Day 3 Sutra II:46 Asana is a steady, comfortable posture.
Asana or posture is intended to bring comfort and steadiness to the individual.
Many people are attracted to Hatha yoga – physical practices of yoga - because they want their bodies to become more flexible and stronger. They want to reduce lower back pain, to have a workout, to reduce stress, to sculpt an external body shape... Mostly they want to alleviate pain of some kind.
This sutra explains the foundational principle of the asana practice. It should bring you balance, stillness and peace. And the body must be healthy and free of tensions and toxins to achieve this.
The body is matter that we can control and at a deeper level, asana cleanses, tunes and aligns the body and prepares it for the full descent of the spirit into the body – the divine into matter.
Aadil Palkhivala makes the comment that “many modern saints have had serious physical problems often because they did not involve their bodies in the yogic process, and the descent of the spirit was too much for the body to handle.”
Asana is a small and necessary part of yoga...the science of yoga is not exercise.
Tomorrow's sutra will tell you more...
