it depends… how much than my mind can take…
2…until 5 minutes in the same positions its enough i guess…
you have to decide how many time you feel better in that position.
hmm… wouldn’t a deformation of a muscle result in sacrificing something? Stability or strength, maybe?
I’m off to research!
What I do is based on the previous experience of that pose I aim to stay in that pose for specified number of breaths. For example, for standing asanas I practice for 10-20 breaths and for forward bending asanas I stay for around 30-40 breaths. I have found that, atleast in forward bends staying more, help is advancing faster.
Regards,
Nilendu
I’ve been asked to respond to this by another board member. Normally I’d steer clear of such a topic for my general feeling is that it breeds a focus on minutia. However when a student asks then an answer should be forthcoming (unless of course no answer is THE answer <grin>).
The short answer is “it depends”.
On what?? On your definition of yoga and the student intention, the intention for the practice, and the intention for the asana in question.
Most people do not have the slightest idea what the purpose of asana is. They’ve never really thought about it in the context of Yoga and no teacher has ever prompted their introspection in that regard. I cannot tell you what yoga is for you. If it is stretching for you then read a book on stretching and decide whether it is empowering for you to follow the letter of that text. It is not stretching for me. So I’ll provide a bit more from the perspective where I sit.
While asana often has by-products we are so familiar with from pop culture (flexibility, serenity, calm, an reduction in stress, strength, muscle tone, etcetera) it is not about those things.
Asana is a process by which we occupy or entertain our mind in the interest of reducing mental fluctuations for meditation. Please consider the Eight Limbs are eight for a reasons and they are in the order they are in for a reason, though that order may not be a chronological one. If you are mentally engaged by holding poses for 10 seconds, then rock on with your bad self. If your mind wraps snugly around 90 seconds, then hold for a minute and a half.
It simply is an issue that pales when contrasted to other issues. A student who can deeply connect with their heart center in poses held for ten seconds brews a much stronger batch then a student who holds the poses for five minutes with no connection whatsoever. Therefore it is much more fruitful, from a yogic perspective, to consider what you are experiencing in the duration of the pose without becoming preoccupied with the time you are spending in the pose. After all, sipping a latte at starbucks and telling your pals you held sirsasana for ten minutes isn’t yogic at all. Its egoistic and therefore counter to yoga.
This having been said, there can be purpose to duration in poses. This can be the case for therapeutics, restoratives, or in certain series’ like surya namaskar, the tibetan rites and so on. I often work in my own practice using duration for very specific purposes. Likewise when I work with students I will use duration very specifically. But I will not use duration for no reason al all.
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Thanks for all the great feedback!
When in India in 2005, I did yoga for a few days with a very old and wise gentleman. One morning he asked if I know why we hold asanas. When finished giving my explanation, he simply said: “all true, but holding is about disipline and you need disipline to make progress through the 8 limbs.” (I adapted his reply as his english was very bad and just a few words always.)
Since then holding an asana has a completely new meaning for me.
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Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga - five breaths.
I suppose other than that the trick is to hold the asana comfortably to an upper time limit depending on how much time you have, or to the point where you reach 50% of your maximum capacity as it advises in the vedas somewhere.
The theory being that if you follow this method everyday you will advance more steadily and more quickly than if you totally exhausted yourself say, three times a week.
Mathematically is works out thus:
3 times a week to 80% of capacity (fully exhausted but unable to fulfill daily practice as need to recover) = 100% ‘maximum effort’
7x week to 50% of capacity = 164% (!) when compared with the former.
So it is really much better for one to avoid exhaustion which requires more than one day of recovery. For building muscle strength via weight training the opposite of probably true, but with yoga the 50% capacity rule clearly works.
You want to be ready to practise tomorrow and every day.
as much as we can do comfortably.
[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;15150]
It simply is an issue that pales when contrasted to other issues. A student who can deeply connect with their heart center in poses held for ten seconds brews a much stronger batch then a student who holds the poses for five minutes with no connection whatsoever. Therefore it is much more fruitful, from a yogic perspective, to consider what you are experiencing in the duration of the pose without becoming preoccupied with the time you are spending in the pose. .[/QUOTE]
Thank you IA for that part there, I really enjoyed and connected with what you said
my best to you brother
with love
brother Neil
[quote=wendy;15135]hmm… wouldn’t a deformation of a muscle result in sacrificing something? Stability or strength, maybe?
I’m off to research!:D[/quote]
Dear Wendy,
In this context, you should read the word “deformation” as “change in shape”. Please do not read the word “deformation” as “a change in shape for the worse”. In some cases a permanent (plastic) deformation of muscle tissue can be beneficial! For example, if you have tight muscles and you are able to relax them with yoga poses. If the effect were not permanent and plastic, your muscles would be tight again after you finished your yoga session.
The scientific research that Mukunda quotes shows that low-effort, long-duration stretching is more effective than high-effort, short-duration stretching for this purpose. It makes a strong case for yoga (“relax the effort”) compared to more strenuous exercise.
I don’t have a set duration for postures. Some days I do a more yin yoga style where I hold postures for two minutes plus. Other days I do a real fluid routine. Then other days I hold for a moderate 5 to 10 breaths. Often I mix it up within the same practice. I like the variety and in my limited experience I benefit and enjoy all yoga styles.
5 good strong Ujayi breaths.
hi,i am a beginner for yoga, i started doing it from just past 3 months.In these 3 months i gained an excellent flexibility in my body. It makes me more energized every morning.So, now i am continuing it to gain more benefits from it and each day i try to follow some new yoga tips.When i came to know about this forum i immediately rushed to join it.
I’ve been practicing a lot of Yin Yoga lately, so I’ve been holding up my poses for two to five minutes. When I do Ashtanga Yoga I don’t really take note of how long I execute them. I’ve read some things that 5 breaths is not enough since it’s only equivalent to about 30 seconds average, but it really all comes down to what InnerAthlete said. Make sure you are comfortable and having a great time.
depends
As InnerAthlete mentioned in his post, asana is one of the many tools that a human can use to develop his ability to concentrate his mind with a further aim to stop its modifications and finally to connect to the Self. All physical advantages are just a mere by-product. Therefore its is difficult to state any specific time to hold them in general.
That is true dening. Just do what is most comfortable 
Lately I’ve been doing 10 full. deep inhales and the same kind of exhales. I do enjoy changing that up though depending on how much time I have and what I feel my body needs.
This is a fantastic question. I go between half a minute to a minute generally. But i’m not always counting when i do it so i don’t really know for sure. For me it’s important to not focus on specifics and just try to feel if the pose is working.