Wednesday, February 3, 2016

The Value of Asanas (The third limb of yoga)



Yoga is not all about the asanas or body postures.  Yes, many people come to yoga class to practice the body postures and to increase strength and improve flexibility and balance, but there is more to practicing asanas.  The yoga poses are used as a tool to calm the mind so we can reach deeper inward to the essence of our being.

Asanas give us the opportunity to explore and control our emotions, concentration, intent, faith and unity between our physical body and ethereal (energy) body.  Practicing asanas challenges us and opens the physical body bringing harmony with all the unseen elements of our being.  Yoga poses help us explore our mental attitudes and strengthen our will while we learn to release and move into a state of grace that comes from creating balance between our material world and spiritual experience.  (W. Doran, The Eight Limbs, The Core of Yoga).

The asanas and pranayama (breath control) help quiet our mind.  The yoga postures are practiced before meditation for that reason to ground us and foster awareness and harmony with our mind, body and spirit.  That is why it is important to take some time to meditate or rest in shavasana after practicing asanas to experience that wonderful connection of peaceful healing energy.

So keep practicing those beautiful asanas and start to notice how your tree grows!

Namaste,

Betsy and Jesse


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