When you think of yoga, you’re probably thinking of Hatha yoga. This branch of yoga is the most common and you’re likely to find classes in most gyms. It covers all original aspects of yoga such as breathing, body awareness, and meditation. Hatha is known as gentle yoga and is perfect for beginners with its nice slow pace.

 Hatha yoga is easy paced and has many benefits:

• Depression and Anxiety: Yoga helps relieve anxiety and depression. It reduces the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and helps expand the lungs. It has been studied since the 1970s as a possible treatment for anxiety.
• Back Pain: The American College of Physicians refer to yoga as a non-drug method to relieve back pain. It helps to stretch and strengthen the muscles bringing balance and alignment to the spine. 
• Emotional Health and Mindfulness: Studies from National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) show that yoga has a positive impact on our mental health. It brings calmness and sharpens our attention and concentration skills. Some people use yoga to assist them in controlling their urge to smoke. Because yoga helps improve our respiratory system and calms our mind while fighting stress, it can also help limit the need to smoke.
• Balance: According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), yoga also improves balance. Along with balance, movement and coordination skills increase too. 
• Sleep: The NCCIH have done several studies and found that yoga can boost sleep quality and duration. A separate study shows that people who have insomnia and perform yoga daily, fall asleep longer and faster. They can also go back to sleep faster if they wake up in the middle of the night.

Hatha yoga is perfect for beginners and is offered at most gyms. Many places offer online classes so you can join in from the comfort of your own home or there is always YouTube.