Hatha: Blending Sun and Moon
Just as the Sun and Moon contribute astronomically to life on Earth as we know it, according to hatha yoga, this duality of forces also resides within us. The Sun’s energy is bright, warm, active, and extroverted, the heat of its rays extending far through the solar system, an integral life-giving force for this planet. As the feminine counter-role, we have lunar energy which is receptive, introspective, and ever-changing in appearance. The beauty of the hatha flow is in the interplay between the body’s movement and the natural flow of your breath coming into a sweet unity. It’s the kiss of yoga! We are becoming more conscious of the mind and its distractions, connecting to the body and intentionally surrendering back to our natural flow of breath to improve our sense of connection, vitality and oneness.
One of the main differences between Hatha and Vinyasa yoga, for example, is the duration in which we hold the poses. In a Vinyasa practice, we might hold a pose for 1 - 2 breaths depending upon the intention of that flow; generally, though, a vinyasa flow will be faster paced compared to a hatha flow. During a hatha practice, we might see a pose held for a minimum of 5 - 6 breaths. It all just depends, and isn’t about the exact number of breath counts in each pose, rather just the difference in pace.
The focus of hatha yoga is to help us achieve and sustain balance between our lunar and solar energies. Here, we utilize different physical techniques to preserve and channel the flow of life-force energy within the body. Each branch of yoga invites us to find and achieve personal balance through a genuine body-mind-soul connection. Many asana practices can tend to lean more towards the solar, because we often emphasize more active and temperature raising practices aimed at improving physical fitness. And there’s nothing wrong with that! We just want to make sure to incorporate our restful, restorative, yin time as well so we achieve that balance - whatever that means for you. One of the things I love most about having a simple hatha flow is that it meets me where I am nicely at different places in my monthly process, no matter where I am or how I’m feeling that day. At any time during the lunar cycle I can simply adapt simple sequences to support me in moving through the month with more ease, less tension in the body, and reduced stored energy both mental and emotional.
Because most of us live in fast-paced societies, there can be an underlying pressure to “get busy” as it’s called in the real estate industry. Most of the time it’s just called hustling. When we’re constantly in hustle mode, there can be a lot of action a lot of the time. There’s no faster way to ensure our one-way ticket to burnout than trying to do all the things without any of the resting. For every moment we spend assessing and adjusting ourselves in focus of how to integrate with the outside world, we need to find that balance with a healthy dose of introspection. At the very least, finding this balance means being able to shift the lens when necessary and spend some much needed time cultivating a healthy inner world. Hatha yoga helps us to intentionally cultivate more of this balance with its goal of bringing harmony to the solar (masculine) and lunar (feminine) forces within us. It helps us turn our inner lens from focusing on how to find our way in the outside world and turn inwards to focus on how to create that exact balance and fulfillment from within.
In essence, hatha yoga helps us break into the heart space through a gentle, slow process of internal surrender. Because it incorporates different techniques such as asanas, mudras, pranayama, and more, hatha offers us an opportunity to really slow down and bringing balance to the yin and yang. Having a regular (consistent for you) hatha flow can open the doorway to an inner sense of inner adventure. It can also help curb the burnout, by supporting you in bringing this rest into your routine more regularly so the body can feel supported more consistently in bringing in that new level of harmony and coherence from the inside-out. I’ve found it to be especially helpful to align my asana practice with the phases of the moon to really call in the different lunar archetypal energies throughout the month for support, guidance and in navigating shadow work.
