An asana is a yoga pose, and there are many different types. Asanas can be simple or complex, and they can be performed standing, sitting, or lying down. The point of an asana is to maintain a comfortable, relaxed position without strain.
Asana is the physical practice of yoga. It refers to the body and the poses or postures of yoga. In Sanskrit, the word “asana” translates as “seat,” specifically for meditation. Today, asana is synonymous with yoga, but it is only one component.
Why is it important to understand the history and origins of yoga asanas? Because doing so can make your practice much more rich and fulfilling. Yoga becomes less about merely trying to contort your body into difficult positions, and instead becomes something more significant.
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History of Asana
A lot has been said about the history of asanas, but it’s advantageous to go over a few points that are often overlooked in all the information.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a text that is studied a lot in the United States.
But asana did not come from Patanjali.
Asana is the third limb of Patanjali’s eight, but this is referring to the seat that is used for meditation and the body as your outermost layer.
Patanjali was an ascetic who believed in the liberation model of yoga. This means that the body wasn’t important to him.
For Patanjali, posture is the inability to move the body.
Patanjali wanted to move away from the physical body and into the subtler aspects of existence.
Hatha yoga is responsible for the perception that the body is not well regarded in yoga. Before hatha came along, the body was not seen as needing things like food, and they generate waste products. Bodies are seen as being kind of icky.
The Naths, the authors of the yogic text, The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, believed that the body was a temple. This belief is what led to the development of asana yoga, a practice meant to help strengthen and improve the health of the body.
The Popularity of Postural Yoga
The popularity of yoga poses is more to do with marketing, which is about making the right offer at the right time.
The success of yoga is due to the fact that it is a physical practice. People see it as just another form of exercise. To only market it as a breathing or meditative practice would be unsuccessful.
My personal experience shows that we only get five people attending our meditation classes, in contrast to flow classes which do well. This may be due to personal preferences, as data suggests.
The most popular form of yoga in the U.S. and beyond is vinyasa because it is very active. Yoga asana gives you something to do, which is something that Americans value because of the societal pressure to be productive.
The equally important reason is that it is enjoyable. When we join postures together and move from one to another smoothly, it feels good in your body.
Yoga does not have to be serious, there is an idea in yoga’s teachings that you have to practice with enthusiasm. If you’re not excited about it, you’ll quit and do something else.
Yoga is ideal for people who are interested in health and wellness. It is a mind-body practice that is known to have many benefits.
However, if you only focus on the asana, you might miss the mental aspects.
Where Do The Names of Yoga Postures Come From
The suffix “asana” is added to the end of yoga postures.
For example, tada equals mountain when added to asana. Tadasana, or mountain pose, is one such example. Here are a few more examples that highlight the asana.
- Chaturanga dandasana – four limb staff pose
- Ardha chandrasana – half moon pose
- Parivrtta parsvakonasana – revolved side angle pose
Yoga started with people observing nature. So it’s not surprising that yoga poses would be named after animals and other living things, like sages and the earth. For example, there are poses named after fish, frogs and locusts, trees, heroes, and cows.
This posture is based on three principles. This urdhva prasarita ekapadasana posture uses three principles: body parts, numbers, and directions.
- Urdhva means upwards.
- Prasarita means to stretch or expand.
- Eka is the number.
- Pada is a foot or leg.
It’s commonly called standing splits.
If you are traveling, it can be helpful to use Sanskrit for the names of the yoga poses, since there is more agreement on what to call them. I have heard all sorts of creative interpretations of various postures in English, including airplanes, chairs, and wild things.
The pose sounds more exotic if it is referred to by its Sanskrit name.
In his text, BKS Iyengar included the names of postures that his teacher, Krishnamacharya, innovated by blending postures from hatha yoga, gymnastics, wrestling, and calisthenics.
How Many Yoga Postures are There
Iyengar’s book, Light on Yoga, outlines 200 different yoga postures. However, only about 50 of these are regularly used in yoga classes.
There are “very big” or “more than you can ever do” number of postures in yoga, according to the Gheranda Samhita.
Let’s look at 13 of the many benefits of yoga in greater depth.
- Yoga improves flexibility
In 2016, two of yoga’s leading organizations, Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance, conducted a worldwide survey in order to collect data about yoga’s value in relation to its increasing popularity.
The most popular reason people give for doing yoga is that it helps them become more flexible.
It is important to be flexible for physical health and there are many types of yoga to choose from depending on how intense you want the workout to be. Even the lowest intensity styles have been found to increase flexibility.
Yoga is especially helpful for improving flexibility in adults aged 65 and over. A 2019 study found that yoga not only slowed down the loss of flexibility, but also improved it in older adults.
- Yoga helps with stress relief
The 84% of American adults who are feeling the impact of prolonged stress is a cause for concern for the American Psychological Association.
The second most cited reason people selected for doing yoga was to relieve stress. The science supports that yoga, and especially asana, is excellent at reducing stress.
Although the physical practice of yoga is beneficial, remember that it is only one aspect of yoga. Other practices such as meditation, breath work, chanting, and sound baths have also been shown to relieve tension and stress.
- Yoga improves mental health
Major depressive disorder is one of the most common mental health disorders.
The meta-analysis of 23 interventions showed that yoga can be considered an effective alternative treatment for MDD.
Both yoga therapies that focus on movement and those that focus on breathing have been shown to improve depressive symptoms significantly.
- Yoga may reduce inflammation
Chronic inflammation is the predecessor to many illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and Crohn’s disease.
A review of 15 research studies found that yoga of various styles, intensities, and durations reduced the biochemical markers of inflammation across several chronic conditions.
- Yoga will likely increase your strength
The stretching and flexibility often associated with yoga can also be considered a form of strength-building, depending on the class level, approach, and teacher.
The effectiveness of yoga in building strength has been investigated in several specific settings – for example, in relation to people with breast cancer, older adults, and children.
Yoga has been shown to be an effective strength-building practice for people of all ages, according to a study of air force personnel.
- Yoga may reduce anxiety
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are some of the most common mental health disorders in the United States.
There are various types of anxiety disorders, e.g. generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, and specific phobias. Even prolonged stress can be classified as an anxiety disorder in some cases.
There have been numerous studies suggesting that yoga asanas could be an effective alternative treatment for anxiety disorders, although some of the researchers have requested for more replicated studies to be done before making a conclusive statement.
Yoga nidra, which is a body scan/guided meditation, can help reduce anxiety.
- Yoga may improve quality of life
The World Health Organization describes quality of life as “an individual’s evaluation of their position in life, considering their culture and values, and in comparison to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns.”
There are several things that can impact someone’s quality of life, like the strength of their relationships, how creative they are, what kind of learning opportunities they have, their health, and how much material comfort they enjoy.
Quality of life has long been seen as a predictor of how long someone will live, as well as how well they will respond to treatment for chronic conditions.
According to a 2019 meta-analysis, yoga has the potential to improve the quality of life in people who suffer from chronic pain.
- Yoga may boost immunity
Chronic stress negatively effects your immune system.
If your immunity is weak, you are more likely to get sick. As we talked about before, yoga is a form of treatment for stress that is supported by science.
Some studies have found that practicing yoga can lead to better immune system functioning.
This is caused by yoga’s ability to reduce inflammation and improve cell-mediated immunity.
- Yoga can improve balance
The ability to balance is important for many everyday activities such as picking something up off the floor, reaching up to a shelf, and descending stairs.
Yoga can help improve an athlete’s balance and performance.
Yoga may improve balance for most people after practicing it consistently.
Even though falling may not seem serious, it can have disastrous consequences for some people. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that falls are very common among older adults in nursing facilities and even a minor fall can result in a greater chance of death.
More recent research has suggested that yoga may be beneficial in improving balance in older populations.
More research needs to be done using large samples before any firm conclusions can be made.
Yoga poses can help improve balance in people who have brain injuries.
There are types of yoga that are moreadaptive and can be done in a chair, which can be helpful for older adults or people who have injuries and can’t move around as much, or for whom balance is a concern.
- Yoga may improve cardiovascular functioning
Pranayama, which is often referred to as “yogic breathing,” is an important and beneficial aspect of yoga.
According to a review of 1,400 studies published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, yogic breathing can improve the functioning of several systems in the body (28).
breathing slower can help improve your cardiovascular system by changing your heart rate, stroke capacity, arterial pressure, and contractility of the heart.
The findings of this study suggest that practicing yoga breathing exercises may help to improve the way the brain controls the heart and lungs.
- Yoga may help improve sleep
When researching sleep, scientists look into a person’s ability to both fall asleep and stay asleep. Insomnia can affect one aspect or both of these.
Yoga has been shown to speed up the time it takes people to fall asleep and improve the quality of their sleep by causing them to sleep more deeply. This is due in part to the improved fitness from exercise and the mental calming and stress relief provided by yoga specifically.
quality. Other than reducing anxiety, many studies have found yoga nidra to be especially good at enhancing sleep quality.
- Yoga may improve self-esteem
Adolescents and young adults often have issues with their self-esteem and body image. Fortunately, recent studies have shown that yoga can be effective in helping improve self-esteem and body image in these populations.
There is evidence that yoga could help with the obsession, anxiety, and depression that are often present in patients with anorexia nervosa.
- Yoga may improve bone health
In many yoga postures, the muscles are held in a position where their length doesn’t change, even though they are contracted.
For example, in Plank Pose, the arms, trunk, and legs are all engaged and working together, without any movement in the joints.
Improve balance and coordination, and counteract the effects of osteoporosis To perform Warrior II, you start by positioning yourself with the lead leg bent at both the hip and knee. Isometric exercises have been found to increase bone density, improve balance and coordination, and counteract the effects of osteoporosis when performed with the joints in flexion.
Although some studies have found that yoga can improve bone density, the findings have been mixed and inconclusive.
