Is a practice of Asana essential?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#10

[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

#11

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!!

#12

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 :smiley:

#13

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.:cool:

#14

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.

#15

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.

#16

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.

#17

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.

#18

I thought Yogis did asana to help them sit in meditative postures for long periods of time?

#19

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

#20

[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!

#21

Hi YogiAdam! Your post is quite informative. Other than you Phillipe also posted good stuff of information. Yes the word asana is usually translated as pose or posture, but its more literal meaning is comfortable seat. The vast diversity of asanas is no accident, for through exploring both familiar and unfamiliar postures we are also expanding our consciousness, so that regardless of the situation or form we find ourselves in, we can remain “comfortably seated” in our center.

#22

Asana also benefits all the unhealthy effects our sedentary lifestyles have on the body, e.g., desk jobs, lots of time sitting in a car all day, lots of leisure time spent sitting at the computer, etc… :slight_smile:

#23

[quote=Surya Deva;37840]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.[/quote]

I wish!!

I think things sometimes turn up, like a lot of things in life, maybe eventually.Patience,persistence,sincerity,detrmination would’nt be misguided also…Willing to learn from our mistakes etc.I don’t think things al always fall in your lap right this minute either. You have to work for some realistically.I But yes sometimes they just do. Life is pretty fickle that way.Some folks might call it God; of course you can call it whatever you like.Grace,fate,destiny…We can’t always work things out to the last T. or know and predict where paths may intersect and diverge but it’s interesting nonetheless.I think you’ll find what you’re looking for, i think .Partly because you seem quite single-minded about it and will do whatever it takes.I don’t think it’s necesarily that hard either. But it hink the spiritual path is littered with obstacles,and it’s easy to lose yourself or go over the edge.When that occurs or happens i think you learn another lesson. What that is who knows?

If you PM me where you live i can always keep you on my mailing list!!.. lol…and keep you posted.

You sound like you’ve a) learnt alot already b) have a rough idea what you might be looking for.Of course there are the ashrams of India.I’m probably not in the best position to guide you as i have’nt been down that road, at least yet.

If you’re on the trip, you’re always efforting to connect with your true self,whatever that may be.

How long have you been practicing or learning in whatever sense?
And if you ever go to India you might want to go solo but if i know of any place there i’ll let you know.

I don’t think it’s necessarily one guru, i don’t know, but many teachers & possibly gurus.And then your own practice evolves.I don’t expect magic bullets anymore and i don’t believe there are short-cuts or certainlysafe ones anymore. I can’t help feeling that a nice idea would be to get yourself to some kind of spiritual community which could jump-start the process.

I get this impression you aspiring towards the traditional Indian man in an ashram.What else? Well he will be very helpful and is nilkely to charge nothing.In fact the fact they may charge nothing is probably a sign.I still have to blink and give myself a gentle slap and tickle though to believe it’s possible.

Sometimes life hands us what we need in order to grow & evolve the most as cliched as tha sounds, but i really really like your approach. It shows that you are persistent and don’t like messing around. If there is a bus due sooner then yes why not catch it. That is entirely up to the person.Often things fall into place when we stop the planning.God intervenes.How convenient. It might not always bee the way we imagined ti might be or could have predicted.But i think we learn from our weakneesses.

Do i know an authentic kriay yoga guru ,right now personally and spiritually, . I can’t honestly say i door not that i am consciously aware of right now,. But like i say if you PM me you can tell me where you’re based. How long have you practiced or studied yoga for, if you don’t mind me enqiuring? You seemed to have learnt a great deal. Some of your pranayama sadhan you posted in another thread looks pretty impressive as does you knowledge of tantra,vedanta,hindu metaphysics, jyotish astrology, quantum physics,ancient history,the vedas ,samkhya, ayurveda, law, mediciine,philosophy ,logic, sanskrit( not to mention your sense of diplomacy and debating skills; whatever philosophy training and academic knowledge you might have would appear fairly evident)… and the list goes on, and on and on and on…

Feel free to en-lighten me further.

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 see what you’re saying here. what we invariably see today in hinduism as religion is and was actually seen as science in the past.I also can believe that jnana and kriya were the two popular yogas of their day.

I think a lot of the world problems might be resolved if everyone was prepared to take the spiritual journey. It always starts now of course.

Some things appear when we least expect it , and they can be good or bad.An attitude of indifference or non-expectation can be really helpful Howvere i believe like you yoga is a science of cause & effect and if you largely do what is required and submitt yourself to a higher agency then all or a great deal more than what you may have hitherto thought or imagined possible will be revealed.

#24

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
To be honest with you,I can’t really imagine there are that many around of the kind you might be looking for probably outside of Asia.I don’t know.I think you can learn from anyone if you’re willing.I would’nt like to try & put a number on it in the UK for e.g. No more than several score does’nt seem unlikely, and then how many of those also have students.Dedicated sadhaks are possibly immersed in intense sadhana on a daily basis and manage or live their lives a certain way,possibly periods of relative seclusion and simplicity possibly surrounded by others that radiate more or the same of that light and knowledge.

Give us your PM and your location I
can keep you updated.Is all i can think of for now.I think things sometimes just appear or perhaps you venture to India and seek it out.

If you lived with them for 2 years then sure you could learn alot.

#25

[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]

Hi Surya Deva.

Asanas, besides the obvious physical benefits will also help to harmonize the flow of prana in the body and this will help you in meditation. Asanas will also make you more flexible and will help you to sit for longer periods of time in meditation. Some yogis even say that you shouldn’t go straight to meditate without first mastering the asanas, how can you meditate without and unbalance unhealthy body? Asanas will also help to develop concentration and to regulate your breath cause normally you should be practicing every asana with awareness of your breath and on the effect of the asana in your body. After a good session of Hatha Yoga you will fill more relaxed, calm and vitalized so your meditation will be a lot easier. A complete session of Hatha Yoga will include asanas, relaxation and pranayamas.

What style of asanas have you practice? Perhaps you are missing to do it with more awareness and slower to get to enjoy it or maybe because of your character you need something more dynamic like ashtanga yoga.

#26

True true. Outside is nothing inside is everything. To be in yoga it is just to use the body for its best.

yours

rai

#27

people should start with yama and niyama and be especially critical to themselves. Through asanas we get to a closer feeling for subtil feelings and pranayama is giving the strength. when we are through this in perfection dhyana the meditation can give you through a real teacher or master the real benefit of process to the endless.

rai

#28

Some people feel our connective tissue helps us be healthier, so that the asanas help extend our lives or health while being alive. Many other exercises do not aid connective tissue the way yoga does.

Asanas can help reduce inflammation and arthritic symtoms a little. Although, I find a sattvic diet helps much more and can reduce the time of doing asanas to get some results.

The coordination of breath with slow stretch seems to do great things for the mind, probably related to brain wave states and other things.

Best wishes, Gil.

#29

dear gilyoga

as arogya raksak, protector of health, my heart needs to say that when we see the body as the goal we miss the idea of yoga. and sattvic nurishment is logical like breathing of course.

you write about great things for the mind through asanas. i understand what you mean, but sir, it is just the vata that goes balanced, the mind gets free only by the connection of the soul with the one.

asanas is nice but is not yoga, like patanjali said. same that we dont need to sit at the himalaya to meditate. thats all just outside.

first steps to get through the maya can be made with asanas but as soon as possible we should understand the difference between inside and outside.

these feelings you and most people who teach yoga are just illusion. the reality is the fight against the ego. and when we love our body more than a temple our ego is giving us more illusion and far away from satya the truth.

you know what i mean?

rai