Asana: Subtle Shifts in Awareness
Asana: Subtle Shifts in Awareness
Yoga Sutra 2.46: Sthira Sukham Asanam
sthira = strong; steady; stable; motionless
sukham = comfortable; ease filled; happy; light; relaxed
āsanam = asana; posture; seated position; physical practice
For many of us, ‘doing yoga’ means getting on our mats, stretching out, strengthening our core, and relaxing in savasana. Even if our practice now includes other things, most of us likely started yoga through asana, postures designed to create space in the body and focus the mind. But where did this idea come from?
Although Asana is commonly translated as a steady, comfortable seat, we will learn here that it is much more than just the physical seat. Asana undoubtedly affects the physical, mental, and spiritual worlds. When we practice asana, we look to physically “take a seat” in a specific way in order to align our structure, so that we can access the more subtle, yet profound teachings through the philosophical and spiritual realms.
Taking a seat implies coming to a comfortable resting position. How does it feel to do this? Exploring the nature of what it is to “take a seat,” we question: How can we more comfortably sit with ourselves? Although at first, sitting in alignment may bring out physical discomfort, maintaining the space and balance within our body allows us to eventually feel established and secure in our physical seat. Once our structure is secure, discomfort in the mind may start to surface. We begin to see our mind at work, leading us to question: “Who Am I?” Through this self-inquiry, we gain a new kind of strength and stability, as we reach a state beyond the analysis of the mind and into equanimity.
In all areas of yoga and shamanism, we see this continuing theme of moving through our darkness, as a way of cleansing our diamond within. Asana is like a reset, a surgery of our nervous system that allows us to find more comfort in who we are, so we can “sit with” ourselves; the true goal of asana. The journey of opening and aligning the body results in a more awakened state overall; a transformational journey from the head to the heart, arriving at our true essence.
In every posture or shape that we take in practice, we can observe three shifts in awareness as we connect with the true meaning of asana: “to sit.” First, the physical seat, second, the philosophical seat, and third: taking a seat in your soul.
So…
We invite you to take a seat.
LOWER WORLD, THE PHYSICAL POSTURE
According to yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar, Padmasana (lotus) is the only pose in which all four areas of the body are perfectly balanced: the feet, legs, and pelvis; the torso; the arms and hands; and the neck, throat, and head. When the body achieves perfect balance, Iyengar says, the brain can rest correctly on the spinal column and breathing comes easily. In other words, once the legs are settled in Lotus, the torso can soar upward without any effort and the diaphragm is able to expand more fully. Energetically, there is a cyclical source of energy that is not being given away, but continues to flow through the body rejeuvenating every part.
Why does it hurt so much to get there? Most likely, the answer is tightness in the hips. The Tantric text, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, details the original 16 seated asana, or postures, which are all variations of Lotus designed to open the hips so that we can sit with more comfort. There are safe and alternative ways to find a seat if this variation is unavailable.
Getting down on the floor to sit doesn’t mean forcing yourself into Padmasana if your body doesn’t belong there. Even seasoned asana practitioners who can get into Lotus without a problem may not find it comfortable for long periods of time. Luckily other seated meditation poses exist and can provide many of the same benefits.
If full Lotus is not available, try Ardha Padmasana (Half Lotus Pose) or Sukhasana (cross legged). For people who find those postures too much on the hips, use the assistance of props (a blanket or block) to elevate the hips so the knees point down, allowing the energy to flow more fluidly to the toes. Virasana (Hero Pose) also gives a firm foundation and can be used with props under the hips for more comfort. Sitting in a chair with the back straight is another modification that will help build postural muscles.
Challenges: If we are not used to sitting up straight, we may begin to feel soreness in our erector spinae muscles until we build strength to sit up properly, as well as tightness in the muscles around the pelvis. It helps to prepare the body before sitting, moving through all four movements of the spine, as well as hip and shoulder opening. Those who are overly externally rotated in the hips can try first internally rotating the upper thighs to create more space before sitting. Above all, be patient and compassionate with your body as it retrains itself to be comfortable in its seat.
“Practice and all is coming.“
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
As our meditative postures grow stronger and more comfortable, we enjoy the occasional moments when sitting becomes effortless, the subtle channels of the body open, prana flowing with total freedom.
MIDDLE WORLD, THE MENTAL/PHILOSOPHICAL
The philosophy of the Yoga Sutras offers Asana as the third limb of the eight-step approach to enlightenment after we purify externally with the Yamas, and internally with the Niyamas. It can be easy to assume the asana practice we experience today is as it has always been, but this is far from the case. The asana Patanjali refers to is the seat intended for meditation and total absorption, the final stage.
Only when the physical structure is secure, can we begin to experience the rising of the philosophical teachings. The mind kicks in and tries to disrupt the steadiness and security of the posture. In the space, we look inside and observe what is there. When shadows begin to arise, how do we handle them? Here, we mentally train ourselves to lose interest in thoughts through viveka, discrimination; understanding what is the ego and what is the Self. We remain still, steady and comfortable as we “sit” through the sifting and movement of the mind, so that the mind can eventually settle and relax in mental alignment.
Through the process, we may experience all kinds of emotions. Once we are in proper alignment, the emotional body has space to experience its holdings. Allow yourself to “sit” through your thoughts and emotions, but be unattached from them; Varaigya. We are the witness of our thoughts and emotions, but we are not them.
Sometimes it’s easier to move our body in times of difficulty but this can be seen as an expression of trying to avoid a situation, rather than to sit through it; dvesa (avoidance). This is where the practice of sitting for meditation deepens. How can we experience the movement of thoughts and emotions without moving the body? We become the impartial witness as the fluctuations of the mind come and go. The practice is to stay equanimous in nature. Watch as you shift your state of awareness from physical to mental. Be grateful for these experiences, because through them, we gain the key to the next realm.
Challenges: When things become too hard emotionally, we tend to avoid that space and suppress it further. Yet, if we allow or even invite it to rise to the surface, it can be released and transcended. Allowing the emotion or thought to take over our awareness is a winning of the local mind that takes time to work with. It takes physically sitting and being present to allow enough space for the philosophical teachings to come through.
UPPER WORLD, THE SPIRITUAL
Sutra 2.48 When Asana is mastered
there is cessation of the disturbances caused by dualities (dvandva).
Translation by Dennis Hill
When the movement of the mind stops, so do the opposites or dualities that exist in the world. Dennis Hill says, "Pain and pleasure on one side of the coin, and bliss of Self on the other." There are no longer options to choose between, but a stillness that has not existed until now; Sat Chit Ananda; eternal bliss of the Self. This shift would not exist without first looking at the physical and mental realms, but when we find it, it is something to be present with. All dualities fade, and we bask in the essence of our true nature, untouched, yet uplifted.
In the spiritual realm of asana, we transcend physical discomfort releasing identification with the body. We conquer the mind as it settles and is re-trained into concentration. We begin to access the fullness of the prana that lives inside us. We are connected and as expansive as the universe.
The mind settles here, and absorption can take place. When sitting in our true nature, spiritually, we experience the freedom of the body and the thoughts, shifting into a state of oneness. The teachings of Raja Yoga are working when we can feel and know asana is so much more than taking a "steady comfortable seat"; it allows a shift into a higher state of awareness, so that we can properly take a seat in our soul, our essence; who we are. This is asana in the spiritual realm.
Challenges: Having a steady practice of becoming extremely conscious as you shift from each world in your meditation and in your asana practice. Use the opportunity in each shape to experience these three shifts in awareness, starting with the physical, then mental, and into spiritual. Getting frustrated and stopping too soon is a common challenge. Breathe your way through your practice and release judgment as you play with your edges.
HOLISTIC ASANA
Asana is holistic in its meaning as it moves us into the depths of our own being. The trigger of the physical seat or posture will ignite a philosophical teaching, and inspire transcendence of all dualities to merge into the oneness that is the authentic experience of asana as intended. Through the mastery of asana, according to the teachings of Patanjali and the eight step approach, we can begin the practice of the fourth limb, Pranayama. Having our posture aligned physically, mentally, and spiritually allows us to fully experience our own life force.
As yoga teachers, we have the opportunity to invite this experience in our students, so they do not only leave with a feeling of physical strength and relaxation, but with a teaching and a lesson they can apply to their lives off the mat. May we all take these experiences on the mat, hold them sacred, and allow this process to evolve and transform us so that we can properly “sit” in our true nature off the mat.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
● How do you approach your asana?
● What is your biggest challenge to sitting and how can you work to sit more comfortably?
● In what shift of awareness do you usually get stuck in? Physical, Mental, or Spiritual?
● What do you think a yoga practitioner or teacher can do to evoke the experience of all three of these realms?
EXERCISES AND ACTIVITIES
Use a blanket or a block and find a seated position that’s comfortable (choose from alternatives). Before crossing the legs, instead of trying to twist the knee sideways (it does not move that way), roll the femur bone inside the hip socket with a circular complete movement. Draw the knee down towards the floor, bringing the heels in towards the hip crease. If your knees are far away from the floor, sit up higher on your blanket or block. Sit against a wall and make sure there are three points of contact to access the natural curvature of the spine; sacrum, tips of shoulder blades, and back of the head.
As a self practice, become very aware of all sensation as you move through your physical practice and experience the other realms, as subtle as they may be.
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