Yoga Vidya

Yoga Asanas

Asanas can be described as the third one in the eight limbs of Yoga. Asana, which literally means staying or abiding, is basically a specific body position, attained by following certain steps. It is through asanas only that a human being achieves the unity of body and mind, which is the essence of yoga. Yogic asanas, commonly known as postures or posse in the west, are created for the purpose of improving the overall health and well-being of a person.

When a person is performing an asana, there is a corresponding balance between his movements and stillness. Patanjali, in his famous Yoga Sutra, says that each posture of yoga reflects a mental attitude, whether that attitude is one of surrender to the Almighty, strengthening of the will or creation of a physical prayer with the body. Through the performance and practice of different asanas, we revitalize as well as invigorate our body, mind and soul.

Types Of Asanas

Standing Asanas: The standing asanas bring elasticity in joints and muscles and build up stamina and physical stability of a person. The beginners should always start with standing asanas, as they constitute the most basic training of yoga practice.

Forward Bending Asanas: In this type of asanas, the posterior half of the body is stretched. Such asanas prepares you to proceed and bring consistency in the development of physical and mental pliability.

Sitting & Supine Asanas: The asanas that involve sitting upright or supine extending positions help in preparing a person, physically and mentally, for pranayama.

Inverted Asanas: These asanas give strength, mental balance and emotional stability to a person and also help him/her get rid of everyday stress and pressure.

Abdominal & Lumbar Asanas: Abdominal and lumbar asanas are known to tone and massage the abdominal organs and strengthen the pelvic and lumbar areas.

Twisting Asanas: Such type of asanas help tone the internal organs of a person and also tranquilize the mind. They consists of lateral stretching and twisting of the spine

Back Bending Asanas: These asanas are the opposite of forward bends. In forward bends, the posterior spine is extended, whereas in back bends, the anterior spine is extended and stretched. This, in turn, brings physical and mental sharpness.

Balancing Asanas: Balancing asanas are believed to help strengthen the arms and wrists of a person. They also exercise the abdominal organs, making the body feel light.

Benefits of Asanas

The main purpose of yoga asanas is to restore and maintain the practitioner’s well-being, both spiritually and physically.

Regular practice of the asanas helps improve health, strength, balance and flexibility.

The asanas are used as a tool to calm the mind and help a human being discover his/her inner essence.

The different poses offer the practitioner the opportunity to explore and control all the aspects a person’s mind and body – emotions, concentration, intent, faith and even the unity between physical and ethereal body.

The various asanas in yoga also provide us a way of exploring our mental attitudes and strengthening our will.

Yoga asanas help a person in creating a balance between his/her material world and spiritual experience.

The physical benefits from asanas include muscle flexibility and strengthening of almost all the body parts.

The asanas lead to a better functioning of respiratory system and also help control blood pressure.

and other issues related to the functioning of the circulatory system

Practicing yoga asanas on a regular basis reduces the stress levels as well as the health problems related to stress.

Apart from building the stamina of an individual, the various asanas also improve his/her concentration level.

All those who are trying to lose weight will find the various asanas of yoga to be quite helpful.

Dhyana

Dhyana Yoga forms the seventh constituent or limb of the ancient science of Yoga. It is derived from the Sanskrit root “dhyai” which means, “to think of”. The literal meaning of Dhyana is Meditation. It concentrates upon a point of focus, with the intention of knowing the truth about it and is the thought and meditation of spiritual things. While practicing Dhyana Yoga, we meditate on a single flow of idea. The purpose is to withdraw all senses from various objects of interest. The focus is laid upon on one object.

Dhyana Yoga produces a state of tranquility. Its objective is to cleanse the subconscious, develop concentration, clear the mind, and bring about various stages of unified communion with God. Practising Dhyana Yoga allows the person to calm his mind and allow him/her to look at the outside world without any distractions. This enables him/her to reach a heightened level of awareness. Meditation, consciousness, and experience, are all but a single unity. There are different forms of Dhyana Yoga and it is very important to remember the three things given below.

One-pointedness of mind is the first thing, that means controlling its movements.

Secondly, setting bounds to one’s life to help achieve this, this means doing actions after weighing and measuring them.

The third thing is the evenness of vision or state of level-headedness, which means having the nobility and decency to think in terms of the whole world.

Benefits Of Dhyana

Dhyana Yoga is a system that, in the form of meditation, tranquilizes the body and mind.

In the process of meditation, we calm the mind that leads to the realignment our inner self to the right path.

Meditation leads to have lesser thoughts that give rise to lesser worries, which in turn results in spending a simple life.

It enables us to contemplate on important things that we are connecting with the inner self. It also cut shorts too many distractions from our life.

The mind becomes so occupied with a particular subject that it concentrates deeply in the object to find the underlying differences, making a connection of the mind to a particular object.

While practicing Dhyana, the consciousness of the practitioner flows in the subject and helps in becoming one with the same. The mind is totally observed in the point of focus while concentrating on the same.

On physical level, Dhyana Yoga helps each cell in the body to refresh and regenerate itself.

It also facilitates digestion and makes respiration more efficient as well as improves circulation and quality of blood.

Moreover, it improves your ability to analyze your emotions objectively, and the way you react in certain situation.

Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti Yoga, as the name suggests, is the spiritual practice of loving devotion or ‘Bhakti’ to the Almighty. It lays emphasis on the love and devotion of a devotee to the God. Highly religious though, Bhakti Yoga should be adopted by every human being, living in this world of infidelity and rage, because it helps one to develop a positive attitude towards life. An individual performing this Yoga concentrates on the existence of the Almighty. It develops the peace of mind of the person. With a peaceful mind, it becomes possible for the person to live contented. He/she expresses the emotion of compassion and love for the other creatures co-existing with him/her. Hence, Bhakti yoga is beneficial to lead a healthy and peaceful life.

There are no fixed ways to perform Bhakti Yoga. It varies from person to person. It involves anything that talks about God. Some may resort to religious books, religious movies that emphasize the power and existence of God. Others may simply chant the name of the Almighty and think about the God all through the day. Singing prayers is another way to practice this Yoga. Meditation also finds place in Bhakti Yoga. In order to surrender themselves to the God and thus develop a close relationship with Him, some people go on pilgrimage, which is another way to perform Bhakti yoga.

The beauty of Bhakti Yoga lies in its simplicity. There is no need to master any particular technique, which has made Bhakti yoga as one of the most appealing types of Yoga. While practicing this type of Yoga, the individual seems to do the things positively. Moreover, whatever an individual does, while practicing Bhakti Yoga, proves beneficial for him/her or the people around him/her, in the long run. When he/she resorts to Bhakti Yoga, the environment is charged with pure energy. Since, Bhakti Yoga has appealed to many people. It gives them the confidence that the Almighty will always be there to protect them, when they face any kind of adversity in life.

An important thing to consider, when a person is interested in following the path of Bhakti Yoga, is that he/she should be emotionally bonded with the object of the faith in the Almighty. In most of the cases, people suppress their emotions, which often reflect in the form of physical and mental ailments. Bhakti yoga is beneficial for them, who want to release their suppressed emotions. Moreover, Bhakti Yoga brings the purification of inner self. People practicing this type of Yoga are able to enhance the quality of their life. It banishes all the unpleasant emotions of hatred, lust, anger, greed and purifies the heart with the only thought of love and devotion to the God.