Let's continue our series on the 8 Limbs of Yoga. These Limbs are guidelines for taking care of the inside and outside life of our whole self to live in peace within ourselves, and with others. We covered the Yamas (the outer disciplines) and the Niyamas (the inner disciplines). Now we move on to the third, Asana, or the physical postures of yoga.
This limb has the most misinformation out there as our culture places great value on how we look, and this is the aspect of yoga that others can see we practice. It has now been tied to rules about how it's done, working out, heat for detoxing, and flexibility...and while these are aspects of it, it is the lowest hanging fruit of the practice of the postures.
The postures are actually designed to help us concentrate. The postures prepare our mind and body (since they cannot be disconnected) to concentrate, which leads to meditation. Concentration and meditation (and the difference between the two) will be covered in the coming weeks. When we take control of the "stress" of the body, we learn to harness our reactions to stress, and this is so powerful! Imagine putting all emphasis on how you are doing in your alignment, when letting go of self-limiting mindsets are just left on the table, what a miss!
Becoming a yoga teacher helps you learn the depths of the power of these poses and how to unlock the use of them to overcome lies, outdated mindsets, and grow stronger physically, emotionally, and psychologically! Sign up for my newsletter to learn more. Click on the home page and scroll to the bottom. Newsletter goes out tomorrow! To learn more about the upcoming winter yoga teacher training course, click on Yoga Teacher Training. See you next time!
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