Asana and Yoga
What role does asana play in Yoga as a system of Self Realization?
Self Realization is the awakening to your true identity and purpose. Self, capital S, as the part of you that is eternal and connected to All That Is, your Soul, the God in you, referred in sutra 1:3 as the Seer. Yoga is a system to discover your true nature and destiny.
Asana or posture is referred to in Sutras 2:46-2:48. The Yoga Sutras are the first written instructions for Yoga, previously a strictly oral tradition. The first sutra says Yoga is Now; both emphatically announcing the beginning of the instruction of yoga and describing Yoga as present moment awareness (at least in part). Later Sutras describe asana, giving instructions for the ideal characterizations of the poses and their relationship to the greater system of yoga.
The Asana practice, as a part of the larger system of Yoga bring us into the present moment through the body and the breath. Much of Yoga deals with the the nature of mind, spirit, and the human condition. The asana becomes a vehicle to train a one pointed focus of the mind. This ability to gain a one pointed focus of mind, is inherent and essential to achieving Self realization (Sutra 1:2 - Yoga is complete mastery over the roaming tendencies of the mind).
The body, and the breath within it are only in the present moment. The mind can be anywhere in the past, present or even outside of time altogether, the spirit is eternal and infinite, unconfined by time or space. This Human condition is bound by our laws of physics (even quantum physics), when we bring our mind fully present to our physical body we gain mastery over the churning of the mind, unleashing the potential to willfully transcend time and space. The breath is our path to this presence.
The asana practice brings familiarity with our physical presence, the energy present in our body. This present moment practice can be very uncomfortable for people recovering from trauma, or who have a history of being out of body for any reason. The discomfort of being present in your body can be titrated into comfort and all the way back to safety, with careful, compassionate, persistent practice. This titrating is the first step of my Yoga Therapy practice if there is intolerable discomfort with present moment awareness through breath and body observation. When this homecoming is achieved, the breath becomes a resource for evolution towards Self Realization.
Practically and functionally speaking, the asana practice builds the mobility, strength, and endurance to be comfortably still for long periods of time, so the mind is free to exercise its vast ability to achieve awareness and immersion in the infinite. Breath focused asana as a moving meditation builds the familiarity necessary to recognize the difference between aversion (manifested as fidgeting) and call for integration or release (can look the same as fidgeting). Asana practice designed for mobility and functionality fosters a joyful experience of vitality within the body and the mind. The intention of friendliness, mobility, and functionality inspires all of my group sessions.
Your body is an ally to your spiritual evolution, your return to your natural state of harmony and vitality. The asana practice utilizes this vital ally, aligning your body, mind and spirit to Truth and longevity.
