Why Practice Alignment-Based Hatha Yoga?
There are 3 components to creating alignment in your life – your body, your mind, and your heart. The three are interdependent. By caring for one, you indirectly care for the others, which contributes to your sense of alignment.
Envision a triangle. When one angle is pulled out of alignment, the entire triangle becomes misaligned, and in the same way, when you neglect your body, the mind or the heart become misaligned. Yoga can help us create and maintain alignment. It opens the body, which creates ease in the heart and the mind. It relaxes thinking, which releases tension and anxiety. And it opens the heart, which helps us to find comfort in the body and mind.
—Suzanna Harwood Rubin, Yoga 365
I was still in college in the early 1990s and I was looking for stress-relief. This was back before there was a yoga studio on every corner and also before there was much differentiation in styles of yoga. I searched and searched and found a guy teaching yoga at the Y. From the very first class I was on board. There was no question about, ‘is this hot yoga?’ or ‘is this flow?’ I had walked into class feeling tired and not very inspired, but I left feeling lighter, at peace, and with a smile on my face. That was the start of what has become a life-long journey of practice and awareness.
The simple act of coordinating movement with the flow of breath, and honestly, just being aware of the flow of my breath, helped simplify things for me. Life did not feel as overwhelming or complicated. Or, if it did, I then had some tools to help manage the complication.
It wasn’t until the turn of the century when I discovered an even more efficient way to reach that state of peace, contentment, and relaxation that I was so hungry for. Turns out, there are some simple principles one can use during yoga practice to help cultivate sukha, ease, even in the midst of the physical challenge on the yoga mat or other challenges that life might offer.
Using the inhale with expanding movements and the exhale upon contracting movements is one way to get the vital life force, prana, to move more fully within your being. Prana is the life force behind all of nature, it comes from the sun, the air, food, and water; it is in the plants and animals and humans. In yoga, we maximize the quantity of prana that your body-mind can hold and that is what brings the sensation of rejuvenation, restoration, and emotional balance. These are all markers of good health and wellness.
Aligning the body so that the joints are free and so that muscles are lengthening and strengthening is another way to support your capacity and movement of prana. As you move your body into an asana, a yogic shape, bringing awareness to how you hold that shape – where you place your feet, lengthening through the side body, softening your jaw – cultivates greater capacity for the vital life force.
So we sometimes use props like blocks, a yoga strap, blankets, or a bolster, to create the alignment that allows your body to thrive. A well-placed prop can help your body release an old habit and restore freedom of movement. Your body falls into patterns from repeated motions over time, it happens to everyone, and yoga practice gives you the opportunity to discover if that pattern is helpful or harmful. Props help your body to let go of compensatory patterns to restore your deeper strength, flexibility, and balance. Props can help you safely explore your range of motion and they can also provide support when necessary.
Mostly though, it is about coming home to yourself. Recognizing that there is an inherent wisdom in your own body-mind, and by releasing tension or compensatory habits you let that wisdom shine. Alignment-based Hatha Yoga is all about celebrating your gifts as a human being. Aligning your body well, with or without props, helps the prana to move through you, helps your body to increase its capacity for the vital life force, and in general just helps you to feel better. It’s not a gimmick. The principles of alignment are principles we all can return to in yoga practice or throughout the day. Understanding these practices are like having a handbook for living well.
At the Yoga Center we offer many Alignment-Based Hatha Yoga classes led by experienced teachers who want to help you discover how great you can feel with practice. Won’t you come try it for yourself?
—Kelly
The Yoga Center of Columbia has been supporting our community's health and well-being since 1992. We offer yoga, Pilates, meditation, and qigong in four classrooms in Columbia, Maryland: in-person and online. Click for details or to register for our 100+ weekly Classes and our specialty Workshops !
