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Asana
Cautions
and Contraindications
Ujjayi
Pranayama & Savasana
Bhastrika
Pranayama
Kapalabhati
& Mula Bandha
Drishti
& Vinyasa
Nadi
Sodhana & Jalandhara Bandha
Nauli
& Uddiyana Bandha
Suggestions
for Further Study |
By Jamie Lindsay
The posture [should be] steady and comfortable. [It is
accompanied] by the relaxation of tension and the coinciding with the
infinite. Thence [results] unassailability by the pairs-of-opposites.
Yoga Sutra of Patanjali II.46-48
Translated by Georg Feuerstein
Asana must have the dual qualities of alertness and relaxation. These qualities
can be achieved by recognizing and observing the reactions of the body and
the breath to the various postures that comprise asana practice. Once known,
these reactions can be controlled step-by-step. When these principles are
correctly followed, asana practice will help a person endure and even minimize
the external influences on the body such as age, climate, diet, and work.
Yoga Sutra of Patajali II.46-48
Translated by T.K.V. Desikachar
In Asana, the body is alternately stretched and strengthened through its
possible ranges of motion to create a balance of mobility and stability.
In Asana, there is a core of practice that is unchanging, even as the
peripheral parts of the body move through change. This core is the center
of practice; the postures are merely a means to access that core, by alternately
facilitating and challenging aspects of its presence.
Asana is barely mentioned in the classical yoga text, the Yoga Sutra of
Patanjali, which as you can see above is open to radical variations of
interpretation in its translation. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika actually describes
various postures, but then goes on at great length to explicate the inner
heart of practice, involving the techniques of various Bandhas (locks)
and Mudras (seals).
This central axis around which Hatha practice turns is perhaps easiest
to become aware of through basic Pranayama (breath-work) practices, which
can be challenging all on their own. Ujjayi Pranayama (‘Ocean-Sounding
Breath’) in particular is used throughout Vinyasa Hatha practice,
but it is perhaps easiest to begin to learn the basic technique simply
lying still. Then, when the practice is taken into movement, the breath
can begin to generate effortless practice, and in turn, the body can begin
to create support for the opening of the breath.
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