Think of dancers, and the predominant idea that will enter your mind is one of artistic grace. Dancers the world over are respected and appreciated not only for their command of their craft, but for the delicate beauty of their movements that can communicate a wealth of deeply varied emotions.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Dancer Pose, also known as Lord of the Dance Pose or Natarajasana in Sanskrit (nata = dancer or actor, raja = king, asana = pose).

The “king” in the Sanskrit name refers to Shiva, one of the Hindu deities, known to be their supreme god. Shiva is linked to Hatha Yoga, and is also known to be a “cosmic dancer” in one of his forms. This form is in keeping with much of Hindu culture that incorporates a lot of celebratory dancing in daily life.

Qualities of the Dancer Pose

Fittingly for the purposes of Hatha Yoga as a fitness discipline, the Dancer Pose is unique in the sense that it develops and focuses not only on the external part of the body such as the limbs (which is typical for most the of the other poses done under Hatha Yoga), but also on the internal organs, most notably the kidney and the lungs.

Demonstration of the Dancer Pose

Benefits of the Dancer Pose

• Mental – this pose, with its subtle effect on using graceful strength as a means of conditioning the body, also conditions the mind to be calm and gentle in making decisions.
• Physical – parts of the human anatomy that receive focus from this pose include the Shoulders, Spine, Chest, Pelvis, Knees and Ankles, strengthening them, and stretching the Groins, Thighs, and Abdomen.
• Spiritual – as is appropriate with real life dancing, the pose develops physical balance, which in turn, leads to a more poised disposition.

Safety Alert

This pose is not recommended for yoga practitioners who have low blood pressure.

Besides the physical benefits of strength, the Dancers Pose offers you positive effects to your internal organs and is just one of the 70 different Hatha Yoga demo videos that you’ll have at your disposal when you subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter. In the next article of this guide we’ll look at how the “Camel Pose” can help you to become more protective, versatile and resilient.

There’s undeniably something very special about the eagle because it is a bird that is either highly feared or much revered in many places.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Eagle Pose, or Garudasana in Sanskrit (garuda = eagle, or “devourer,” a deity that’s said to be capable of blocking out the sun in the mythology of Hindus and Buddhists, asana = pose).

Qualities of the Eagle Pose

The Eagle Pose personifies a regal and dignified bearing. Observe an eagle and you will notice, that whether in the wild or in kept condition, its expression is unwavering in its solemnity and concentration.

In Hatha Yoga, the solemnity of the eagle is utilized to underscore the importance of keeping the arms, legs, knees, and feet harmoniously working together to reach new heights of concentration.

Seen from such a perspective, the Eagle Pose, when practiced regularly, improves balance and helps remove constrictions in the upper back.

Demonstration of the Eagle Pose

Benefits of the Eagle Pose

• Mental – because the pose can remove constrictions, it paves the way for a more relaxed frame of mind. In turn, having such a frame of mind is great to heighten levels of concentration, even after the yoga exercises are over.
• Physical – this pose can help correct posture through spine realignment. It also makes the legs, thighs, hips, ankles, and shoulders stronger. It is great therapy for the asthmatic, as well as for those with sciatica, and lumbago or lower back pain.
• Spiritual – through consistent practice of this pose, it is highly possible to increase your level of contentment because your mind is relaxed and your body’s aches, in particular those that are bunched up in your spine and lower back muscles, are lessened.

Safety Alert

This pose is not recommended for anyone with knee injuries.

Now that you’re ready to soar high with your fitness goals by practicing the “Eagle Pose”, be sure to subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter and pick up the other 69 to round out your yoga exercise routine. The next pose we’ll demonstrate is called the “Dancer Pose”, a silhouette of graceful strength.

The poet Joyce Kilmer once wrote about trees this way: “I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree… a tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray.”

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Tree Pose, or Vrksasana in Sanskrit (vrsksa = tree, asana = pose) which reminds us of the importance of keeping it real and staying grounded while on our quest to fitness.

Qualities of the Tree Pose

In essence, that’s what the Hatha Yoga Tree Pose upholds – the development of a deep and underlying sense of spirituality that’s rooted in the centering of your core, while appreciating the need for a higher power in order to achieve totality of development. If that sounds a little bit metaphysical for you, no worries. There’s a more basic description of what the tree pose is all about and that is solidity in being rooted or grounded.

This [tree pose] is awesome for acquiring a sense of balance. Have you noticed how the clumsiness of some can diminish their sense of worth because of intolerance and name-calling? The tree pose can help you develop physical stability, such that the sense of control generated also stabilizes your mental processes, and sense of self. Great for developing fitness on three levels: mental, physical, and spiritual.

Remember that Hatha Yoga is unlike other health and wellness disciplines. In Hatha Yoga, it’s not just the physical body that is given importance. It’s the overall well-being and functioning of the mind, body, and spirit in balance, in order to avoid susceptibility to illness.

The Tree Pose is one of the postures that can help you more easily achieve such a fitness goal.

Demonstration of the Yoga Tree Pose

Benefits of the Tree Pose

• Mental – this pose is primarily about the improvement of your sense of balance, not just physically, but also mentally. This means that regular practice of this pose will help you weigh issues more judiciously and act accordingly.
• Physical – the focus of this pose is on the thighs. It can provide great relief for those who have sciatica. It stretches the shoulders and chest, and the inner thighs, as well as the groin. It’s also beneficial for the ankles, legs, thighs, and spine.
• Spiritual – this pose is advantageous for those who feel disconnected. The grounding provided by the Tree Pose restores serenity.

Safety Alert

This pose is not recommended for people with low blood pressure, headaches or migraines, and those who suffer from insomnia.

Now that you’ve learned Hatha Yoga’s “Tree Pose” you will on your way to being solidly rooted and can begin to concentrate on the other 69 Hatha Yoga video demonstrations that you’ll have when you subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter. Next on our list of yoga poses we have the “Eagle Pose” that can help you soar high as you move towards your fitness goals.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past few years, we’re pretty much sure that you’re aware of that activity known as the Lying Down Game or Planking, that involves stiffly lying face down in the most incongruous or unexpected locations, just for the heck of it.

While Planking was, and still is, considered mostly as a simple viral online meme, there’s a another form of “plank mimicry” that can be used for seriously attaining health and wellness.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Yoga Plank Pose, or Uttihita Chaturanga Dandasana in Sanskrit (uttihita = extended, chaturanga = four limbed, and dandasana = staff pose). It does not require a full stiff, face down posture. Rather, it emphasizes the need to maintain balance while facing the ground, even as you keep as much distance between it and your chest.

Qualities of the Yoga Plank Pose

Unlike in the Lying Down Game which is mostly just a comic social game, the plank pose in Hatha Yoga is meant to underscore fitness by providing the yoga practitioner with a sense of the importance of stability, alignment, and strength.

The Yoga Plank Pose is also known by another Sanskit name, Kumbhakasana, which means “empty teapot.” This is with reference to the efforts of some advanced yoga practitioners to exhale completely while striving to maintain the plank pose, with the end goal of developing tolerance for the lack of air (conditioning the mind and body to stay disciplined and focused even under trying situations).

Demonstration of the Yoga Plank Pose

Benefits of the Yoga Plank Pose

• Mental – the Yoga Plank Pose is great for challenging the limits set by the mind as to how far it can withstand pressure from a demanding situation.
• Physical – the focus of the Yoga Plank Pose is on firming and strengthening the abdomen, and making the spine, arms, and wrists stronger.
• Spiritual – the Yoga Plank Pose is advantageous for those who want to test their resistance and endurance to discomfort. In doing so, a certain level of patience and calmness is achieved.

Safety Alert

The Yoga Plank Pose is contraindicated for those with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

If this is your first time reading this, you’ll want to read through out this entire guide at least one time and of course, have your doctors clearance for doing these yoga poses, before you attempt doing them on your own.

The Hatha Yoga demonstration videos that you get when you subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter will be useful for you to witness how the poses are done; which is much easier than just reading about how they are done. Next we’ll move on to the “Tree Pose” where you can experience solidity in being rooted.

Do you love your legs? You should! No matter what they may look like, thin or muscled, long or short, you need to love your legs because together with your feet and thighs, they are the ones that support your lower body and bring you to all of those places that you want to go.

In Hatha Yoga, the Triangle Pose is one of the best fitness exercises for the legs.

Qualities of the Triangle Pose

If you are like most average people (read: not yet exceptionally fit), you know the “burnt out candle” feeling that you can get at the end of an exhausting working day. Your job doesn’t even have to be physically taxing to get that feeling.

Far too often, it is stress and anxiety on the job that can cause you to feel enervated. Students and homemakers are also susceptible to such feelings.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Triangle Pose, or Trikonasana in Sanskrit (trikona = three angled, asana = pose) as the perfect solution against the formation of such feelings.

The Triangle Pose is a powerful fitness exercise that can expand your torso and assemble evenness, balanced control of the legs and feet, with the arms acting as the ideal complement or foil.

The Mountain Pose, also know as the Triangle Pose, is a gentle basic and much liked pose that is useful for introducing your body to stretching and to breathing rhythmically. Think of a mountain as being sturdy and solid, not suddenly collapsing even when buffeted by strong winds or roaring flash floods. Imagine yourself as a mountain rising up and reaching for the glorious sky.

Benefits of the Triangle Pose

• Mental – the Triangle Pose is restorative when the mind is overburdened by anxiety.
• Physical –the focus of the Triangle Pose is on the shoulders, spine, chest, thighs, legs, abdomen, knees, and ankles. It can assist towards improved digestion, and the lessening of back pains, and aches associated with flat feet. Menopausal women have reported that this pose helps to relieve many of their symptoms.
• Spiritual – the Triangle Pose is beneficial when you want to feel centered and in control of your reactions to life’s daily stresses.

Safety Alert

The Triangle Pose is not recommended for those with low blood pressure, bouts of diarrhea, and headache. It is possible for those who have neck problems, heart conditions, and hypertension to practice this pose under certain conditions, but prior clearance from a medical doctor would still be best.

Demonstration of the Triangle Pose

Half Moon Pose – Banishing Life’s Dark Elements with Light

As mentioned in the introduction article to this guide, Hatha Yoga strives for the union of two separate entities, the body and the mind, as symbolized by the sun and the moon. While the concept may seem extremely esoteric or obscure to Western minds, it is actually a very practical representation of what goes on as a matter of course in daily life.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Half Moon Pose, or Ardha Chandrasana in Sanskrit (ardha = half, candra or Chandra = glittering, moon, and asana = pose) as a health and wellness strategy to help us cope better with the dark elements of life (fatigue, frustration, stress, anxiety, fear) by putting additional brilliance in our existence.

Qualities of the Half Moon Pose

How many stress hormones do you have floating around in your body, affecting not just the physical side of you, but just as importantly, affecting your mind and emotions? These stress hormones can inflict havoc in the way our body functions, leading to conditions as varied as sciatica, indigestion, anxiety, and constipation among others.

The Half Moon Pose combines both balancing efforts with timed breathing to draw out stress hormones such as cortisol and norepinephrine from the body, thereby addressing the medical conditions cited above.

Benefits of the Half Moon Pose

• Mental – the Half Moon Pose is ideal for relaxing the mind, as it focuses on keeping an alignment of the body. In the process of doing so, external cares and worries are pushed away from the mind.
• Physical –the focus of the Half Moon Pose encompasses the shoulders down to the ankles. The pose is great for alleviating symptoms of osteoporosis, fatigue, gastritis and mental pain.
• Spiritual – the Half Moon Pose is beneficial for those who deal with stress on a daily basis and need gentle relief in order to stay physically, mentally, and emotionally fit.

Safety Alert

The Half Moon Pose is not recommended for those with migraines, insomnia, low blood pressure, and loose bowel movements.

At the top of this article we’ve discussed seeing your legs in a new light by means of the “Triangle Pose” and provided a demonstration video to help you get started. Next we talked a little bit about the benefits of the “Half Moon Pose” and how it can help your mental, physical and spiritual being.

Remember that you can get all of the demonstration videos that goes with this guide by subscribing to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter. Next, we’ll delve into challenging the limits set by your mind with the “Yoga Plank Pose” and talk about the associated benefits.

If you’re ready to let your imagination run free and obtain some physical stability in your life, you’ll want to read on and check out what doing “Chair Yoga Poses” can do for you.

Think back to the time when you were young, and your imagination was a dominant force in your life. What you could imagine was real and had power. You can still do that now with the Chair Yoga Poses.

Qualities of the Chair Yoga Pose

To those unfamiliar with the gentle ways of Hatha Yoga, the pose might seem to be an extremely painful position to assume. After all, the first impression that one gets upon seeing a yogi using the Chair Yoga Poses is that he or she is starting to sit, does get seated, and will then start to rise from a chair – an imaginary chair.

It looks as if a gigantic or intense effort is being made to do the postures involved, and that’s why in Hatha Yoga, we have the Chair Yoga Poses, or Utkatasana in Sanskrit (utkata = intense, gigantic, and asana = pose) as being representative or symbolic of the actions of the mind to control one’s surroundings through physical exertion.

Demonstration of One of the Chair Yoga Poses

Benefits of the Chair Yoga Poses

• Mental – this yoga pose shifts the interest of the mind to maintaining balance, thereby giving life to the concept of willpower, or striving for success amidst great odds.
• Physical – the center of attention of this pose is on the thighs, but it can also benefit other parts of the body such as the chest and shoulders, the spine, the thighs and the legs, while stimulating the diaphragm, the heart, and the organs in the abdomen.
• Spiritual – holding this yoga posture requires intense concentration. The more frequent that high levels of concentration are achieved, the more that portals leading to enlightenment become opened.

Safety Alert

This pose is not recommended for people with low blood pressure, recurrent headaches or insomnia.

See the two other “Chair Yoga Poses” that you get when you subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter. Do that now and then move on to the “Triangle Pose” if you’d like to start seeing your legs in a new light.

It may seem absurdly contradictory for the word “warrior” to be associated with a gentle fitness discipline like Hatha Yoga. However, it is not the extreme belligerence or even ferocious cruelty that is connected to a fighter that is advocated or implied in the Warrior Pose.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Warrior Pose, also known as Virabhadra’s Pose (Virabhadra is a “super-being,” a Spiritual Warrior), to remind practitioners of the need to cultivate a strong dislike for self-ignorance.

Of the Hatha Yoga poses, it can be said that the Warrior Pose is among those which strongly nurture the importance of having a clear mind and a strong body to achieve a high spiritual level.

Qualities of the Warrior Pose

In the article that discussed the four basic yoga poses, it was clarified how there is nothing even remotely threatening about the warrior pose…

Does this sound more like what you were expecting, or does the sound of this basic Hatha Yoga pose raise your hackles? Whatever your initial reaction may be, you will find out once you practice this pose that there is nothing even remotely threatening about it. As far as basic yoga poses go, the Warrior pose is meant for making your arms, shoulders, thighs, muscles of the back, as well as your ankles, stronger, thereby putting you in the right groove for further fitness development.

The truth behind this statement can be proven in the extensiveness of body parts toward which this pose can prove beneficial, from the head to the feet:

• Neck
• Shoulders
• Lungs
• Chest
• Back
• Abdomen
• Groin
• Thighs
• Legs
• Ankles

The Warrior Pose takes care of the body’s welfare, to allow you to be able to concentrate more fully on your main task at hand; the arousal of knowledge and wisdom, and the strengthening of your spirituality.

Demonstration of the Hatha Yoga Warrior Pose

Benefits of the Warrior Pose

• Mental – fuller concentration and higher levels of determination
• Physical – expands chest and lungs, stretches neck and shoulders, develops back muscles, and makes the thighs, legs and feet stronger
• Spiritual – develops endurance of spirit

Safety Alert

The Warrior Pose is not recommended for people who have cardiovascular problems, hypertension, and preexisting shoulder and neck problems. Preexisting problems should be cleared only upon the advice of a medical doctor. Of course, that goes for any of the poses discussed in this Hatha Yoga guide.

That wraps up this section on the “Warrior Pose” so be sure to head over to our home page and subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter to get access to the video above as well as 69 other Hath Yoga pose videos and get started with these postures. Next, we’ll dive into doing “Chair Yoga Poses” and open your mind to obtaining more stability in your life.

There’s a natural high that comes from dedicated running, and this is due to the production and release of endorphins that can alter your mood and make you feel extremely happy. That’s why many runners push themselves to the limit, and even beyond, to fully enjoy the highly pleasurable effects that come during and after exertion.

But the thing is, too much pushing can lead to physical problems – pulled muscles, cramped nerves, exhaustion, to name but a few. That’s where yoga for runners can step in to prevent such problems from occurring.

Yoga for Runners: The Need for Speed

While not all runs are competitive, runners for the most part, often feel a need for speed. That’s why there are runners who ask how something that’s relatively slow and gentle like Hatha Yoga can benefit people like them who thrive on the adrenaline rush that comes from a strenuous and fast-paced activity like running.

The fact is, there isn’t really much of a contradiction to begin with. That’s because even the most well-conditioned and professional runners still have to contend with the limitations of their physical bodies.

Everything involved in running, every part of your body that receives an impact when you run can get damaged over time by such a demanding activity. Your neck, shoulders, arms, elbows, spine, thighs, knees, legs, ankles, and even the soles of your feet have to put up with the pounding rhythms of a run.

Yoga for Runners: A Therapeutic Exercise

In that regard, think of yoga for runners as a therapeutic break from all the jarring that your body takes each time you go on a run. Yoga deep breathing exercises are good for the lungs and the cardiovascular system. Yoga stretches can promote flexibility and endurance. Yoga meditation can improve focus which leads to steady thought processes. All of these contribute hugely to fine-tuning your runner’s body.

The videos that are an integral part of this guide will guide you on which poses are best to practice on. Familiarize yourself with poses such as the Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana in Sanskrit) and keep on practicing to gain the full benefits of using yoga for runners.

Below is a demonstration video with the yoga pose “Low Runners Lunge”. When doing this runners pose, be sure to work on both your right and left side. You wouldn’t want to be running in circles would you?

Video Demonstration of the Low Runners Lunge – Right:

If you’ve been reading our other Hatha Yoga articles then you already know that you can get access to our full set of yoga poses on video when you subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter. Next we’ll work on helping you learn the “Warrior Pose” which like the Runners Pose, cultivates strength and endurance.

Sometimes, there exists a small, yet niggling, level of confusion regarding the difference between a yoga pose and a yoga style. This has been specifically evident when it comes to discussing Flow Yoga.

Is flow yoga a pose under Hatha Yoga, or are they two radically different styles? To understand better, let’s first familiarize ourselves with the nature of each.

Hatha Yoga vis-à-vis Flow Yoga

As you have previously read, Hatha Yoga is all about the union of two disparate or dissimilar elements, specifically the mind and the body. When both are working in harmony, a greater level of spiritual equilibrium is achieved. Overall fitness then results.

Meanwhile, Flow Yoga, or Ashtanga Vinyasa in Sanskrit (ashtanga = eight limbs of yoga, vinyasa = breathing), refers to the action of connecting breathing with each yoga pose’s movement, as it transitions from one to the other. Flow or vinyasa yoga has six poses, each one flowing or transitioning gently to the other.

Hatha Yoga’s poses are mostly static and timed. Transitional breathing is not a major feature, unlike in vinyasa or flow yoga.

Flow yoga is derived from Hatha Yoga but they have certain noticeable differences:

• Hatha Yoga is more deliberate or slower in execution, compared to flow yoga that is slightly faster, because of the transitory poses that appear to the uninitiated as one flowing posture
• vinyasa or flow yoga does not involve solitary postures, but a series of poses that flow smoothly
• the gentler and slower pace of Hatha Yoga makes it perfect for those who are simply starting to learn yoga. In contrast, the fast pace of flow yoga makes it seem similar to an invigorating cardiovascular workout, particularly when you factor in the fact that rhythmic breathing is greatly involved. Rhythmic breathing refers to inhalation and exhalation that is timed and/or synchronized with the start or release of a pose (the “flow) into another pose.

Video Demonstration of Flow Yoga:

Eight Limbs of Yoga

Yoga is not simply about posing this way and that, as a form of exercise. There is a whole philosophy behind yoga, and that is why it is important to know at this point the eight limbs of yoga – characteristics that point towards the fulfillment of life, in terms of physical, mental and spiritual fitness.

Yama – ethical guidelines or moral directions that you need to observe, as far as relating to your fellow humans is concerned.

These yamas include:

• ahimsa or non-violence in actions, words, and thoughts
• satya or truthfulness
• asteya or not stealing/taking what is not yours
• brahmacharya or purity (some interpret this as sexual abstinence, while others believe it to be about abstaining from acting out on impure sexual impulses)
• aparigraha or not coveting

Niyama – while the yamas are outward-directed, niyamas are directed towards the self: they are ethical guidelines or moral directions that you need to observe, in relation to how you regard yourself:

• saucha or cleanliness of body and thoughts
• santosa or self-contentment
• tapas or continued practice
• svadhyaya or self-study
• isvara pranidhana or yielding to a higher power

Asana – the yoga postures that need to be practiced:

• Pranayama – breathing exercises
• Pratyahara – ingress into your internal self, not allowing external distractions to take hold of you
• Dharana – total focus or concentration
• Dhayana – meditation or all-inclusive concentration
• Samadhi – transcendence or mastery of the self; total fitness of mind, body, spirit leading to enlightenment.

The sample demonstration video above gives you a look at Flow Yoga and the movement or transition into various poses. Be sure to subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter to get access to the Flow Yoga video above plus 69 additional demonstration poses. Next, we’ll investigate how “Yoga for Runners” can add value to your life.

Still on the matter of studying and taking inspiration from the natural actions of canines as introduced in the previous article, we’ll now continue with a specific pose that is once more derived from a position that dogs take – the Upward Facing Dog Pose.

In Hatha Yoga, we have the Upward Facing Dog Pose, or Urdhva Mukha Svanasana in Sanskrit (urdhva = upward, mukha = face, svana = dog), that is ideal for developing strength in the wrists.

This pose is one of those that form part of the time-honored Sun Salutation sequence, postures that are generally done in the morning for receiving energy, recapturing vitality, and preparing the body to manage vigor properly as the day goes on.

Qualities of the Upward Facing Dog Pose

The Upward Facing Dog in Hatha Yoga is reflective of the way canines look forward and upward to the sky, seemingly in anticipation of a good, if not better, day ahead. They “salute” the sun, basking in its rays, eager to start fresh.

Optimism and resiliency are key personality traits personified by this pose. Optimism, because the upward facing posture illustrates an expectation or readiness to receive the blessings that the day brings, and resiliency, because the pose connotes that no matter what challenges you may have faced earlier, you are still in control and hopeful about a good outcome.

Benefits of the Upward Facing Dog Pose

• Mental – the Upward Facing Dog Pose promotes clarity of thinking that comes with a stable sense of self, which in turn, happens when it is practiced.
• Physical – highly recommended for the alleviation of sciatica, a symptom that features shooting pain brought about by compression or pressure brought upon the sciatic nerve. When left unattended, such a condition can make standing and/or sitting close to impossible because of the pain. The Upward Facing Dog Pose provides relief for mild depression, reinforces the wrists, arms, and the spine. It can also be remedial for cases of asthma.
• Spiritual – when your optimism soars, the better you are equipped to handle the challenges of life, which accounts for a resilient outlook.

Video Demonstration of the Cobra Upward Facing Dog Pose:

The Upward Facing Dog is not recommended when you are pregnant, have a pre-existing injury of the back, or have been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome.

While we have tried to sprinkle some of the Hatha Yoga exercise videos throughout a few of these articles, it would work best for you to watch and learn as you read along with this guide. When finished, you can subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter to get the full set of all 70 yoga video demonstrations pick and choose which yoga exercises you want to learn first. Next, we’ll take a look at “Flow Yoga” and how it can enshrine your consciousness toward enlightenment.