It’s all Hatha…

As you peruse Samadhi's growing weekly class schedule (find it HERE),

you'll notice styles ranging from Yoga Nidra, or "sleep" yoga - where your one job is to relax - to Power, or "Ashtanga" Vinyasa, where you'll be challenged by rigorous flowing sequences and strengthening postures.

You'll notice a few "Hatha Yoga" offerings, taught by master teachers Derik, Patrick and Jeremy. Recently overheard in Derik's class: "Without Hatha, there wouldn't be all these other kinds of yoga."

The word hatha means willful or forceful. It is commonly over-simplified as the balancing of "solar" and "lunar" energies. It is even sometimes said that “ha” means sun and “tha” means moon…

The concept of hatha yoga actually goes back thousands of years, but emphasis on the physical branch as a primary approach is a relatively younger development, with its central text, The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, originating around 1500 c.e. In this text, Swami Svatmarama outlined the primary practices of the hatha yoga lineage as well as its goal, which according to him is the same as all other branches, and that is the attainment of samadhi or “oneness of mind.”

Actually, hatha can be described as the way yoga uses the physical practices (breath work, asana, diet and cleansing) to help steady our thoughts with the goal of moving toward meditation, in essence transcending these inherent dualities, rather than attempting to “balance” them out.

While each of our three weekly Hatha offerings will have a unique vibe, you'll likely find some commonalities: focus on breathing practices and how those relate to longer holds, exploration of alignment leading to integration of poses.

Derik Eselius has recently returned to Samadhi bringing 20 yearsof teaching experience, including at the university level. He is a gift to the community, a wealth of knowledge presented in a relaxed, approachable manner.

Each month, Derik will design a 4-week series of drop-in classes around a specific theme.