The Asanas of Yoga

The third step in the Eight Fold Path of Yoga is one that everyone knows about. These are the Asanas (Ah – Saunas). or poses.

If you have missed the first two steps, I encourage you to look them up later. The first step is the Yamas of Yoga and the second is the Niyamas of Yoga. In the meantime, the Asanas are what will give you that super cute “Yoga” butt. However, the noticeable body improvements are simply a pleasant side effect.

The physical activity of Yoga is actually all about something quite different than what most people think.

The true reason for the Yoga Poses is to create a union of your mind, body and spirit and prepare for sitting meditation. The poses are designed to limber and relax your muscles while also working stress chemicals out of your system.

Taking time with the Yoga poses also takes your mind away from all the chitter-chatter because you are forced to pay attention to how you are placing your body. This break alone can get your mind off the daily stress and allow your spirit to come out to play.

Finally, since it’s your body that you are contorting into all sorts of different shapes, you become more aware that you are a physical presence and not just some walking mind. That rememberance serves to ground and create a holistic connection to your personal trinity of mind, body and spirit.

Oh! Of course, there is the strengthening, toning, firming and elongating of your body. When you do Yoga, you will feel taller, move better and become more aware to the physical presence around you.

Oh, yea, and you really do gotta love that Yoga butt!

The biggest misconception about this path of Yoga is that you are supposed to force yourself into the poses. This makes it very difficult if you are just beginning, and can even be downright dangerous if you aren’t in the best of shape. Unless of course you are practicing Savasana, which is known as the Corpse or Relaxation Pose. Then the only danger is falling asleep or getting stepped on if you practice in unusual spaces.

Anyway, the goals are to move slowly toward and into whatever pose you are hoping to accomplish and to remain aware while gently adjusting into the pose in a way that is comfortable for your body – without strain or struggle. When you do this, an amazing thing happens. You will find that you can eventually move into the full pose and you didn’t kill yourself to get there, only patiently and regularly practiced.

Each Yoga pose accomplishes particular benefits, both mentally and physically. There are poses for pretty much everything under the sun such as to relieve backaches, migraines and so forth. There are Yoga poses you can do sitting at your desk, standing in line and doing pretty much anything else in life.

You don’t always have to be at a Yoga class and you don’t have to take too much time away from your schedule either. You can do Yoga anytime and anywhere.

As a challenge, choose a benefit you are looking for and search on Google for “Yoga for _________” and see what you come up with. In the meantime, here is a great video I found to help get you motivated and promote feelings of happiness. Have fun!