Yoga with Jan

Traditional Hatha Yoga Physical Practice

In Sanskrit, Hatha means “stubborn” and Yogic history tells that it was created to keep monks healthy enough to sit for hours and hours on end while they did their monk stuff. If you’ve ever tried to sit absolutely still for even 15minutes you’ll know how hard that is on the body!
So Hatha aims to keep your body strong and healthy inside and out. Some people might think of Hatha Yoga as slow and a bit sedate but it isn’t, by any means, always easy and you can definitely put a lot of energy in and work up a sweat if you want to. Ongoing, daily practice certainly requires a good dollop of stubbornness. But it is also endlessly adaptable and suits all ages, health states, degrees of flexibility and energy levels.
What Hatha Yoga means to me is something very akin to moving meditation. In my classes we’ll run through a full, traditional yoga sequence which works energetically to balance every chakra and body system. The intention is not to get massively out of puff so we rest regularly and focus on the breath. Each pose has lots of ways to make it easier or harder depending on what your body needs on any one day. We will also start with breathing exercises and end with meditation. Yoga for me is an expression of my Shamanic spiritual work and a good grounded start and finish helps the class connect with whatever spirit or deity they believe in – or just find a brief sense of relaxation in this hectic world.

“You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.” -Swami Vivekananda