The health-giving benefits of Hatha Yoga were originally not intended as an end in themselves. The ultimate purpose of the health-promoting practices of Hatha Yoga is to give Hatha Yogis (Yoga practitioners) the physical and mental stamina needed for raising individual consciousness. 
People often think that yoga is about union of body, mind and soul. It is more than this. It is about union of the individual self with the Universal Self (the Divine). Hatha Yogis apply the techniques of Hatha Yoga to purify and strengthen the physical, mental and energy bodies so that they might have the stamina required for sustained spiritual practice in order to realise the true (higher, universal) “Self”.  
The small self, we can say, is that part of us that lives in suffering through too much sense of “I” and “mine”, through too much identification with the world of appearances which arises from convention, conditioning, socio-cultural norms. Our higher essential Self lies hidden from us most of the time. It is that part of us that is beyond all selfish needs and wants, that part of our being that knows itself as one with and a part of all in this universe.  
We have all had a taste of this “knowing” at some time in our life. Watching the beauty of a sunset, witnessing the miracle of a new birth, enjoying the fragrance of a summer rose, looking into a beloved’s eyes, thought is suspended for a moment and we catch a taste of that deeper knowing, of our Self as we are truly destined to be – free from fear, hesitation, confusion, anxiety and doubt, fulfilled, knowing, silent, still, and whole.
Hatha Yoga practices bring us closer and closer to this connectedness, this higher way of being, purifying and removing all that clouds our true nature. Hatha Yoga practices of kriya, asana, pranayama and meditation act as a kind of “satellite navigating” system, giving a stronger, deeper connectedness to that higher, all knowing part of ourselves, to the inner teacher, the inner voice. Consequently, we can start to make the highest and best choices for ourselves, for our life: we can grow the trust, intuition and courage needed to move in directions that are truly for our highest good, and that will create for us the life we know we deserve and were born to live.
 

 Hatha Yoga Classes
 A Hatha Yoga class will not address specific health issues although it will surely help with  your overall sense of wellbeing. If you have a particular health condition please check with  your doctor that Hatha Yoga practice is suitable for you. You might then want to take a  yoga therapy session: this will provide you with a personalised yoga practice, addressing  your individual and specific needs for optimum functioning of body and mind. Please see  yoga therapy for more information.