Releasing tension
Aasana: The Third Limb of Yoga
Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah. Salutations to all the teachers.
Now that we have dealt with our external interactions and personal conduct, we can move one level further inward to the physical body.
Right now, you are either sitting, standing, or lying down. How long have you been in this position? How long can you stay like this without adjusting your position even slightly?
How strange it is that we live in this body throughout our lives (or so it seems), and yet we are not completely comfortable! We are constantly making small adjustments, even in our sleep, in search for a lasting comfort that we never find. Like small children, we are unable to keep still. As a result of this constant discomfort, the mind is unable to deeply concentrate as much as it otherwise could. What’s more, it is distracted from moving further inwards.
This is the goal of the third limb of the eight-limbed Yoga - Aasana (pronounced aah-suh-nuh)- to provide the body with sufficient strength, flexibility, and looseness, so that the Yogi can sit still and comfortably, for long periods of time.
In the West, this limb is typically presented as the entire goal of Yoga. However, it may be interesting to note that Patanjali only dedicates 3 sutras (out of a total of 196 sutras) to this limb. This doesn’t mean that it is irrelevant - simply that while it is an important part of Yoga, it is one step on the way to a much larger goal than a healthy body. Additionally, during Patanjali’s time, there were a number of other schools that specifically dealt with this aspect - this may be another reason that he does not spend much time on the topic in the Yoga Sutras.
P: Wait, what about all the fancy postures?
The word “Aasana” simply means “seat”, and in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, it is used in this way. However, there are a several later texts (fourteenth century onwards) such as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Goraksha Shataka, and the Garuda Purana, which describe a number of the physical postures and techniques that one may see at a Yoga studio today.
This type of Yoga, which is focused primarily on the physical postures and some breathing exercises, is known as Hatha Yoga (pronounced hut-huh), literally translated as “the Yoga of force” or “the Yoga of strength”. However, even in these texts, it is made clear that the purpose of Hatha Yoga is Raja Yoga (ie. the path of meditation that we are currently discussing).
सर्वे हठलयोपाया राजयोगस्य सिद्धये।राजयोगसमारूढः पुरुषः कालवञ्चकः॥Sarve hathaLayaUpaayaa raajaYogasya siddhayeRaajaYogaSamaaRoodhah purushah kaalaVanchakamAll the methods of Hatha and Laya Yoga are only for the purpose of perfection in Raja Yoga. The person who is established in Raja Yoga attains victory over Time.
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika, 4.103
There are a number of Yoga studios, websites, blogs, and YouTube channels dedicated to the practice of Hatha Yoga. While these postures are important to a holistic practice, a lot of detail can be found on this topic elsewhere, and so we will not spend much time on it in this series. Instead, the focus will be on how Aasana is relevant to Raja Yoga.
A final note here - the goal of Yoga is freedom from suffering (ie. Moksha), and this involves a dis-identification with the body (and eventually with the mind as well). Several traditional commentators note that too much focus on postural Yoga can be detrimental to this goal, since it can lead to a stronger attachment to, and identification with, the body and its appearance. From a practical standpoint, practice Aasana, but, if your ultimate goal is Moksha, beware of the tendency to make it an end in itself.
The definition of Aasana
स्थिरसुखम् आसनम्।SthiraSukham aasanamThe seat [Aasana] is that which is stable and comfortable.
- Yoga Sutras, 2.46
Aasana is defined as that seat which is stable and comfortable, such that the Yogi can keep their body completely still for long periods of time, thus allowing them to explore the depths of their mind without distraction from the physical body.
However, this is easier said than done. Unless you have been practising Yoga for some time, sitting completely still for five minutes is a difficult feat - let alone thirty minutes or an hour! We have a tendency to fidget, shift positions, and adjust our bodies every few seconds. So how do we go about solving for this?
As with everything in Yoga, we must first understand the cause.
The cause: Sankocha
The cause of our inability to keep still is a chronic tightness in our body. This is called “sankocha” (pronounced sun-coach-uh), and literally means contraction, tightness, or clenching. We are constantly clenching different parts of our body, mostly without realizing we are doing it.
Take a moment to notice your body - do you feel any tightness? Perhaps bring your attention to your jaw. Notice as you brought your attention your jaw, how you automatically loosened the muscles that were tight.
Now try bringing your attention to your eyebrows - notice the initial tightness, and how just by bringing your attention to it, you let it go.
You can try this for your entire body. Aside from the jaw and the eyebrows, some common areas of tightness are the shoulders, the hips, and the ankles. Bring your attention to each of these areas, one by one, and notice how you are able to let go of the tightness. For each of us, we have certain areas in our body which are tighter than others. This tightness is an indication of where you may want to focus your Aasana practice.
This clenching is also called “prayatna” (pronounced pruh-yut-nuh), which means “effort” or “attempt.” In terms of Yogic psychology, this sankocha or prayatna is a physical manifestation of the ahamkaar.
Imagine you are sitting in the passenger seat of a car, and the driver is going faster than you would like. Perhaps a car switches lanes quickly and unexpectedly. If you are paying attention, you may notice that you unconsciously step on the floor, as though there were a brake pedal there!
Another example may be if you are sitting in an aeroplane and you hit some turbulence. Unconsciously, you grab the armrests, as though that will somehow make the plane more stable.
As a final example, consider a child who is told to concentrate. What do they do? Most likely, they will furrow their eyebrows, and stare at the object of their concentration with a great muscular strain. Now, just like the examples above, this muscular strain is completely useless in helping them concentrate, but it creates the appearance of concentration to themselves, and to others around them.
As we are going through our day to day lives, we feel a psychological urge to hold ourselves together or stay in control, even if we are not consciously aware of it. This psychological urge translates into a physical tightness in various parts of our body. Just like in the examples above, this muscular strain is completely useless, if not counterproductive, but we do it anyway, and this results in patterns of muscular tightness. Different people have different tendencies, and so the areas of tightness will differ from person to person, but the principle is the same.
If you ever hear someone tell you that you are “holding stress” in a part of your body, this is the meaning.
How to solve it: Releasing effort and focusing on infinity
प्रयत्नशैथिल्यानन्तसमपत्तिभ्याम्।PrayatnaShaithilyaAnantaSamapattibhyaam[Aasana is perfected by] releasing effort, and by absorption in the infinite.
- Yoga Sutras, 2.47
Releasing effort
Earlier, when we focused our attention on the tension in the jaw, notice how the clenching was automatically released. There was no additional effort required to do so - it happened spontaneously. In this way, the method is a spontaneous release of effort just by bringing attention to the tightness.
Throughout our lives, we are conditioned to act - to do something - in order to achieve a goal. In Yoga, releasing sankocha is not a positive “doing”, but rather an active form of “not doing.” Rather than making any effort to release the tension, just let go of all effort, and the tension will automatically release. This release of effort is called shaithilya.
In practice, when sitting for meditation, rather than trying to perfect the posture by shuffling around, sit with the discomfort for a moment and simply allow your body to settle into the posture by releasing all effort.
Focusing on Infinity
Sometimes, however, the tightness is harder to get rid of. In these cases, rather than focusing on the tightness itself, try to focus on anantam (infinity), and notice how your posture naturally becomes more stable and comfortable.
P: Wait, what do you mean by “focus on infinity”?
Normally, our attention wraps itself around objects, and this results in conscious experience. Objects can be anything from the smallest piece of sand to the entirety of the cosmos. Additionally, they can be gross, like a physical object, or subtle, like a thought.
The larger and more subtle an object is, the harder it is for attention to “wrap” around it. The untrained mind has a hard time conceiving the true largeness of objects, and tries to abstract them away into words or ideas.
For example, try to imagine a large mountain. Most likely, the actual largeness of the mountain has been abstracted away into a concept called “mountain” with a vague shape of a triangle.
To solve for this, try to imagine your body standing by the mountain, and contemplate on the size of the mountain in comparison to your body. Bring your attention to parts of the mountain that are more your size, and how many of those parts the mountain has. You will know you have succeeded when a feeling of wonder arises.
Another method is to look at the sky and contemplate its vastness. Each cloud that looks so small from here is the size of a mountain, and the sky holds so many clouds.
A third method is to look up at the sky and contemplate how you could be looking downward instead of upward (the earth is just floating in space with no up or down). “Above” you is the bottomless abyss of space, and you are being suspended over it by the grace of gravity. There is no “floor” that you would hit, should you “fall”. Space is infinite.
A fourth method from the traditional commentaries uses a secondary meaning of the word ananta (which we translated above as “infinity”). In Vaishnav mythology, Ananta is another name for Seshanaag (aka Adi Shesha)- the divine Serpent upon which Vishnu rests, floating upon the Cosmic Ocean of Milk, dreaming up an infinity of Universes (including this one). It is said that Ananta holds the Universes firmly in his hoods. Visualizing Ananta in this way - both the firmness with which he holds the Universes and his vastness - the Yogi’s posture becomes firm and stable. As an aside, some believe that Patanjali was an incarnation of Ananta, who decided to be born on Earth to teach the way to liberation, out of compassion.
Finally, you can close your eyes and imagine first your own body, then the room around you, then your house or apartment with everything in it, your building and all the people who live in it, your block, your city, your state, your country, your continent, the entire earth, etc all the way up to the Universe - stopping at each stage until you grasp the feeling of vastness. Click on the video below to get a sense for the scale of the Universe in comparison to your body.
These exercises are for illustration so that you may get the idea, although they can each be used directly.
When trying to loosen sankocha, first try to bring your attention to the location on your body, and then contemplate vastness (ie. ananta) as described above. You will know you’re doing it right if it feels like an impossible task. After a few minutes of trying this, notice if your posture is more still and stable, and if the tightness has released a bit.
This technique can also be used at the time of meditation.
Once you sit down, and have gone over the Yamas and Niyamas mentally, bring your attention to your seat to make sure you are still and comfortable, and that your head, neck, and torso are in alignment. Then, as you close your eyes, bring your mind to vastness and notice, after a minute or two, how your posture has changed. Are your head and neck now in more alignment than before? Has tightness in your body loosened a bit? Do you feel more stable?
The result of Aasana
ततो द्वन्द्वानभिघातः।Tato dvandvaAnabhigaatahThen, [when Aasana is established,] the dualities are transcended.
- Yoga Sutras, 2.48
When we try to sit still, we are affected by the dualities. For example, it may feel too hot or too cold. Perhaps the floor is too hard or too soft, you may feel pleasure or pain, or maybe you feel that your seat is too high or too low. These dualities lead to distraction in the mind.
When your seat (ie. Aasana) is established, however, the dualities are no longer distracting to the mind. This doesn’t mean that the heat or cold disappears, only that it is no longer “too” hot or “too” cold - it is simply hot, cold, or somewhere in between. This becomes true for other dualities like hard and soft, pain and pleasure, or high and low as well.
Once the dualities have been “transcended” in this way, the body becomes completely and utterly still, and the mind is free to use its entire capacity on moving further inwards.
Until next time:
Set five timers on your phone spaced apart by a few hours (e.g. 10 am, 12 pm, 2 pm, 4 pm, 6 pm).
When the timer goes off, notice where you are holding tension in your body - check your jaws, your eyebrows and your shoulders to start, but scan the rest of your body as well.
Gently release the tension in those areas by simply bringing your attention to the feeling of tightness.
Take notes! Notice where you tend to hold more sankocha. You can use these notes to focus your Aasana practice.
Optional: When sitting for meditation, try to bring your mind to the largest object you can possibly imagine. The mind will fail at grasping infinity, but as you try to do so, notice how your posture is affected.
Next time: Aasanas: How should I sit?