Yoga Poses
Yoga Poses
The most common translation of “asana” is “posture” or “pose” and it refers to both specific postures for gaining greater strength and flexibility and those used specifically to help achieve proper concentration for meditation. Asanas are practiced either standing, sitting, supine, or prone. The postures for strength and flexibility take each joint in the body through its full range of motion, stretching, strengthening, and balancing each body part. Depending on the particular yogic technique one follows and the individual level of practice, each asana is held anywhere from a few breath cycles (as long as 2 minutes) to as long as 10 minutes or, in the case of some advanced practices, even 2.5 hours.
Yoga Poses
In most schools, during each posture attention is directed to the breath—to the deep, inout, rhythmic sensation—and awareness is brought to the area of the body that is being stretched or strengthened. Though poses may be held for a few seconds to a few minutes, the body can also be in constant dynamic motion. Muscles relax and loosen, changing the shape of the pose, and the in and out breath moves in rhythm with the body. The practitioner simply observes the physical or psychical sensations and emotions arising while suspending judgment. The asanas are interspersed with brief moments of relaxation during which the practitioner attempts to redirect or maintain an inward focus.
Yoga Poses
In postures used specifically for meditation, for example in Kundalini yoga, the spine is kept straight and the practitioner can be seated in a chair with the feet flat on the floor or seated in a cross-legged posture, and specific directions are given regarding the positioning of the arms, hands, and eyes, (e.g., the palms of the hands can be pressed together with the fingers together pointing up at a 60-degree angle, and the sides of the thumbs rest on the sternum in what is called “prayer pose,” and the eyes are closed as if looking at a central point on the horizon, the “third eye,” or the notch region between the eyes). A mantra (again technique specific) may also be chanted, and/or a simple or complex breathing pattern may be employed.
Alternately, the eyes might be kept open and focused on the tip of the nose or closed and focused on the tip of the chin or top of the head, again in conjunction with any number of a wide variety of breathing patterns, and/or mantras. In Sahaja yoga, practitioners sit in a relaxed posture with hands in front, palms upward. Attention is directed to a picture placed in front with a candle lit before it. Gradually when thoughts recede, meditators close their eyes and direct their attention to the “sahasrara chakra” or top of the head. The individual sits in meditation for about 10 to 15 minutes. The amount to which the eyes are open or closed also varies; eyes may be fully open, fully closed, or half-closed.
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