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Asana

Perhaps I am one of those people who likes to do things with a purpose.  Perhaps this is why I took a liking to Yoga as each asana (pose) has a purpose.

When I execute an asana, I am aware that I am not merely moving my body but that I am also trying to make myself feel better or determine my state of mind.  I first came to know that each asana served a purpose when Rina told us that, after doing a proper salamba sirsasana (head stand), one can tell whether one is tired.  According to Rina, a salamba sirsasana could perk you up when you feel sluggish or lethargic but in reality have a lot of stored up energy.  A salamba sirsasana could also make an active you realize that you are tired and your body needs to rest.  A salamba sirsasana is also an instant cure to nasal congestion.  Having done salamba sirsasana on several occasions, I can attest that what Rina said is true.

In his book Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar says that the asanas that could provide relief for some ailments.  I was told by my other Yoga teachers that many people visit the Yoga center in Pune, India on Saturdays to get treatment for various ailments through execution of asanas.  Evidently, Yoga transcends mere physical activity.

In the CNN interview of B.K.S. Iyengar, I recall him saying something to the effect that, when one runs on a treadmill, the body does work but is abused because there is no real purpose to the activity. You keep running but you are going nowhere. In Yoga, the body works to get into the pose because it serves a particular purpose like curing a cold, stomachache or backache, or perhaps, even teaching one how to live.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 12:08 am and is filed under Pursuits and Pastimes, Yoga is my Bus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.