Yoga breathing

The corrective asanas prepare various muscles, articulations, tendons and many reflex mechanisms, in a way to make the body and mind fit for higher yoga practices. Read more »

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Yoga relaxation is directly connected with the awareness and it has for objective the lessening of tensions that operate on the level of consciousness (citta). The concept of cittavishrânti (stillness on the level of consciousness) has gained in importance from hatha-yoga, which attributes a great meaning to the mental relaxation. Read more »

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A constant process of meditation requires that the annoyance of the external environment is reduced to the minimum or is annulled entirely. This means that the yoga practitioner will be able to concentrate his own mind and to meditate only in absence of nervous impulses from the receptors. Read more »

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Yoga asanas have been developed over thousand years to promote physical health and to prepare the student to higher yoga stages of meditation. Each yoga pose is attentively designed to focus on particular areas of the body. Read more »

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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. Read more »

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Now let us understand clearly what we mean by a subtle body. It is nothing but a minute germ of a living substance. It contains the invisible particles of matter which are held together by vital force, and it also possesses mind or thought-force in a potential state, just as the seed of a plant contains in it the life force and the power of growth. Read more »

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A lot of people consider the âsanas to be true gymnastic exercises and they perform them as such. Leaving aside the therapeutic aspect, the âsanas can be practiced to maintain the normal state of physical and mental health or to progress in yoga, but nevertheless they differ in various aspects from the common physical exercises. Read more »

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About a definition of asana, yoga pose, we can quote Patañjali, which enunciates in three brief aphorisms the principles on which the âsanas, their objectives and effects, are established, as well as the process through which such effects are achieved. It is appropriate to underline that all of this concerns the static aspect of the âsana. Read more »

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The term âsana is sometimes translated with “pose”, but this is not a proper word to explain what âsana is. A “pose” is not a natural position of the body: it can be an artificial position that is assumed for expressing an emotion or a thought.

The asanas on the contrary have nothing “to express”: on the face there is not some “expression” during the practice of the âsana. A “pose”, assumed for some seconds, can conduct to a physical and mental effort. The âsana doesn’t produce tiredness on any level: contrarily, a feeling of comfort is experienced after the session is finished. Read more »

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The term âsana literally means “sitting position” or simply “position”: it points out a bodily posture that contributes to the physical and mental stability and it generates a sense of comfort.

The term âsana is also used to point out a vegetable mat, or also a skin of well tanned antelope, which is a comfortable support to sit on the ground. In hatha-yoga the âsanas occupy a primary place, while they represent the third step in the eightfold yoga of Patañjali (astânga). Read more »

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