Yoga Asanas

Asana is a Sanskrit word that literally means a seat but in the practice of yoga refers to a yoga poses or yoga postures. In Patanjali's yoga sutras it means, mainly, sitting for meditation.

The practice of the poses involves stretching and moving the body into various positions. With practice, the body can be made to remain a given position for a longer period of time, comfortably. When a degree of comfort is attained in a given pose, it becomes Asana. In general, however, the term is also used to refer to physical yoga exercises in general.

The practice of the poses is very good for muscle flexibility, and many practitioners believe the positions massage and bring balance to the various internal glands and organs of the body, and that they facilitate and balance the flow of prana (vital energy) in the body.

This physical aspect of yoga has been much popularized in the western world and is practiced by a great deal of people, including many celebrities like Madonna, which has given rise to a misconception that poses are all there is to yoga. This is not true. Yoga postures such as shirsasana (headstand), etc. (see below) are actually part of Hatha Yoga, which itself is just one of several different ways of practicing and approaching yoga.

For example, in Pantanjali's work referred to above, Asana is classified as the third rung in the ladder of the practice of Raja Yoga, which consists of 8 limbs: Yama and Niyama, which are ethical obligations, Asana, Pranayama, which is breath control, Pratyahara, which is sense withdrawal, Dharana, which is concentration, Dhyana, which is meditation, and Samadhi, which is the experience of unity with God.