Asana is the physical practice of yoga and relates to the body. Asana is also another name for the poses or postures of yoga. In Sanskrit, the word asana translates as “seat,” specifically for meditation. Today asana is synonymous with yoga, but it is only one component. But yoga asana is not yoga. An asana is simply a physical shape that you do with your body. We use yoga poses to do yoga. But the yoga poses themselves are not yoga. In other words, you can do yoga without doing asana.
The popularity of poses has more to do with marketing. Yoga asana succeeds because it is a postural practice. People see it as another form of exercise.
An equally important reason, though, is that it’s fun. When we join or link asanas together and move from one to another fluidly, it feels good in your body.
Yoga originally came from people looking at nature. It makes sense that yoga postures would take the names of animals and other living creatures, sages, and the earth. There are fish, frogs and locusts, trees, heroes, and cows. Other postures use body parts, numbers, and directions. Asana is a suffix added to the end of yoga postures.
Technically, there are 200 yoga postures. These come from Iyengar’s book, “Light on Yoga”, but of those, you only see about 50 regularly in yoga classes.
As a physical practice, yoga asana is highly effective at:
- Strengthening & toning your body.
- Increasing your flexibility and endurance.
- Lowering inflammation thus minimizing disease.
- Injury rehabilitation.
- Strengthening your heart as a cardio exercise and can help with weight management.
- Reducing bad karma and prevent its accumulation.
The practice of yoga combines stretching, breathing, mindfulness and meditation to improve your health, reduce stress and increase strength and flexibility. It’s less of a workout and more of an exploration into the mind-body connection. It’s a holistic lifestyle that is a mental and spiritual journey rather than a physical challenge.
In contrast, gymnastics and other physical exercise focus on building muscle mass, endurance and stamina through quick repetitions or sets of movement. There is no emphasis on breath work, mindfulness or developing the mind-body connection. Yoga is not a competitive sport like running or weight lifting. It is designed to develop balance, coordination and concentration through controlled movement while embracing non-judgement, kindness and compassion for yourself and others.
Asanas are a relatively small slice of an older and much larger body of knowledge, philosophy, lineage, and techniques. For example, you can explore other aspects of yoga such as breathing exercises, meditation, codes of social conduct, self-observances, diet, devotion, or selfless service, without having to do any asanas at all.
The ultimate goal of yoga is the union of one’s individual mind, body, and spirit. Yoga poses are one method you can help you attain peace within yourself by practicing self-discipline and self-awareness. Asanas were not intended to be a standalone practice, but to complement the other practices of yoga.
In yoga, it’s not what you do but how you do it. To move with consciousness is to fulfill the intent of yoga. Yoga asana gives us that option.
Sweat Hot Yoga and Pilates Studio invites you for an invigorating and inspiring session that celebrates the power of yoga. Let’s come together, sweat it out, and embrace the joy of movement.
