What is the Difference Between Hatha Yoga and Vinyasa Yoga?

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is one of the oldest texts that educates readers on the physical aspect of yoga, the yoga asana. Therefore, Hatha yoga has set the foundation for modern forms of the yoga asana we see today. Because of this, all forms of modern yoga could arguably fall under the branch of Hatha yoga. However, there are some key differences between Hatha yoga and the more popular Vinyasa style of practice.

What is Hatha Yoga?

Hatha means sun (ha) and moon (tha). The hatha yoga practice balances the right and left side of your body aka the solar and lunar energies. You can achieve this through asana, pranayama (breathwork) and meditation among various mental diciplines and philosophies.

Sounds familiar right? That’s because many styles of yoga have adopted the idea of balance and energy work. What makes each style unique however, is the physical portion of the practice.

Hatha Yoga Asana

In hatha yoga, you practice asana slowly and with control. You hold each pose for multiple rounds of breath and the actual flow of class differs from vinyasa. While hatha yoga may weave numerous postures together, there is less emphasis on transitions and more emphasis on alignment and breath within each posture.

The longer you hold a posture, the deeper the posture’s benefits. Hatha yoga leans into this philosophy and allows the practitioner to move further into each posture through multiple rounds of breath. This means the pace of the class is typically slower than a vinyasa or power yoga class. The slower pace and emphasis on alignment attracts many beginners to this practice. However, just because it is slower, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any easier. There are many advanced postures you can practice within hatha yoga style.

What is Vinyasa Yoga?

Vinyasa means breath with movement. Therefore, the vinyasa style of yoga weaves multiple postures together and focuses on transitions through each pose. Typically, postures are held for no longer than a round or two of breath and every breath is paired with smovement. Vinyasa sequencing is known for it’s flowing, dance-like qualities.

Vinyasa Yoga Asana

The physical postures in vinyasa yoga are the same core postures you see in hatha yoga. It’s how you practice the postures that varies. A typical vinyasa yoga class will start with a simple spinal warm up then move into sun salutations. Once your body is warm, the yoga flow will progress and postures will be added onto the sun salutation.

While there are opportunities to slow down in vinyasa, the way you flow through class is what sets vinyasa apart from other styles of yoga. Despite it’s flowing sequences, vinyasa yoga still offers a variety of sub-styles such as slow flow vinyasa, power vinyasa and yinyasa classes.

Hatha vs Vinyasa Yoga

So what are the main differences of hatha and vinyasa yoga? The biggest difference is the pace and sequencing of the classes. Both cover the same core postures but the way the postures are practiced varies.

Is Vinyasa Yoga Harder Than Hatha Yoga?

A common misconception is that hatha yoga is intended for beginners. While the slower pace of hatha yoga attracts beginner yogis to the practice, that doesn’t mean it is any easier than vinyasa. Bothe vinyasa yoga and hatha yoga offer advanced postures and challenging variations. Some students may find a slower paced class a little easier while other students may find holding strength based postures for multiple rounds of breath more challenging. It all depends on you, the practitioner and the postures offered in each class.

How do I Know What Style of Yoga is Right for Me?

Between hatha and vinyasa yoga there is no easy answer. Your best bet would be to shop around at studios and see how they organize their classes. Some studios use hatha yoga as an entry level to the practice, while other studios focus solely on hatha yoga and offer various levels of hatha yoga classes. Read class descriptions, ask your teachers and studio owners how they craft their classes, and be open to trying something new!

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