For an 'all-round' balanced practice, a great place to start.

Benefits of a Regular Hatha Yoga Practice

• Yoga leads to control your body, mind, and senses, and its final goal is self-realisaton.
• The practice of yoga asanas is highly beneficial for physical well-being, making the body strong and healthy in preparation for further spiritual practices.
• Prevents and removes stress. Through the calm and mindful practice of Hatha Yoga you can re-establish healthy breathing patterns and learn to relax. By learning to relax and consciously experiencing relaxation, you can recognise early signs of stress in your daily life and learn to respond more calmly and consciously. Through this natural growth, you will gain relief from stress and stressful situations.
• Asanas are performed with long, comfortable, and steady holds, rather than in a vigorous or dynamic manner.
• Creates space in body and mind and in that space you find 'balance' and the opportunity for spiritual growth.
• Improved blood circulation. An essential blood flow to all the tissues in the body is essential for the proper functioning of internal organs and processes. Through a sedentary lifestyle, poor posture, and imbalanced movement patterns obstruct blood circulation. Hatha Yoga poses help to increase blood circulation, especially in areas prone to sluggish blood flow.
• Keeps your spine young - you are only as your as your spine is flexible! Hatha Yoga makes the body stronger and more flexible. Hatha Yoga’s varied movements keep your spine as well as joints well-lubricated. As a result, you remain younger, stronger and move flexible.
• Regulation of blood pressure. There are sensors in the body called “baroreceptors” that take the pressure readings of the blood vessels and make suitable adjustments in blood pressure. Your baroreceptors’ sensitivity and responsiveness indicate your state of health. When the baroreceptors are more sensitive, they sense and respond earlier. Slow and controlled breathing increases the sensitivity of these sensors – this is the pranayama part of your Hatha Yoga practice. This results in a more fine-tuned control of heart rate and blood pressure. Also, inverted asanas (e.g. standing forward folds), increase the sensitivity and responsiveness of these baroreceptors.
• Detoxification of your lymphatic system. The lymphatic system removes wastes and toxins while maintaining your body’s immunity against pathogens. It does this by circulating lymph – a transparent fluid containing white blood cells and proteins. Lymph circulates around your body and drains fluid from the spaces between cells. These are spaces where the cells dump their wastes and where other toxins and debris can accumulate. If these wastes build up, you begin to feel stiff, swollen, heavy and lifeless. The lymphatic system relies on the intrinsic muscle contractions of the lymph channels walls. It also depends on large muscle activity in your body. In fact, contracting any muscle helps move lymph along. Yoga asanas, because they work every part of your body, are especially effecting of moving the lymph along. Attention to our breath and to the compression and expansion of the solar plexus region during asanas further distinguish asana practice from other forms of exercise. The breath is a lymphatic pump in itself. Conscious breathing helps direct lymph through the deep channels of the chest – the pranayama part of your practice. To eliminate toxins is one of the key qualities and purposes of Hatha Yoga.
• Oxygenation. Proper oxygenation of your cells is another important aspect of good health. Cells need oxygen to generate energy. To get enough oxygen to your cells you must improve the blood’s absorption of oxygen. Research has shown that deep breathing into the lower part of the lungs increases this oxygen absorption. This in turn is beneficial because even with fewer inhalations per minute, the blood receives more oxygen. The blood then is able to better supply oxygen to all tissues of your body. Hatha yoga as well as having a dedicated pranayama practice, also moves through asanas using breath to maximise oxygenation of your cells.
• In Hatha yoga, the various poses, breathing exercises and relaxation techniques practiced can strengthen the nervous system, thereby bringing balance and helping us live more aware lives.