The 8 Limbs of Yoga: Asana

Today’s installment of my 8 Limbs of Yoga series covers the most well-known limb of the practice, the third limb: Asana, or the physical practice of yoga.

The 8 Limbs of Yoga offer guidance on how we can live a more purposeful and meaningful life, and apply to our practice on the mat as well as our day-to-day lives. Previously, we covered the Yamas and the Niyamas, and I’m excited to dive into Asana today!

Traditionally, “Asana” didn’t refer to the physical postures themselves, but rather the process of treating the body as a temple, and using it as a tool to connect to spirit through meditation. Asanas were practiced soley to create discipline, and build strength and concentration, so that one could sit comfortably in meditation, free from external distractions, allowing them to connect to spirit more easily.

In the words of Patanjali (the father of yoga), the only alignment instructions given when practicing Asana are:

“Sthira sukham asanam.”

The translation: “the posture should be steady and comfortable”. All in all, the purpose of Asana is to allow one to sit in total stillness without being “pulled” by the aches and pains of the body, or becoming restless.

The 8 Limbs of Yoga are often incorporated into a yoga teacher’s class through the messaging that they use as they’re guiding you through the postures, and while it seems obvious that Asana would be about the practice of the postures themselves, it’s really more about treating your body with respect as you move through your practice, and creating a temple that allows you connect with spirit on a deeper level.

I always encourage my students to truly listen to their bodies as they’re moving through their practice… to learn to recognize where they might be pushing themselves too hard, or not pushing themselves enough, and most importantly, to trust themselves to know the difference. I build breaks into my classes, and also remind my students to take their own breaks when they need them, and that at any point they can skip a pose, or hold a pose longer if they need to. It’s their practice, after all, and I always say that my cues are simply an invitation.

While the westernized versions of yoga that most of us are practicing place a focus on the postures, yoga has never been about how you look during your practice, how “hard” you went or how sweaty you are at the end, but how you treat your body as you move through your practice.

The next time you find yourself on the mat, notice if you always take the more advanced posture offered or never skip a chaturanga… and ask yourself why? Are you comfortable, steady and strong in all of these poses as the practice intends for you to be, or are you pushing yourself because you think you should?

What’s your experience with Asana? Has your physical practice changed since you first started, and if so, how? Would love to hear from you in the comments :)

xo,
Kelsey