Hatha Yoga - what's it all about? | Academy for Yoga Training

With such a wide variety of Yoga classes on the market, you can understand why this ancient art can seem impenetrably elitist.

For a beginner dipping a toe into the Yoga pond, it’s made all the more confusing by the wide ranging use of Sanskrit, asanas and pranayama.

So what is Hatha and why does it make an excellent choice for Yogis wishing to turn their love of Yoga into a teaching career?

Could this classical style help make Yoga accessible and beneficial to all?

The modern landscape

Prior to the pandemic, mental health was already considered a global crisis. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that almost 1 billion people across the world had a mental health disorder, and that depression was already projected to become the leading cause of disease burden globally by 2030.

Add a pandemic into the mix and there is mounting evidence that mental health problems have reached epidemic proportions.

A survey by The Prince’s Trust, published in January 2021, showed that 1 in 4 16-25 years olds “felt unable to cope with life” since the beginning of the pandemic.

Public health organisations have long supported the use of Yoga to de-stress, boost immune function, help with chronic pain and support mental health.

Never before has there been a greater need to introduce the physical, mental and spiritual power of quality, accessible Yoga teaching into society.

“In this unsettled time, never has there been more need for Yoga to expand into the community. This may start as just a simple change in attitude, or word to someone who is struggling. Yoga isn’t about Instagram poses; Yoga is thought, word, deed and kindness, it contributes towards nourishing our communities and mental health.”

— Diane Lee, Founder of The Academy for Yoga Training

Hatha online.png — Why Hatha?

Where did it come from and where could it go…

Hatha derives from the Sanskrit word ‘forceful’ and was synonymous with a series of physical techniques. Broken down, however, the word Ha translates as ‘sun’ and Tha means ‘moon’ - the two combined are synonymous with balance.

Hatha’s origins are steeped in five centuries of tradition; as far back as the Sanskrit epics (Hinduism) and the Pali canon (Buddhism). Hatha emerged from India and Nepal as a slow physical practice, but Hatha is not just about how long you can hold a pose. It is also a way to connect to spiritual and mental wellbeing.

According to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the Eight Limbs of Hatha Yoga are:

Yamas - Five ethical observances concerning truthfulness, non-violence, chastity, non-stealing and non-possessiveness.
Niyamas - Five spiritual observances, namely, purity, self-discipline, self-study, devotion and contentment.
Asana - Yoga postures.
Pranayama - Breathing techniques as a means of mastering prana (life force extension).
Pratyahara - Sensory transcendence.
Dharana - Concentration.
Dhyana - Meditation.
Samadhi - Enlightenment or ecstasy.

As the Eight Limbs demonstrate, although Hatha translates as physical strength, this form of Yoga is also designed to take the gaze inwards, to reflect upon the whole self; on an emotional, psychological, and physiological level.

It is thanks to Sri T. Krishnamacharya that the western world benefits from Hatha Yoga.

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya’s students included B.K.S. Iyengar (Iyengar Yoga), Pattabhi Jois (Ashtanga Yoga), Indra Devi (Yoga instructor to the stars) and TKV Desikachar’s (son of Krishnamacharya and writer of the landmark Yoga book, The Heart of Yoga).

These Yoga gurus have distilled Krishnamacharya’s teachings into a western Hatha tradition that has STRENGTH, INTEGRITY and FOCUS - all of which form the basis of our Academy’s Yoga Alliance accredited training.

share hatha.png — “Rid your body of its impurities, let your speech be true and sweet, feel friendship for the world, and with humility seek wealth and knowledge.”

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya

Here at the Academy for Yoga Teacher Training, all of our experienced teachers are keen to answer the national concern that too many YTT students are accessing sub-standard training and by association too many students are therefore open to injury and receive poor quality instruction.

Our Academy is founded on classical Yoga principles with teacher trainees learning realistic western mobility and stability Yoga. Yoga with integrity has longevity and rather than being a competitive and exclusive form of physical exercise, enables any class attendee to access Yoga at the level that suits them.

Our graduates go on to offer authentic, high quality Yoga that is accessible to all. The power of Yoga to improve mental health and wellbeing in the communities local to our AFYT qualified teachers has no limits and the ripple effect is infinitely positive.