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When you stubbornly stick to the practice, you cultivate willpower and overcome fears and other mental interferences. For example, when you practice asanas, you do not remain only within the comforts of easy postures and well-known routines. Rather, you try to overcome fears and thoughts such as “I cannot do this.”
To sum it up, an asana practice according to Hatha Yoga principles: 1. aims to keep the internal body healthy and in balance rather than focusing on weight loss, toning, and shaping the exterior physical body; and 2. performs asanas with long, comfortable, and steady holds, rather than in a vigorous or dynamic manner.
Yoga asanas work in three ways to increase the flow of lymph and relieve lymphatic congestion: 1. Inversions reverse the effect of gravity and drain lymph and used blood from your legs. 2. Twists (as well as forward, backward, and side bends) stimulate the flow of lymph up through the core of your body. 3. Contracting and releasing large muscles move lymph through your body. To eliminate toxins is one of the key qualities and purposes of Hatha Yoga. Practicing asanas steadily and comfortably promotes this because it increases blood and lymph flow. Does this apply to a more dynamic and vigorous asana practice as well? To a certain extent, yes. This is because of the varied movements of your body.
When your body cools down after practice or exercise, your lymphatic system has to work hard to carry away the lactic acid. After strenuous exercise your body might even feel stiff, swollen, and heavy because of the built-up load of lactic acid.
In Hatha Yoga, though, you avoid this build-up of lactic acid. After all, you perform asanas easily, so that your muscles get enough oxygen. For this reason, even when you work on challenging asanas, it is important to sequence the practice well. You need to make sure to include sufficient moments of relaxation. For example, when the heart rate becomes too high and you begin to breathe fast and perspire, it is time for a relaxing asana. This will normalize the heart rate, allow your breath to calm down, and minimize the formation of lactic acid.
This effect is more pronounced with breathing exercises where the emphasis is on exhalation, as with Anulom Vilom and Kapalbhati.
So the calm and comfortable practice of Hatha Yoga leads to an increased blood supply to the brain, which in turn allows the brain to absorb more oxygen.
If you incorrectly practice some yogic breathing exercises with active inhalation, rather than only active exhalation, you may trigger these same effects of hyperventilation. Kapalbhati (Skull-Shining Breath) is an example of this. If practiced incorrectly it becomes a different kind of pranayama, the so-called Bhastrika (Bellows Breath). Bhastrika is an advanced pranayama exercise, which is suitable only for experienced practitioners, and if practiced by beginners these same effects of hyperventilation may occur. In Hatha Yoga, the lungs’ capacity to absorb oxygen and the blood’s capacity to distribute oxygen optimally improve.
The purpose of asanas, then, is not to increase cardio fitness levels or metabolism. In fact, the intention and the effect of Hatha Yoga prove to be the exact opposite.
AI Summary
Hatha Yoga for Teachers and Practitioners by Ram Jain, Kalyani Hauswirth-Jain presents key insights from the Yoga tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
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Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
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