Asanas

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

A few quetions
In yoga tradition do they do a certain set of asanas each day or do they tend to target different parts of the body each day. For instance, maybe one day do more hip openers as the main focus and another day do shoulder openers as the main focus. Now I know starting off with something like sun salutations gets the whole body involved, but after that do you mainly target certain parts? If you did do a cetain set routine everyday, would your body adapt and you not get the full benefits?

also, are all of the 700 or 900+ postures really necesarry?
can you get a full yoga asana practice that opens up the whole body without so many postures

still on the journey
seeker

#2

The answer the question earns is “it depends”. There are advanced poses for advanced practitioners. That doesn’t mean beginners can’t get a full practice in that works the entire physical body.

In some systems the class theme changes by the week - standing poses, inversions, backbends, pranayama in the four weeks of the month. Some deviate from this. And even within that structure there is room for sequence alterations.

When teaching, a sound teacher looks at the students and may alter the offerings based on what that group needs or their presence in a certain asana or group of asana. For example, when the class seems to be missing an emphasis in Ashtanga Namaskar during the Sun Salutation it may be appropriate to break out and cover the pose individually. Otherwise you’re reinforcing improper execution of the pose.

You can certainly respond to your body in your practice. Some might even say it’s the whole point - become more in tune and respond to that conection through your practice. If you need hip openers everyday then do them. We do not all write the story of our lives in the same part of the anatomy.

#3

Hi,
One reason Yoga is so great is that it can be easily adapted to suit any-body. Traditionally the physical aspect of Yoga or the asanas were preformed so that it was easier to sit still in meditation without being distracted by the body. Now a days people practice in so many different ways. If you are looking to get an over all workout then selecting a variety of postures would be best, however if you want to focus on one particular area within a practice then this can also be done. Because there are so many posture within the system of yoga you may never achieve them all and it is not necessary to as well. Many of the more advanced asanas open the same areas as simpler ones so for most of us sticking to these is best.

Anna

Trinity Yoga Teacher Training

#4

Yoga wasn’t really developed to improve abilities in any particular part of the body - so books I’ve read such as Iyengar and all the classes I have attended give a well balanced practice. Primarily giving a combination of flexibility and opening poses, strength poses, balancing posed and inversions (and poses that combine all of these elements).

Although I’ve never attended a class that just focus on one aspect ( back bends for example) I suspect that it would lack the overall calming and energising effect of a well rounded practice.

My other thought is that spending a full hour on back bends could also potentially increase the risk of strains and injuries as overworked muscles get tired.

Jez

#5

My very limited experience says that it is important to have a schedule, for a regular practice, and a set of asanas what focus on your weaknesses. Everyone has those inbalances, maybe not that obvious until you start practicing. As in anything in life, important is to start easy, stop at half the load you’d expect from yourself, and be resilient in your practice.
I like to think that asana is the food for the body. Just as in your diet where, if you practice a discipline, you will discover the wisdom of the body, telling you what you need to eat, so it is with asana. First you need a set of them, practice them, get the benefits … but don’t forget, that this is forced. Asana practice becomes natural when you reach the point that you perform asanas you never heard of just because it comes from the inside. It’s not a miraculous thing, it is just the wisdom of the body. Look at animals, cats, dogs, horses … they do asanas without ever hearing about yoga.

So discipline, and adherence to rules is just one side of the coin. There is where you start. It is very important. It is governed at first by your usual, everyday consciousness, and yes, by your ego. It has it’s risks, that’s why a personal trainer is that helpful. Otherwise you’ll learn the hard way, like I did, that ambition is bad if it is not balanced by patience. This is something you can’t rush.
Your body is not your creation. It is part of the world, also not your creation. You don’t know what builds it, keeps it togheter every minute, what it makes it to function, and how. In fact, if we come to think about it, we don’t really know anything. I am speaking here about direct knowledge, not about having images of anatomy pictures in our minds. This is good subject for meditation. Think of yoga as a way to get direct knowledge about yourself, and you will find a reality what surpasses everything you learned.
Think when do an asana … this body. Is not me. How could it be me, if I don’t know it at all ? It is part of the world. But it is a special part … it is given to me to take care of. It is a garden and you are the gardener. Know your garden and take good care of it. By knowing yourself you’ll know the world, not like materialist science knows, disecting, analyzing and rationalizing, which is interesting but nonetheless dead information, but a knowledge of union, vibrating life and living emotion.