(Mind36)- ‘Asana’ as in Bhagavad Geetha

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In the previous episode, we were discussing how the concept of Asana or Yoga posture as understood today, is quite different from what was stipulated by Patanjali in his Yoga sutra.

Even if someone tries to read convenient meanings into the cryptic sentences of Yoga Sutra, if we go further back in the history of Yoga, such interpretations don’t find much support.

The ancient Indian scripture namely the Bhagavad Geetha, composed much earlier to Patanjali Yoga Sutra, has a complete chapter devoted to Yoga as a meditative practice. It is called Dhyana Yoga, chapter 6.

In this chapter, Bhagavad Geetha deals with both meanings of the word Asana, as a seat as well as a body posture.

When it comes to Asana as a seat for Yoga practice, the Bhagavad Geetha has the following to say.

Sucau dEsE pratiSHtaapya Sthiram Asanam

That means one has to setup a very stable seat in a clean place.

How should this seat be?

Na atyucchritam, na ati neecam

The seat should not be too high nor loo low.

What should this seat comprise of?

Cailaajina Kushottaram

The seat should be prepared by laying layers of Kusha grass, animal hide, and soft cloth, one over the other.

Among these, the Kusha grass is a grass that has high significance in all the Indian rituals and is considered to be sacred and purifying. The animal hide normally used, is the deer skin. The soft cloth could be silk cloth which again is considered to be sacred and ever pure.

You can see almost one to one correspondence between this description and the stipulation of Patanjali for an Asana – stable and comfortable.


Now coming to the asana as a body posture, this is what Bhagavad Geetha has to say

Samam kaayasirOgreevam dhaarayan acalam sthiram

That means one should sit in a posture where the torso, neck and the head are held straight. The posture should be stable and without any movements.

Even here, the very same requirement of Patanjali is explained in different words.

In both cases, asana is just a comfortable seat and a steady posture that helps in prolonged practice of Yoga.

Padmasana

Even though, neither Patanjali nor the Bhagavad Geetha talk about the exact sitting posture for Yoga practice, for various reasons, the lotus posture or Padmasana is considered to be the most suitable.

In Padmasana, one sits with his lower legs folded backwards at the knee joint, placing the feet on the opposite thighs and with the heels pressing the abdomen.

This is almost like locking the legs in a crossed fashion. If done properly, this posture would impart stability to the torso, and helps in keeping it straight and unwavering. The person need not pay any attention to keeping the body straight and hence can avoid distractions. That is the reason why this posture is the most preferred.

Sukhasana

But many people with rigid knee joints or people who are not used to sitting on the ground, cross legged, may find this posture extremely difficult. For them easier alternative is what is called Sukhasana.

In Sukhasana, one folds the lower legs as in Padmasana, but does not place the feet on the opposite thighs. So, this posture is simpler and next best alternative, though this may not impart the same stability as the previous one.

For people who may find even this posture difficult, or people who have skeleto-muscular problems, for them there is no option but to sit on a chair.

But other requirement like keeping the torso, neck and head straight should be adhered to. More importantly, one should avoid resting the back on the back rest of the chair.

So, these are the alternatives for asana with gradation of benefits.


But well-known Yoga Gurus like Iyengar insist on Asanas which go beyond this traditional scope of the word. Iyengar emphasizes on body alignment and exact placement of limbs in relation to each other.

Most of the time, these postures have nothing to do with meditation or sitting in a comfortable posture. Nor do they closely adhere to Hatayoga Asanas.

Iyengar says that he has taken the words of Bhagavad Geetha - Samam kaayasirOgreevam dhaarayan acalam sthiram – as a cue for his concept of alignment and placement. He has come up with his own version of Yoga, which I guess is even patented as Iyengar yoga.


Though I don’t consider this new avatar of Yoga as the Yoga proper, is there anything in this new style of Yoga that helps us? Can we see some parallels in other ancient practices? Can we explain how this concept of alignment and placement help us – as often claimed?

We will give a closer look into these things in the next episode.

 

A series revolving around Mind – Science of Mind, Philosophy of Mind, Notions of reality, Mind modulation, Domains beyond Mind, and so on. © Dr. King 2019