Is Meditation?
It’s the nature of the mind to wander and dream. Despite the popular misconception, meditation is NOT about turning off your mind, stopping the flow of thought, or becoming a newer and improved version of yourself. Meditation is just one of the many ways to get to know yourself as you are and notice all the ways in which you grow!
Meditation is a gateway for us to deeper understand the specific nature and habits of our own mind. With a better knowing of ourselves, we can work with our minds instead of fighting against it. There are techniques to focus or detach, contemplate or release, invigorate or calm all the fluctuations of your mind. It can be a practice of training your awareness or embracing a new perspective. Meditation can be noticing your human experience and learning to observe without judgement or the “need to fix” yourself.
Why should I start meditating?
Meditation can be a useful tool to support human experiences such as issues concentrating, insomnia, and chronic stress. Meditation can be effective in coping with things like anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress responses, and addictions.
A Harvard study from 2011 found that mindfulness and mediation can actually change the structure and functioning of your brain . More specifically the regions of your brain that play a role in emotional regulation, learning, and memory . The study also found a decrease of brain cell volume in the area responsible for fear, stress, and anxiety. The self reports provided by participants indicated that meditation not only changes the brain, but it changes our subjective perception and feelings as well.
Meditation comes in so many different forms and variations. If you’re trying to start a meditation practice but are getting frustrated with a busy mind or bogged down by an idea of how meditation “should look like”, let’s work through it together! Meditation can look differently for everyone and I’m here to assist you in finding a way that serves you best! If you already meditate and are looking for new ways to freshen up or diversify your practice we can build off of the tools you already know.
“The thing about meditation is: you become more and more you.”