Every so often a type of stretching gains favour online. Pre-pandemic, hot yoga was all the rage. Then pilates took over as the way to strengthen and lengthen the body. Now it seems we’re all after hatha yoga.

Google searches for the stretch style are up by more than 110% in 30 days, and hatha yoga videos on TikTok have amassed nearly 20 million views. It’s not a new trend though – hatha yoga has long been thought to be the most popular type of yoga practised in the West. But what makes it stand out from the yogi crowd?

Hatha yoga is actually an umbrella term for lots of different styles of yoga. “Any type or style of yoga that you do with the physical body is hatha yoga,” explains Yaz Smith, a hatha yoga instructor at Gymbox. These include vinyasa, ashtanga and bikram yoga, where movement is a key element of the practice, unlike other styles such as yoga nidra (which is focused on sleep, relaxation and stillness).

“Hatha translates as ‘ha’ meaning ‘sun’ and ‘tha’ meaning ‘moon’,” explains yoga instructor Angie Tiwari. “The intention of the movement-based practice is to balance the left side of our bodies, representing the lunar or moon energy, with the right side of our bodies, representing the solar or sun energy.” 

While power yoga, ashtanga and other types of yoga are forms of hatha, in a pure hatha yoga class, the movements tend to be slow and controlled. “Hatha is faster than restorative yoga or yin yoga, but not as dynamic as an ashtanga, jivamukti, power or rocket yoga class,” says Tiwari.

You might hold poses for 30 seconds to one minute, explains Smith, unlike in a vinyasa flow class where poses are held for up to five breaths. “Holding the pose for longer enables the practitioner to feel deeper into the asana and its alignment; slowing down also helps us to feel more and slow down the mind.” 

While hatha is about movement, improved flexibility is not the biggest perk of the practice. Instead, it’s the combination of these important asanas (postures) with meditation and pranayama (breathing techniques), which helps to destress and re-energise. Numerous studies show the benefits of hatha on mental health, including a Journal Of Nursing Research study that found both a one-off 90-minute class and an eight-week course of hatha yoga significantly reduced stress and heart rate variability in middle-aged women. A 2016 literature review reported that hatha yoga is a promising method for treating anxiety, while a small University of Washington study found that hatha yoga helped improve menopausal symptoms including sleep quality.

“So many diseases and illnesses are caused and exacerbated by stress and there’s numerous evidence showing how yoga relieves stress while supporting our immunity. Practising hatha yoga will help you be more in the present moment, therefore improving your focus and helping you reset your nervous system for overall positive mental and physical wellbeing,” says Tiwari. 

The specific pairing of movement with meditation is also for a good reason, explains Smith. “Practicing asana before meditation makes sitting still much easier. Asana prepares the body for the deeper work,” she explains. Much like sleeping is easier when you’re tired, focusing is easier when you’ve shaken out any aches and pains that will distract you. 

It’s well known that we are all looking for more ways to look after our minds and bodies right now, and it’s only natural that hatha yoga is part of that exploration, says Tiwari: “Increasingly more and more studies are showcasing what the ancient Indian yogis knew centuries ago about the healing and transformative benefits of yoga. Yoga continues to grow in popularity in the West and people are becoming more spiritually curious and this is a shift that I have especially noticed and loved seeing since the pandemic.”

Smith agrees, saying: “I think that it is great that people want to understand the traditional elements of yoga and integrate its teachings into modern life and the modern world. We live in a world that is becoming more and more disconnected and hatha yoga is what allows us to reconnect with our bodies and each other. However, we should never take the roots away from practice.”

The best way to get to grips with hatha yoga is with a class at your local studio or on YouTube. “It’s important to learn the alignment and breath with an instructor before you then try to practise what you learned at home,” says Smith. But for any pro-stretchers, the key is to incorporate breathwork with your stretching and always make time for meditation with savasana. 

Images: Getty