What is Gentle Hatha Yoga?

Breath-Centered Movement, Gentle Strengthening, Deep Stretching

This class offers a gentle flow which integrates mind, body, and breath. Learn mindful movement with correct biomechanical alignment, understand breath roles and options during movement, and enjoy a blend of gentle strengthening and deep stretching techniques to keep your whole self healthy and free.

Gentle Hatha is a great place to learn the fundamentals of body alignment, safe movement, and self-care. This class takes a slow and steady approach to strengthening with lots of options and variations to help you stay safe in your body and in your practice. Learn to recognize and understand your movement habits and patterns, and discover ways to reprogram them for better efficiency where needed. Some areas may need to strengthen, others may need to lengthen, while some may simply need to recognize new potentials and realities. Gentle hatha takes us on a journey of mindful body experiences which help us to lay a strong foundation for all healthy movement patterns.

Meaning ‘Sun and Moon,’ Hatha yoga is a fairly recent development in the history of yoga, being created only in the 15th century by Yogi Swatmarama. In the 4000 years of yogic history before this style was created, yoga was almost exclusively a form of seated meditation. The goal was, and has always been, the expansion of consciousness and self-awareness by way of cultivating a union between the body, the mind, and the spirit. Hatha yoga differs from the more ancients approaches of attaining this goal by recognizing that this union isn’t possible unless the body is strong yet flexible, soft yet hard, grounded yet light, and above all, in a state of harmonious balance and health. This physical state is a necessary prerequisite for the holistic union of the whole. As such, a series of ‘asana’ (postures) and ‘pranayama’ (breathing techniques) were created first to train and heal the body, and then to bring the mind and body into a state of union and harmony. This union of mind and body was considered a necessary step in developing the spirit and the ability to and understand the greater meanings of life through yoga.