Yoga 101: Asana – The 3rd limb – Hugger Mugger

Asana, physical practice, is the most recognizable of the eight limbs of yoga. If you call ‘yoga’, most people will automatically imagine a person in a beautiful, flexible position. But yoga is of course much more than just Asana. There are seven other yoga limbs in the Ashtanga Yoga system. (Here, Ashtanga Yoga refers to the traditional meaning of the eight-in-limbing path, instead of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, the system developed by K. Patabhi Jois.) Moreover, there are many other forms of yoga that do not include postures.

In the context of the eight limbs, Asana is third, after Yama and Niyama. The first two limbs provide a solid foundation for the rest of the practice. They generate healthy intentions so that our practice can bear healthy fruit. Moreover, they give us guidelines for leading a graceful life.

Because Asana is the most popular aspect of yoga, it is also understood the most wrong. Western practitioners, who grew up on rigorous exercises, often practice Asana in the context of that well -known paradigm. When we think of exercise, we think of concepts such as competition and personal records. Consequently, we associate the possibility to perform acrobatic poses with ‘advanced’. But according to the Yoga Sutras, asana control is very different.

The Asana tradition

The word “asana” means “chair”. It literally refers to the sitting position. The original purpose of practicing yoga Asana was to support the body for the hardships of sitting meditation. This not only includes the physical body, but also the physiological systems. The nervous system is especially important.

When I studied in India with BKS IyengarOne thing he said in my head and helped guide my practice. He said we practice Asana to create a peaceful, quiet environment for the mind. When the body is at ease, the mind can be at ease more easily.

Three of the 196 Yoga Sutras describe Asana. They are all in the second onor chapter. Here they are (from the translation of Alistair Shearer):

1. 2.46: The physical position must be stable and comfortable.
2. 2.47: It is under the knee when all efforts are relaxed and the Spirit is absorbed in the infinite.
3. 2.48: Then you are no longer upset by the play of contradictions.

So let’s break this down. Just like with other messages in this Yoga 101 series, my descriptions here will be short and sweet. If you want to deepen, pick up my book, Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life.

Sutra 2.46: The translation of Alistair Shearer uses the description “Stable and comfortable”. Other translations of these sutra describe Asana as ‘sturdy and soft’, ‘stable and easy’ and other such opposing qualities. For me this says that balancing efforts are the key. Steatness implies a power, stability and dedication. Comfort implies convenience and calmness. Stable without comfort can create tension and tightness. Comfort without stability can achieve lazy and gravity. So we balance the two in each pose.

Sutra 2.47: This Sutra is crucial for understanding the intention – and power – of the Asana practice. Note that control does not define in terms of what our body can or cannot do. There is nothing to push or control chic poses. In fact, it implies the opposite. Unlike competitive sports, where we constantly push our edge, Asana asks us to relax our efforts. When we can relax the efforts in our poses, instead of ‘doing’ the pose, we begin to ‘be’ the pose. In that current moment experience of the internal process, our mind is included in the infinite. Everyone, with any body type or physical capacity, can achieve control in Asana.

Sutra 2.48: flexibility, power, tone, stress lighting – these are the qualities that are most often mentioned as the benefits of Asana practice. And it’s true; Regular practitioners often report these benefits. But these are simply benefits for the real purpose of the practice: to be able to meet the ebb and the flow of our lives with equanimity. When we practice with stability and comfort in mind, we balance our nervous system and we cultivate spirit-body calmness. When we relax the effort and let the experience of the moment of Asana go into, our mind becomes broad and clear. By developing this state, we can approach the ups and downs of our lives with more grace. I don’t know how you are, but I think this is an extraordinary claim for a physical practice.

So through the instrument of our own physical bodies, we can touch it to a large equanimity that extends to our daily lives of the mat. This is the goal of Asana. It prepares our body for meditation, but it also helps us to integrate the meditative condition into all our physical activities.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell discovered Yoga in 1982 and started teaching in 1986. Charlotte is the author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice and Yoga for Meditators, both published by Rodmell Press. Her third book is entitled Hip-Healthy Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Guide to Protect the hips and avoiding SI joint pain (Shambhala publications). She writes a monthly column for Catalyst Magazine and serves as an editor for Yoga U online. Charlotte is one of the founders of board member for GreenTree Yoga, a non-profit organization that brings yoga to disadvantaged population. Charlotte, a lifelong musician, plays oboe and English horn in the Salt Lake Symphony and Folk Sextet Red Rock Rondo, whose DVD won two Emmy Awards.