#27: Asana: “seat”

“An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,[1] and later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, to any type of position, adding reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, and balancing poses. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define "asana" as "[a position that] is steady and comfortable".[2] Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of the eight limbs of his system.[2] Asanas are also called yoga poses or yoga postures in English.”

Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash

I have to admit that I took this description straight from Wikipedia.

And I also have another confession to make: I didn’t realise it was the 1st of May today, and with the way things have been lately (incredibly ‘life’-filled), I didn’t even realise that, this week, the end of April must have been imminent.

Therefore, I apologise for the delay.

Anyway, as I researched, I was surprised to see that the opening paragraph on Wikipedia was pretty succinct.

It pleased me because what I most wanted to share about asana isn’t so much about what the Yoga Sutra shares.

After all, Patanjali only really said: “sthira sukham asanam”, which roughly translates as: steady and comfortable.

That’s pretty much it. At least from an eight limbs perspective.

Now, that’s not to say that asana is not important.

It absolutely is important!

But it is not as important as the Yama and Niyama, and certainly not as important, or defining, in terms of how many people perceive Yoga, especially here in the West.

For many people, asana, or the ‘pose’, is ONLY what Yoga is about, and the people doing the poses are usually perceived as being young, ‘beautiful’, white, able-bodied, middle-class, CIS female, slender and incredibly flexible.

Photo by Oksana Taran on Unsplash

See what I mean?

(Not that there is anything wrong with being any of these things.)

Just it’s so far removed from the essence of Yoga, and identity is a pretty important thing!

So, when people don’t practice, or even entertain the possibility of practice because they do not see their people being represented nor practicing the thing - no matter what the thing is - it can mean that they (the group) don’t bother, simply because they cannot see themselves doing it.

At the end of the day, elitism exists and it alienates people because, after all, we human beings are social creatures and having a sense of belonging matters. Whether we care to admit it or not.

So, this month, I encourage you to think about asana and any notions that you may have about what Yoga looks like, or ‘should’ look like, and observe any resistance or criticism (about yourself or others) and become curious about it and enquire about where it possibly came from; what and whose messaging you have received and absorbed, unconsciously or not, about who can ‘do’ Yoga and how any poses are ‘supposed’ to look?

What if you don’t ‘do’ Yoga at all? Then what?

What is the pose that you most associate with Yoga?

How do you feel about this pose in terms of your ability, inability or disability?

Does your ego inflate because you can do a certain pose ‘beautifully’, or does it deflate because you feel you can’t?

Reflect with these sorts of questions.

Find out how you think, without judgment.

Then, please check out and be inspired by some of the many Yoga teachers who actively challenge the capitalist appropriation of Yoga.

People such as Jivana Heyman, Susanna Barkataki and Donna Noble, and there are many, many more.

If you know of any others who teach similarly then please feel free to share their names in the comments below.

And, as always, I welcome messages and am always keen to know your thoughts.

With kindness,

Louisa

~x~