Except for one Vinyasa yoga class a few years ago at my office, my yoga practice has been limited to hatha yoga. I enjoy the slow movements and static poses of hatha yoga. Some athletes might find them boring, and unchallenging. I rarely break a sweat doing hatha yoga. And, that is fine! My hatha yoga practice complements my aerobics routine on my mini-rebounder.
Even though I speed along throughout my day on my trek to and from the metro station from house or buzzing along the hallways of my office, I love setting aside a time during the day to relax and go into slo' mo' by doing a hatha yoga practice. But, this is no ordinary "slo mo.' The slow motion behind hatha yoga is strategic because it's a scientific system designed to stretch and massage the muscles, tissues, nerves, glands, and organs of your body. By so doing, you become aware of the unity of your mind, body, and spirit and you awaken yourself to the wonders and beauty of life. You are no longer sleep walking your life away.
One of my first yoga books, Yoga for Beauty and Health, hammers in the importance of doing yoga poses as slowly as you can, in dreamlike fashion (assuming your dreams are in slow motion). I believe you should take in slow in yoga for the following reasons:
1) Moving in slow motion as you enter and exit hatha yoga allows you to fully focus on your movements and how your body feels. Try it right now. Lift a hand above your head first in normal or fast speed and then repeat but this time move it ever so slowly above your head. Didn't you pay more attention when you moved your hand slowly?
2) When you intensify your focus more during slow hatha yoga movements, you will more likely deepen and elongate your stretches, thereby stepping up your progress and mastery of the poses. Slow movements when you exit the poses give you essential recovery time, and enhances the benefits of the poses.
3) You will be better able to synchronize your breathing with your movements. It's harder to breathe in deliberately and deeply when you move fast, right? So, when you do your hatha yoga practice, s - l - o - w d- o - w - n!
Thought the for Day: "In hatha yoga, slo' mo' is the way to go ."~Laura Venecia Rodriguez