Some of the incredible benefits of Asana

In this article, we comprehensively break down some of the incredible benefits we experience from Asana, a posture practice.

What is Asana? 

In Sanskrit, the word Asana translates “to sit” - to be in a seated position with comfort and ease for prolonged periods of time to be able to practice Pranayama (breathing practices) and meditation. 

Asana is a much more modern concept introduced to the tradition of Yoga, only being developed a mere couple of centuries ago in comparison to the millenia of the philosophical and meditative aspect of Yoga. What we perceive today as Asana has also been greatly altered from tradition, especially after the introduction of Yoga to the West six decades ago. 

The introduction of practicing postures before entering the esoteric practices of Yoga prove immense health benefits to practitioners. Read on to learn more. 

There is great emphasis on spinal health in Yoga. Tantric Yoga embraces the energetic system of the Chakras (the 7 energetic centers of the body - we’ll break these down in our next article), as well as the nourishment of the flow of bodily systems such as the lymphatic, cardiovascular, endocrine and respiratory systems - understanding that each system is not separate from one another, but rather complimentary. When both the energetic and physiological systems flow in an uninterrupted cycle, we can achieve optimal health. 

At the core of our Asana practice is spinal alignment. No matter what posture you are practicing, we must never compromise the spine to experience pressure, pain or tension, as this can have a detrimental impact on our alignment and health. We must always move and hold in a way where the spine is stable, steady and strong.

For the bodies with hypermobility, this is especially challenging because of the ease and fluidity of movement. It may sound counterproductive at first, but those who have hypermobility often consequently have weaker joints, tendons, ligaments and connective tissue, resulting in the body becoming more injury prone. This is where mindfulness and awareness of our movement (proprioception - I know, big word!) plays its crucial role. 

The Mind-Body Connection

So I just mentioned a fancy, scientific word - proprioception. And this is important. I’ll tell you why. 

Well proprioception is an incredibly potent cognitive function. It is the mind-body connection. 

Proprioception connects the mind’s involuntary response (through the limbic system - for those of you who are knowledgeable about how trauma works or you’re interested in diving deeper into understanding trauma) to our body’s physiological functions. These range from basic things like not having to think about taking the next step while walking, to developing a greater awareness about our stress responses to regulate our nervous system. 

How does this relate to Asana? 

Practicing Asana with awareness enhances our proprioception by repairing and building new neural pathways through the brain. 

Okay, but how do we practice Asana with awareness? 

Through the focus of our breath and alignment. 

When we take our time in Asana to move with the breath and adjust the body to correctly align through the spine and joints, we develop a stronger mind-body connection while also strengthening the body. 

So in conclusion to this point, Asana, when practiced with awareness, is extremely beneficial not only to the body, but also to the mind. 

Progression and Intention over Perfection

As the world of Yoga grows exponentially throughout the West, it’s becoming more and more common to be exposed to some hardcore postures, creating a kind of aesthetically driven mentality toward Asana. 

It’s not to say some practitioners don’t need the challenging postures for their practice, some people’s psyche thrive through challenge. Personally, some days I prefer a practice where the postures challenge my mobility and flexibility with a wheel (Lvl 2 backbend) or bird of paradise (Lvl 2 balancing). That would be the intention of my practice - to explore my capabilities and limitations. If the qualities of my breath is compromised, and I lose control of steady breath cycles, I have reached my limit and it shows me where I can progress. 

Asana is all about progression. And there is a systematic process to progression. 

In a process called Vinyasa Krama (where the modern style of Vinyasa originated from), we dynamically flow through repetitions of sequences of postures to progress into holding a posture for longer periods without tension or discomfort, and with steady breath cycles. 

This refers to the fundamentals of Asana called Sthira and Sukham, or stability and ease. To achieve Sthira and Sukham is an imperative goal in an Asana practice, because it indicates that our body has attained the necessary attributes of strength, flexibility and mobility, and we can progress into a new variation of a pose. 

Variation doesn’t necessarily mean physical either. We can progress into our breath and awareness too. For some, Warrior 1 is an attainable posture with Sthira and Sukham, but if you added Kapalabhati (Breath of Fire) for a minute into your practice, it would be quite intense. With the same example of Warrior 1, perhaps your scope of awareness of your body could shift from noticing the quadriceps (one of the primary muscles used for the pose) to noticing the impact of stability on the transverse arch of your foot. 

Progression is limitless. And through Asana, we strive to constantly progress rather than achieve perfection. Because what is perfection? It is simply an illusion of the mind, an ever changing perspective of “the grass is always greener”. 

Intentions are also limitless and are not bound to the physical aspect of your practice. We know that Asana has significant influence over our energetic and physiological systems. You can create a whole Asana practice around the Sacral Chakra or the lymphatic system, for example. If you have an understanding of meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine, you can even create a practice solely around the flow of that meridian. 

Traditional Yoga postures were also developed with stories behind them, stories that honour the qualities of the Vedic deities. You can recreate stories through your postures in reverence to these qualities of the divine that reside within you. 

Or perhaps your intention can simply be to spend some time with yourself and switch off from the busyness of your day. 

Whatever it may be, your intention behind your practice creates a significance of your Asana practice that surpasses the mindset of a workout. 

The Breath/Posture Synchronocity 

The final important note we’re going to make about an Asana practice is that we’re not doing Yoga if we’re not combining movement with our breath. 

The breath is our greatest teacher, and holds the key to unlocking some of our greatest potential. 

The most significant form of progression we can experience through our Asana practice isn’t actually what the body does, but our ability to harness the full potential of our breath. 

Why? Oh so many reasons. 

Firstly, if we learn to be totally aware of and control our breath, we have the ability to regulate our stress response. Stress is one of the most detrimental influences on our physical and mental wellbeing. When we learn to control the breath, to breathe functionally, we reclaim so much of our power lost over thoughts from stress, anxiety and depression. 

A mentor once told me about how the ancient Yogis believed that we were born with only a certain number of breaths, and when that number runs low, life ends. But if we prolong the breath, we prolong the time it takes for us to reach the end of life.  

Sounds crazy right?! 

But what if I told you there’s so much science that backs the longevity of life due to breath control. 

Have we all had our antioxidants today? 

Do you know why we take antioxidants?

Well it’s not just for the glowing skin and good gut health, but if we have high amounts of oxygen in our blood, it actually decomposes those blood cells quicker, causing us to age more rapidly. 

Literally the thing we can’t live without (oxygen) is the thing that reminds us of our mortality (lol). 

Anyway, science has found that through breathing practices that focus on elongated breaths, we actually have the ability to balance and regulate the levels of oxygen found in our blood. 

So I ask you this - if you can control your breath while moving your body, can you even imagine how you’d be able to breathe with easy, long, deep breaths while seated or asleep? 

Have you ever seen those elderly Yogis who have been practising almost their entire lives and they look 30 years younger? That’s the secret - breathing. 

In summary, Asana has incredibly beneficial qualities for our holistic wellbeing if practised intelligently and intentionally. There are tons of more benefits to an Asana practice that I didn’t mention in this article, like injury rehabilitation, myofascial release, trauma-based somatic therapy, and many more. 

It’s all in the journey, rather than the destination. 

If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of an Asana practice, or to deepen your understanding and embodiment of your own experience, please reach out to our teachers at Flow State, or to any trusted Yoga teacher you feel called to.