![]() ![]() When we practice with the clear intention of joining these two qualities, we establish a parameter for self-observation. Unless we direct the mind toward uniting steadiness and ease, our asana practice will tend to favor one quality over the other or it will alternate between the two. Joining stability and ease does not happen automatically. Sthira means “alert, stable” and sukha means “relaxation, ease.” Asana becomes yoga when we experience the union of alert stability and relaxed ease.Īsana must have the dual qualities of alertness and relaxation. Sutra 2.46 sets forth the two principles or qualities that define asana: Sthira sukham asanam. Patanjali addresses asana in only 3 of the 193 sutras that comprise the four chapters of his treatise. In the case of asana, these two qualities are stability and ease. The word “yoga” itself comes from the root yuj, which means to “bind” or “link,” and the idea of two objects or qualities coming together underlies all of the various forms of yoga. This definition provides us with a framework for practice and self-observation. Yoga is the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward an object and sustain that direction without any distraction. A succinct definition of yoga is found in the second sutra: ![]() Desikachar, as set forth in his book Patanjali’s Yogasutras: An Introduction. There are countless translations and commentaries. This becomes clear when we turn to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a powerful text that can be used to guide our understanding of asana and connect it to the wider concept of yoga. ![]() Asana is not simply an exercise routine, it is also an opportunity to refine our awareness through self-observation.Īsana is a tool for transformation, a transformation that can take place at the level of the action itself (the body) or at even deeper levels. Asana is a tool for transformation, a transformation that can take place at the level of the action itself (the body) or at even deeper levels. But when asana becomes a synonym for physical exercise-as it has for many of the twelve million people said to be “practicing yoga” in the United States today-it limits its power to transform. ![]()
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