On Asana practice

Today, the internet may have us believe that the ultimate aim of a yoga practice is to achieve picture-perfect poses. This belief not only prevents one from approaching the practice with confidence but also exposes one to potential long- and short-term damages.

The Patanjali Yoga Sutra, an important treatise on yoga, emphasizes having control over the mind as one of the primary goals of yoga. One of the most crucial sutras on asana practice is sutra 2.46, “sthiram sukham asanam,” which means that a yoga posture should be steady and stable. The stability one can acquire in a posture helps access the pranic body with ease, which is the limb immediately following the asana practice. 

In contrast, today, we see many practitioners putting their bodies through contortions and discomfort in pursuit of a perfect pose. The essential point to note is that yoga asana is a non-violent practice, stemming from the first limb of yoga, which is Yama. Forcing oneself to achieve something just for social media and hurting the body in the process is not what a true yogi would do.

The subsequent sutras, 2.47 and 2.48, highlight that an asana can be perfected only after continued practice over a long time, and once that is achieved, one will not be affected by dualities. If getting a perfect asana is giving you an ego boost or making you feel that people who cannot accomplish picture-perfect poses are inadequate, then it’s time to recalibrate your understanding of what yoga truly means.

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