Hi all, and a massive welcome back to my blog. Thank you for joining me as I continue with my weekly introduction to the eight limbs of yoga. This week, I’m going to be talking about probably our most well-known limb of yoga, asanas!
Asanas are our yoga postures. We practice our postures in classes, and in our home physical practice. You’ll notice that ’asana’ appears at the end of every sanskrit word for our yoga postures. ‘Virabhadrasana’ ‘baddhakonasana’ etc. Asanas are traditionally practiced to prepare the body for meditation. Most original asanas were seated postures, and held for a longer period of time to prepare for meditation. As yoga evolved, yoga postures became a way to develop a strong and flexible body, as the body is the vehicle for the soul, and therefore it should be a healthy vehicle. Asana helps us do just that.
In the West, the common misconception of yoga is that it is only the asana part. The physical part of our yoga practice is extremely healthy and beneficial, but we must not forget that physical asana is only the third limb in our eight limbs of yoga. Yoga is mostly a wellness and a spiritual practice. Focusing only on the physical part of yoga takes away from yoga’s true meaning, and that is literally the union of mind, body and spirit. Luckily, I do believe that every long term practitioner of yoga will begin to see benefits beyond the physical at some point or another. That’s the magic of the practice! For me, I was practicing the teachings of Buddhism in my life when I discovered yoga, so some of the philosophy was already knowledge for me. Yoga also opened the door to my love for crystals, reiki and other spiritual and holistic practices. There are many paths that yoga can take us down, and for most, asana is our first toe-dip into this wonderful world.
So in conclusion, asana is a hugely healthy part of our yoga practice. The physical benefits that can be felt from yoga classes and a stable, safe asana practice are incredible. However, notice how you feel after your posture practice, in your meditation and savasana. Notice that wonderful feeling in your body, in your mind, in your soul. This is the true magic of your yoga practice, and it goes far beyond our posture practice.
Thank- you so much for visiting today, and reading today’s post! Feel free to share my blog with others, and follow my social media channels down below! Have a wonderful day! Becca x
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