Yoga for the Dancer
Hatha Yoga is an umbrella term for physical Yoga, it refers to combining postures (asanas) with breathing techniques (pranayama). Hatha translates as willful and Yoga means union in Sanskrit; therefore, Hatha Yoga is the willful practice that leads to the union of mind, body, and spirit. The term is usually pronounced as ha-tha, but in actuality it is suppose to be pronounced as hat-ha.
Hatha Yoga, in the 21st century, is mainly practiced for health and vitality. It's a marvelous means of exercising, stretching, strengthening, and relaxing. It frees the body to be a healthy, long-lived, and vital instrument of the mind and soul. In addition, hatha Yogis can become extremely clear-minded and can focus and concentrate well. Occasionally, a few Yogis do practice hatha as their main method for spiritual realization. Their clear minds and pure, healthy bodies enable them to meditate easily. Hatha is based on the principle that as strong and as healthy of a body as possible is needed on the journey toward enlightenment. The experience of practice is concentration, breath, endurance, flexibility and stretching, aligning and strengthening the body, quieting the mind, and awakening the spirit. Hatha purifies the body to achieve perfect health and disciplines the mind in preparation for Raja Yoga (meditation). It unlocks the individual's latent energies to enable self-development.
In Sanskrit, hatha can also have another translation; ha means sun and tha means moon. Hatha is the practice of harmonizing the body's inner currents (principally the currents of feeling, thinking, willing, and acting) until they are in perfect balance. Hatha is about balancing the opposing forces of the body, just as opposing forces are balanced outside of the body. Sun and moon, male and female, day and night, hot and cold.......the universe is filled with opposites. Our bodies are also filled with opposites, and if these forces become unbalanced, our bodies and minds work as efficiently. Hatha balances us in many ways. Back-bending postures are followed by forward-bending postures, contractions are followed by extensions, upright positions are followed by inversions, and so on.
Even the movement of prana (breath) is balanced through muscular exercises or bandhas. As prana is balanced through the inhalation of breath, apana is the energy generated in the body by exhalation that moves away from the brain and carries impurities out of the body. Bandhas are exercises designed to lock the flow of energy in the body at the chin, to arrest pranas upward movement, and, in the pelvis to arrest prana's downward movement. The result is that prana and apana are retained within the body, joining together within sushumna (that hollow passageway through the spinal cord). Their mingling generates an intense energy that can help awaken the kundalini serpent power. This joining of opposites, of prana and apana, of sun and moon, of ha and tha, is at the heart of hatha's power. Most Westerners don't practice hatha to the extent that they are even aware of the importance of kundalini energy.
If fitness is your goal, it doesn't hurt (and may even be ultimately helpful) to be aware of the power of balanced opposites inherent in your practice. This may heighten body awareness and lead to the more advanced paths of mental control (Raja Yoga) and spiritual awakening. Normally the hatha Yogi with the calm mind focuses and directs awareness to move into a super-conscious state. The individual life, the finite life, meets and fuses temporarily at first, with the infinite life. Those few dedicated men and women who are true hatha Yogis live in abundant well-being and universal harmony. Here's To Your Dancing Health!
Seated Angle Posture
This posture stretches the INNER THIGHS, tones the LEGS, opens the HIPS, and stimulates the BLOOD CIRCULATION in the PELVIC REGION. It is one of the most useful for GYNECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS because it regulates the menstrual flow and OVARIAN FUNCTION. It's a good pose to practice during menstruation and pregnancy. The SPINE and THROAT receive some nice stretching and because you pull your body forward, the ARMS are strengthened. Dancer and I disclaim any liabilities or loss in connection with the exercise and advise herein.
1. Sit with your legs spread wide apart and keep your knees and toes facing straight up, rather than rolling in or out.
2. Lean forward from your hips and hold your big toes, keeping your back straight. Hold 10-20 counts and then proceed to the next step.
3. Lower your body and if possible, rest your chin and chest on the floor. Hold 10-20, relax and repeat.