John Kabat considers stretching and meditation to be important components of mindfulness training.
Meditation increases mindfulness while hatha yoga exercises help to increase awareness of bodily sensations. Integrating meditation procedures and Hatha Yoga into our daily routine contributes to our potential and produces a healthier awareness of all the things that are happening around us.
Meditation and Hatha Yoga also help us to cultivate compassion for ourselves but also for others, and to live each moment with an open presence and more clarity.
Hatha Yoga is known as a portal to integrity and relief from suffering and pain and has been practiced since Buddhist times.
The essence of Hatha Yoga is the balance between our masculine part: Ha – that is, the Sun, which is hot, active. And the feminine part: Tha – meaning the Moon, which is cold and receptive.
It is also said that Hatha Yoga is known to be a way to create balance and unite opposites. The word Hatha literally means Strong, Powerful, which is why Hatha Yoga is considered a powerful healing tool for self-transformation. The main goal is to combine physical stretching with conscious breathing, to connect the mind, body, and spirit.
Breath control, traditionally called Pranayama, is the core of Hatha Yoga, around which other practices are based. Regular practice of Pranayama helps to relieve stress and hidden pain, and this promotes physical and mental well-being.
Among the benefits associated with Hatha Yoga postures, we can mention:
– Reducing blood glucose and cholesterol
– Improving immunity
– Weight loss
– Reducing anxiety and depression
– Improves blood flow to tense muscles, which leads to relaxation
– Increased ability to release negative thoughts and emotions
– Improving mood and skills
All the movements in Hatha Yoga along with the meditation process involves 3 steps:
- Awareness and acceptance of the physical sensations created by the environment in which we find ourselves
- Observing and accepting the movements and sensations created by the natural breathing in the abdomen
- Observation, awareness, and acceptance of sensations throughout the body include the sensations listed above.
Meditation techniques and yoga practice may initially feel intense at first, which is why they are associated with acceptance and commitment therapy.
As Saki Santoreli put it: “With the help of meditation, we learn to experiment without judging. And this allows us to see what we were before we opened our eyes. Namely, to observe the habits and behaviors that undermine our health and well-being.
