Yoga promotes harmonious living and health. Hatha yoga is a centuries old art that combines body positions (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama) and relaxation techniques (meditation). As you move, the emphasis is on gentle stretching and strengthening with proper body alignment and rhythmic breathing. The Joyful Yoga style is a Hatha Vinyasa Flow.

The word Hatha has two components: "Ha" and "tha," which are often translated to "sun" and "moon." The sun and moon represent the many dualities that life offers. Each day you encounter happiness/sadness, hardness/softness, day/night, pain/pleasure, love/hate, breathing in/breathing out, logic/intuition. contraction/relaxation. From a larger perspective, you discover that all of life is a dynamic interplay of all of these forces. The earth and the whole universe moves in cycles of rest and activity.

As you practice yoga you begin to understand that this duality is a part of life and you cannot know one part of life without its opposite. You become aware that it is all part of a larger cycle that keeps the world in a place of balance. Your yoga and meditation practice exhibits that place of balance. You discover what it is like to balance relaxation with movement, you learn the boundaries of pain and pleasure in your body.

You find places of hardness and softness, places of tension and contraction and you learn to relax them. Basically, a yoga practice is all about bringing all of these divergent parts into union, the true union of body, mind and spirit.

Some of the possible benefits to the practice of yoga are:

Improved muscle tone
Reduced stress
Greater flexibility
Detoxification
Improved circulation
Pain control
Balanced organ & gland function
Relaxation
Improved breathing
Concentration
Sounder, more restful sleep
Peace of mind
Better coordination and gracefulness
Improved sense of physical and mental balance