Awakening in Asana

Feeling rather inspired by teaching private yoga lessons here in Germany. Thought I'd share with you a few insights about yogasana today...

Asana (pronounced AH-sahna) is the third limb of Raja Yoga as defined by Sage Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. Asana is defined as a steady, comfortable posture.

Yogasana practice emphasizes control and fine attunement to the body in order to gain mastery over the mind – the "Yogah Chitta Vritti Nirodhah” master goal of Raja Yoga as defined by Sage Patanjali.

In Patanjali yoga, great emphasis is placed on asanas that help keep the head, chest, and body straight and erect, and strong enough to endure long periods of concentration (dharana) and meditation (dhyana).

The Bhagavad Gita declares, “Let him firmly hold his body, head, neck erect and still, gazing at the tip of his nose and not looking around. (6.13)” Asanas like padmasana (lotus posture) and vajrasana (thunderbolt posture) are ideal for meditators as they keep the spine erect and straight, and the mind alert.

The great yogis remind us that if the body is not in a fit state, our higher stages of yoga practices leading to samadhi will be obstructed by aches, pains, and an inability to rest comfortably in mind and body, hence, the importance of asanas.

Asana practice contributes to ‘waking up’ directly: during yogasana, a great deal of nervous activity in new nerve channels is being activated. Literally, a new body is being formed with new vibrations primarily occurring down the spinal column; therefore, proper alignment of chest, head, neck, and back is crucial.

Beyond meditative asanas, we have more complex yogasanas modeled after seating positions of animals (dog, crow, cobra, cat, cow, fish, locust, and so on). Animals, as we observe, are quite comfortable for long periods of time in their natural postures.

All asanas should follow a three-stage process of ideal implementation in order to gain most benefit, described as “sthila, cira, sukha.”

• (1) sthila: the posture should be stable;
• (2) cira: it should be steady and not shaky;
• (3) sukha: it should be comfortable – one should be able to smile and be happy in the posture.

Once the asana is comfortable, according to the above steps, Patanjali describes the process for the sadhaka to reach “asana siddhi” which is freedom from pairs of opposites (duality). The yogi is no longer bound by hot and cold, pleasure and pain, like and dislike, etc. and a higher level of consciousness is reached:

1. Sthira sukham asanam – the posture should be stable and relaxed (see above process)
2. Prayatna saithily ananta samapatibhyam – relax the posture by withdrawing effort and tune into infinity (e.g. “the vast blue sky” or “infinite blue ocean”)
3. Tatah dvandwa ana-abhi-gatah – finally, the sadhaka reaches “asana siddhi”
   

Once a sadhaka has sufficiently mastered a few key asanas and feels stable, steady, and comfortable in these postures, she is well-prepared to undertake pranayama breathing practices or flow right into extended periods of meditation which will bring her increased awareness and greater peace of mind.

~ Erin Reese is a certified hatha yoga instructor and is available for private consultations and group instruction. She can be reached via email. Check out her yoga background on her website here.


This post is dedicated to my very first yoga guru, Lilias Folan!

Thanks to the fantastic public television show, Lilias! Yoga and You, and to my progressive mom - an avid fan - I was hooked on yoga at age four!

Who wouldn't want to imitate a Lion, a Cat, or a Cow, right? Yogasana is FUN, feels GREAT, keeps your spine healthy and your soul happy.

For those that remember Lilias' show which debuted in 1972, you'll get a kick out of this archived clip. Watching it reveals to me how influenced I was by her gentle, no-hype teaching approach.

Yay, Lilias!

If you would like to receive these posts via email, "Subscribe" on the home page. Thanks!