The âsanas are situated at the beginning of the learning process of yoga: they constitute the first part of hatha-yoga and the third part of the astânga-yoga of Patañjali.

The âsanas are physical exercises that have the purpose to prepare the body and mind for the next stages of yoga: prânâyâma, pratyâhara and dhâranâ. The body and mind are maintained in good health and trained, in a way that creates the necessary equilibrium (samatvam) of various functions.

A kind of reconditioning of the psycho-physiological mechanisms of the body, understood as a whole, takes place. The next step is the stadium of âsanajaya, the perfect mastery of the âsana: this can happen after a long and intense practice of the âsana.

At this point it is possible to sit for long times in a meditative âsana without feeling uneasiness or discomfort. The âsanas have fundamentally the purpose to oppose the ahgamejayatva, the instability due to disturbing factors (viksepa) in the tonic rhythms of the body.

Every unbalance of muscular tone is removed through the practice of asana. The âsanas go to the root causes of such unbalance, as the trembling due to emotional conflicts, stress, tensions, etc. In this way, the âsana moulds the body and mind, making them stable and perfectly capable to sustain the spiritual efforts of the following steps of yoga.

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