8 Limbs: Limb 4: Asana

“Body is the bow, asana is the arrow and the soul is the target.” ~BKS Iyengar

In Sanskrit, the word asana translates as “seat,” specifically for meditation. Today asana is synonymous with yoga, but it is only one component. For so many people, the body is the gateway into yoga. Asana is the physical practice of yoga as it relates to the body. The tangible, physical experience allows people to relate to finding their practice and meeting themselves on the mat through the senses. Asana allows us to get to know our physical bodies through movement, breath and mindfulness. We use yoga poses to do yoga. But the yoga poses themselves are not yoga. We have meditation, pranayama, etc that are also “yoga”. Asana is the physical shape of what we are doing with our body. Yoga poses that we do with our body can also be a doorway to a calmer, clearer mind and a feeling of joy and peacefulness. Yoga is one of those things that works from the inside out or the outside in. Asana is the outside in. It uses your body to explore the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that go on within you. How do you know yourself? You can also use the way yoga works to benefit your mental and emotional health too. By moving deliberately, you can affect what you think and how you feel. Remember, our outward way of moving is a proxy for our mind. By changing the way you move, you affect your inner state. This takes time and is called “the work.”