What is Yoga asana?

Transcript

hello my name is Christopher beaker and in this video i talk about what is yoga asana asano can be described as the art of being still in the body yoga asana is any posture that is useful for restoring and maintaining a practitioners well-being and improving the body's flexibility and vitality yoga asana is the third limb of ashtanga yoga a Sanskrit word asana means seat or connection to the earth according to yoga sutra 246 yoga asanas a steady comfortable posture yoga asanas are the physical postures associated with hatha and ashtanga yoga yoga asana is the practice of using physical postures to keep the body strong and disease free yoga asana is also practiced to enhance and preserve the vital life energy any posture that facilitates comfort and steadiness within the body is an asana in yoga asana there are various categories that postures can be described as to sequence of beneficial asana practice there are standing postures seated postures forward bends twists back bends inversions and yin and restorative postures each posture oftentimes fits into multiple categories categorizing the specific asanas is beneficial when creating a yoga asana sequence to practice in the yoga asana practice alignment of body is very important in most if not all standing postures we stay long through the spine when practicing yoga asana we also generally stack the joints we can also use props to aid us in the yoga asana practice props such as blankets bolsters straps and blocks can make more asanas available to more practitioners iyengar yoga is known for making use of props in the practice of yoga asana the use of props in asana practice minimizes the risk of energy injury or strain while making the postures more accessible to people who are less flexible in the body the heart of the yoga asana practice is vinyasa vinyasa is a style of yoga asana where the practitioner intentionally links movement with breath for each movement there is an inhale or an exhale some of the benefits of practicing the yoga asanas include stretching the muscles strengthening the muscles stretching the tendons and the ligaments opening joints of the body developing concentration and balance improving flexibility massaging stimulating and detoxifying internal organs cultivating awareness among breath and movement and cultivating mindfulness when practicing the asanas we are making the body supple which Prime's the body for seated meditation the yoga asanas were developed to assist the Yogi's and sages to sit for an extended period of time as to enter into a meditative state of awareness quote posture is that which is firm and pleasant now comes asana posture until you can get a firm see you cannot practice the breathing and other exercises firmness of seat means that you do not feel the body at all close quote Swami Vivekananda if you liked this video be sure to to the YouTube channel like me on facebook and be sure to opt into the mindful communicator which can be opted into a Christopher beaker calm