Yoga
Here at Paradise Koh Yao, we practice a general hatha style of yoga. Mornings are usually an energized vinyasa flow yoga with a more relaxed stretch class in the evenings. The classes are suitable for everyone from beginner yogis to advanced practitioners. No previous experience is necessary.
Yoga Insight
Yoga emphasizes the body-mind connection, the physical postures maintain a healthy body through improved flexibility, stamina and strength while correct breathing balances the emotions and calms the mind.
Yoga is a way of moving in to stillness in order to experience the truth of who you are. The practice of yoga is the practice of meditation or inner listening in the poses and meditations. It’s a matter of listening inwardly for guidance all the time and then daring enough and trusting enough to do as you are prompted to do.
History of Hatha Yoga
Hatha Yoga, also called Hatha Vidya, is a system of Yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. In this treatise Swatmarama introduces Hatha Yoga as preparatory stage of physical purification that the body practices for higher meditation. The Asanas and Pranayama in Raja Yoga were what the Hindu Yogis used to physically train their body for long periods of meditation. This practice is called shatkarma.
The word Hatha is a compound of the words Ha and Tha meaning sun and moon, referring to Praana and Apaana, and also to the principal nadis (energy channels) of the subtle body that must be fully operational to attain a state of dhyana or samādhi. According to the Monier Moneir-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary, the word "hatha" means forceful. It is a strong practice done for purification. In other respects Hatha yoga follows the same principles as the Raaja Yoga of Patanjali including moral restraint yama and spiritual observances niyama. Hatha Yoga is what most people in the West associate with the word "Yoga" and is practised for mental and physical health throughout the West.
Source: Wikipedia
