Yoga for Spinal Health

Evening Hatha

A hatha yoga practice is considered a gentle one that focuses on static poses, breath and meditation. Although it is highly regarded in this manner, it can pose physical and mental challenges as a beginner.

My Evening Hatha class begins with a period of focus on grounding and breath work. A gentle warm-up ensures the body from head to toe is prepared for asana practice. As we go through the poses it is important to maintain the same focus on the breath. However, as a complete practice there are four elements I invite students to incorporate — the breath, the focus, the posture and internal chant.

The series of poses range from standing, twists, balancing, core strengthening to forward folds, backbends, inversions and cool down restorative. If at any time a pose is too challenging to hold, you may come into a modification I offer, or take rest. During the latter part of the practice, there is time to reflect.

Yoga in general is a great way to not only begin the day, but also end the day, as the Evening Hatha offers the opportunity to stretch, unwind, and release tension — a good counter to our busy lifestyles.

The concept and root of a hatha practice is to balance both sides of our bodies — the yin and the yang, the left and right, the masculine and feminine energies — thereby aligning, cleansing and calming the mind, spirit and body. A regular practice can improve strength and sense of stability, flexibility, range of motion while also reducing stress, and other therapeutic benefits as well.

Many of the poses in the Evening Hatha are held for a little longer than in a typical vinyasa practice, and we typically take several rounds of deep breaths in each pose. Because of this mindful pace and focus, an Evening Hatha practice is ideal for those who are complete beginners and even advanced practitioners looking to refine the fundamentals of their yoga practice. The practice as a whole moves the body in various directions, boosts the mood and helps increase your level of energy.

The Surya Namaskars lend toward getting rid of muscle stiffness and tightness, stress you could be holding onto from, releases happy hormones, and boosts your body’s metabolism. It improves mobility in the joints, stretches the fascia, improves blood flow in the spinal cord and brain, rejuvenates the ligaments, stimulates the lymphatic system and cell repair, and regeneration. The practice ends with a deeply relaxing savasana.

Hi, I’m Shabna and I am a Yoga Alliance accredited teacher. My classes at Revive are based on the simple philosophy of living better and longer. You will experience that instead of harder and faster, my classes invite you to soften and find ease, move at your own pace and comfort level, mindfully. This way, you will grow to be the best version of yourself, both on and off the mat. This is the beauty, joy and gift of yoga and I look forward to sharing it with you soon!

Follow me on IG for more information and class schedule details — https://www.instagram.com/shabna.cader/