What does the practice of Asana actually bring?
I have tried asana practice on and off for a few years, but never found myself drawn to it or wanting to practice it. I think there is a general reluctance within me to practice asanas.
I much prefer Pranayama and meditation. However, am I missing something by not doing asanas?
You’re asking the bigger picture question about asana or the small story question?
In the bigger picture asana was shunned for fear it would aggrandize the ego. Shockingly that has actually been the case. As we can see by looking around, asana doesn’t make you a better person. It merely makes you more of what you already are. How one chooses to process what they are AND what other elements they’ve “allowed” into their practice can be significant in the determination of what one gets from it.
An asana practice without meditation is an incomplete (not wrong) Yoga practice. And it places the practitioner at the whim of asana. An asana practice without lifestyle and nutrition does the same, just as an asana practice without an applied philosophy creates discord in the human being.
In our practice we often say that asana is necessary but not important. The physical body is that which holds the light, soul, spirit, or divinity. And the vessel ideally should be clean and healthy in order to hold that force. Of course none of us are perfect so there is always room to grow in terms of saucha and physical health - though they may not be as far apart as one might think.
An asana practice by itself can bring up content for the student to look at and hopefully process (or not). An asana practice of the proper sort with the right guidance can bring divinity into matter.
I think asana is great for your health. In fact it’s the only aspect of yoga that I’ve found actually does anything. Also, where I’m from, asana IS yoga. If I told anyone I was doing yoga, no one for a second would think I was referring to meditation, or breathing exercises, they would just instantly assume I was referring to asana. I think this is testament to the effectiveness of asana. I am even considering ditching the meditation and pranayama, cause they seem to do F all.
A testament to the effectiveness of asana is one potential explanation, Adam. But I’m going to stir the pot a bit 
It seems very apparent that group-think or hive mind in our society often fails to have any basis in fact whatsoever. The fact that a bunch of lemmings all believe walking off a cliff (or that the world is flat) is reasonable does actually make it so.
Millions of people believed that smoking cigarettes was not harmful to health. Millions of people believed there were WMD’s in Iraq. Millions of people believe in prescription medication and surgical procedures. Is that a testament to the effectiveness of a medical paradigm with only two remedies?
So it is a possible answer but I don’t believe it’s a likely answer. What is more likely, in our current world, is that people, generally speaking, don’t get very far past the topsoil of anything that requires more than 45 seconds of attention.
I was just watching the Yoga documentary Enlighten Up, and Yogiadam you remind me a lot of the protagonist(Nick Ross) who is a materialist skeptic and only appreciates Yoga for asanas and the physical benefits it confers.
I, on the other hand am the complete opposite. I appreciate Yoga for the pranayama and meditation and the mental and spiritual benefits it confers.
But I do think that both of us are leaving Yoga incomplete somewhere, hence why I asked the question about asanas, and you once asked the question about pranayama. I appreciate what InnerAthlete said that the physical body should be healthy. Incidentally, BKS Iyengar also says the same. If your physical body is not healthy then how are you going to advance to spirituality. The preliminary must first be satisfied.
However, I have a reluctance to do asanas and you have a reluctance to do pranayama 
well if you go by the teachings of Yogani, from WWW.AYPSITE.ORG, he would say it helps to cultivate ecstatic conductivity in the body, while meditation helps with inner silence. His prescription for enlightenment is inner silence and ecstatic conductivity.
and just because you dont like it does not mean not to do it, i may not like brushng my teeth, cooking food, etc… but I see the benefits in being a better cook
[QUOTE=Surya Deva;37659]I was just watching the Yoga documentary Enlighten Up, and Yogiadam you remind me a lot of the protagonist(Nick Ross) who is a materialist skeptic and only appreciates Yoga for asanas and the physical benefits it confers.
I, on the other hand am the complete opposite. I appreciate Yoga for the pranayama and meditation and the mental and spiritual benefits it confers.
But I do think that both of us are leaving Yoga incomplete somewhere, hence why I asked the question about asanas, and you once asked the question about pranayama. I appreciate what InnerAthlete said that the physical body should be healthy. Incidentally, BKS Iyengar also says the same. If your physical body is not healthy then how are you going to advance to spirituality. The preliminary must first be satisfied.
However, I have a reluctance to do asanas and you have a reluctance to do pranayama :D[/QUOTE]
That’s true. I couldn’t relate to the Yogis in that film that didn’t do asana. I also absolutely agree with innerathlete that a majority opinion does not equal truth. I guess it’s more what I notice benefits me in my own practice. I leave a pranayana practice going ‘yeah, so what?’, but I leave an asana practice going ‘Yeah! I feel good duhnuh nuhnuh nuhnuh nuh!’
…and that’s okay brother.
Asana practice is important, while body state has an influence on how you feel and think.
[quote=Surya Deva;37643]What does the practice of Asana actually bring?
I have tried asana practice on and off for a few years, but never found myself drawn to it or wanting to practice it. I think there is a general reluctance within me to practice asanas.
I much prefer Pranayama and meditation. However, am I missing something by not doing asanas?[/quote]
The asana practice is not necessary for spiritual evolution. However the asana practice is very practical, they are multiple benefits besides the spiritual ones : developing strength, flexibility, structural alignment, improving breathing, achieving mental steadiness, improving the function of body systems, keeping, improving health (which is most important for a yogi, disease is an obstacle on the path and not something desirable), it is a nice tool for education, well-being. There are links between body, breath and psyche. It helps for pranayama as there are prerequisites for a correct regular practice of pranayama. A well-designed asana practice prepares for a safe pranayama : alignment, control of breath, awareness of the body especially the spine, the chest and the abdomen, mental steadiness…
There is a coherence in Patanjali ashtanga yoga. By the way, an asana practice can include pranayama, think about ujjayi pranayama and also meditation. Meditation is also generally easier with a regular asana practice. But one needs to find a good teacher/acarya to learn these technical aspects. It is an art, it requires some learning, it will help you to design your own practice with style keeping in mind that learning and practising are long-term processes.
Philippe
The interconnectedness of yoga.
The asanas certainly help bring the physical body into alignment, and so many other benefits [I]too[/I] numerous to mention.Asana is great, but just one aspect of yoga.
What does the Gita say;- something like- ‘the supreme yoga is the yoga of action’
Great!!
That AYP site that Brother Neil cited above is tremendous. I remember you Core recommending it to me a time back. I finally had time to read many of its lessons last night and was really impressed. I especially like how the asanas are introduced later
Hi Surya Deva,
I have nothing but praise for that site. The author of the lessons and alll the contibutors on that site do humanity a great favour.The path laid out by one anonymous contributor ( hey, it’s the intenet) by the name of Yogani does one great service to …,I don’t know, humanity and the evolution of consciousness.
I leant a greal deal just by following the lessons.There’s a good American for you.They’re good people.Their heart is in the right place.
Yogani gives you the [U]meat[/U], i.e the practices(for human spiritual transformation), effective ones. He does’nt faff about.And he explains it all in very clear concise terminology. There is alot of science and reason( hehe… to his explanations). He explain it as being a non-sectarian approach ,free of dogma. So hey, if you’re christian or hindu, or atheist for that matter, it does not matter. I personally would probably , if i had to pick any religions i would probably describe myself as hindu , in terms of finding that the most attractive religion or philosophy. I don’t really subscribe to any religion but i might describe myself as a hindu if i had to;seems the most attractive.It tends to sum up up the best, the religion i resonate the most with, intellectually ,philosophically,spiritually and so on. But of course, having discovered yoga some 5 years ago could have something to do with it, certainly culturally.,… I don’t know.
Yes I agree his descriptions are straight forward, scientific and rational. I can already tell I am reading the work of somebody whose reached a high level of spiritual development. Hinduism is simply the perennial science and philosophy, every enlightened person anywhere in the universe knows this, but they are not using any secetarian labels. I see myself as both spiritual and Hindu. That is because I understand that the Hindu religion is an eternal religion because it is pure spirituality(science of existence) but the name “Hindu” does not matter at all. It is obviously not called that on other planets. However, by identifying with the label “Hindu” I am showing my allegiance to the eternal religion and my intention to spread it and protect it. Swami Vivekanada once said, “If Hindu religion goes off this planet, then the last remenant of truth, virtue, knowledge will be gone of this planet” I think us adherants of the Eternal Way need to work towards preserving and disseminating this culture. It also must be restored back to the old Vedic religion. The form modern Hinduism has taken was a requirement of the Kaliyuga, but we must return it back to the purity and elegance of the Sat Yuga where it was purely science and philosophy and the principle means of spiritual enlightenment were Jnana and Kriya Yoga. Imagine if everybody on this planet was doing this.
I am looking forward to incorporating many of the practices Yogani gives into my practice.
I wonder Core if you know of any Guru I can learn authentic Kriya Yoga from? You know I am in a search of a Guru to guide me to enlightenment.
where do you live SD? also, if you practice yoganis full routine, that might be enough for you, he has mantra enhancements, mantra centering, spinal breathng, snipping the skin under your tounge, bandhas, etc… you might find his eight limbs interesting as it shows how to incorperate a practice with all the yoga bells and whistles so to speak.
Yogani’s routine is tremendous and I will definitely practice it. But some practices learned over the internet or in a book are not a substitute for a guru. I yearn for an enlightened master and yearn for his/her grace. I want to be in the company of an enlightened master, under his his/her tutelage, supervision and guardian. The master is your true parent.
I thought Yogis did asana to help them sit in meditative postures for long periods of time?
There are 195 or 196 aphorisms in yoga sUtra, 3 out of them are about Asanas mainly because Patanjali aimed to expose the essence of Yoga Darshana. The principle of sUtra or thread is to summarize and give the maximum of meaning in a very condensed set of words. This suits well in the context of oral transmission, where the student learns by heart in the light of explanation and anecdotes from the teacher adding life to the text. It does not mean that Asanas count for a ratio of 3/195, it depends, the detailed technical part is transmitted orally by the AcArya or the guru, this is not the point of yoga sUtra.
yoga sUtra has been the normative text of several traditions of Yoga, what is written about asanas is valid for a developed asana practice in general. Patanjali meant sitting asanas for further practice, but practically it is not disconnected from a vaster asana practice.
The classical commentary (circa 4th-6th centuries) of the YS (II-46) attributed to VyAsa which mentions several Asanas, some of them show that there was a discipline of Asanas developed such as krauncAsana, uShTrAsana. It is even written “and so on” implying that there are other Asanas. VijnAna bhikSHu another classical commentator named some Asanas such as mayUrAsana which is a difficult Asana for a lot of people. On the other hand, one does not need to master a vast series of Asanas to realize the goal of YS, YS was not meant to be technical…
In haThayoga pradIpikA with the classical commentary of BrahmAnanda haTha yoga is clearly linked with rAja yoga cf. HYP I:1-3. Traditionally rAja yoga refers to Patanjali Yoga. HYP even includes practices related with therapy and ayUrveda : Shat karmas, six purificatory processes. There are some symbolic myths around haTha Yoga, Gorakshanath is said to be a direct disciple of Mastyendranath (a fish turned into a man) who revealed the haTha yoga teachings. Actually the Yoga practices were in existence long before Gorakshanath (10th-11th centuries) dynamized his tradition.
In reality, what is put in the box haTha yoga and and in the box rAja yoga are often facets in some more or less integral yogic traditions and not clearly dissociated as if these aspects would have been developed without any mutual influence until today in India.
Moreover from a practical point of view prANAyAma (4th limb) is linked with the breath though the concept of prANa has several meanings and the results of prANAyAma described by Patanjali can be acquired without breathing practices. prANAyAma practices are usually easier and more efficient with an asana practice which is more developed than just taking a comfortable and steady sitting posture without physical preparation. Some efficient prANAyAma practices often include bandhas which need some training coming with Asana practice.
Texts such as yogayAjnavalkya samhitA (circa 10th century) and yoga tArAvali also show some links between psycho-physical practices and rAja Yoga, yogayAjnavalkya samhitA gives details about the eight limbs.
Traditional yoga is not only a philosophy but also an art and a therapeutic discipline in which Asanas can be practised for other goals than being able to sit for long meditative practices.
Philippe
[QUOTE=Philippe*;37986]There are 195 or 196 aphorisms in yoga sUtra, 3 out of them are about Asanas mainly because Patanjali aimed to expose the essence of Yoga Darshana. The principle of sUtra or thread is to summarize and give the maximum of meaning in a very condensed set of words. This suits well in the context of oral transmission, where the student learns by heart in the light of explanation and anecdotes from the teacher adding life to the text. It does not mean that Asanas count for a ratio of 3/195, it depends, the detailed technical part is transmitted orally by the AcArya or the guru, this is not the point of yoga sUtra.
yoga sUtra has been the normative text of several traditions of Yoga, what is written about asanas is valid for a developed asana practice in general. Patanjali meant sitting asanas for further practice, but practically it is not disconnected from a vaster asana practice.
The classical commentary (circa 4th-6th centuries) of the YS (II-46) attributed to VyAsa which mentions several Asanas, some of them show that there was a discipline of Asanas developed such as krauncAsana, uShTrAsana. It is even written “and so on” implying that there are other Asanas. VijnAna bhikSHu another classical commentator named some Asanas such as mayUrAsana which is a difficult Asana for a lot of people. On the other hand, one does not need to master a vast series of Asanas to realize the goal of YS, YS was not meant to be technical…
In haThayoga pradIpikA with the classical commentary of BrahmAnanda haTha yoga is clearly linked with rAja yoga cf. HYP I:1-3. Traditionally rAja yoga refers to Patanjali Yoga. HYP even includes practices related with therapy and ayUrveda : Shat karmas, six purificatory processes. There are some symbolic myths around haTha Yoga, Gorakshanath is said to be a direct disciple of Mastyendranath (a fish turned into a man) who revealed the haTha yoga teachings. Actually the Yoga practices were in existence long before Gorakshanath (10th-11th centuries) dynamized his tradition.
In reality, what is put in the box haTha yoga and and in the box rAja yoga are often facets in some more or less integral yogic traditions and not clearly dissociated as if these aspects would have been developed without any mutual influence until today in India.
Moreover from a practical point of view prANAyAma (4th limb) is linked with the breath though the concept of prANa has several meanings and the results of prANAyAma described by Patanjali can be acquired without breathing practices. prANAyAma practices are usually easier and more efficient with an asana practice which is more developed than just taking a comfortable and steady sitting posture without physical preparation. Some efficient prANAyAma practices often include bandhas which need some training coming with Asana practice.
Texts such as yogayAjnavalkya samhitA (circa 10th century) and yoga tArAvali also show some links between psycho-physical practices and rAja Yoga, yogayAjnavalkya samhitA gives details about the eight limbs.
Traditional yoga is not only a philosophy but also an art and a therapeutic discipline in which Asanas can be practised for other goals than being able to sit for long meditative practices.
Philippe
[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the info Philippe, it is good to know!