Taking your Asana off the Mat
When life is in flux, I tend to gravitate towards the Yoga Sutras to bring me back to earth. It’s kind of like coming home - to a simpler way of thinking. A reminder to another way of being.
It’s not a process I wish to rush. It’s the thing that gets me out of bed in the mornings. To sneak downstairs, make my coffee, put down a slice of toast and then make my way up to what is slowly becoming my meditation room.
I look forward to the snippets of ancient wisdom that’s been passed down through the ages. Although, sometimes - it feels like a very large pill to swallow.
A verse, so uncomplicated, had me pause this morning. You know the moments where it’s a realization that’s just been sitting beneath the surface and finally breaks through? Yep - that.
“Sthira sukham asanam.
Asana is a steady (sthira), comfortable (sukham) posture.”
So what does it mean to be steady and comfortable? Well - if we’re to break it down…
Steady: Firmly fixed, supported or balanced; not shaking or moving
Comfortable: Enjoying or providing a position of contentment
Contentment: (Sutra 2.42) ‘By contentment, supreme joy is gained’, ‘just to be as we are without going to outside things for happiness. If something comes, we let it come. If not, it doesn’t matter.’
You’ve more than likely heard at some point that we practice yoga (asana) to be able to sit in meditation. For many, it’s difficult because of the monkey mind, the built up energy, physical limitations (stiffness, injury etc.). Yoga asana can be a way to clear out, or help detoxify the body (physically, mentally and emotionally) as well as offer space, flexibility and confidence.
When practicing though, it should be done without the ego. Often (and I’ll be the first to put my hand up in participating), it can be a performative. It can lead to distraction, an inflated ego and ultimately, physical and internal harm.
Can’t the same be said in how we take up position in the world?
If you were to consider each action you make as an asana and question, am I leading with ego? What is the intention? Could I approach this with thought, consideration and curiosity? What would your day look like?
And so I’m asking myself, where can I bring a steady position into my day to day living? What micro changes can I make that will lead to a stable peace of mind? When work is confusing. When relationships feel hard. When the conversations are difficult. How can I be unmovable?
Then there’s the state of being comfortable. This I struggle with. The default is typically to steer clear of discomfort. Sure don’t we learn very early on that fire is hot and you don’t put your hand into it? And yet, we can’t avoid it. As they say, you can’t go over, under or around - you have to go through.
It feels very far away to be comfortable in experiences where I want to run the fudge (swear jar avoided) away. As I’m learning though, it’s just an experience. And the more hard stuff I go through, I know this too will pass. So, where can I accept discomfort (without having to like it) and in time, find comfort?
Then, in the moments where I lose my breath, I can find it and with strength and hold steady and with ease.
In my humble option, practicing yoga asana in a way that challenges the practitioner, allowing them to burn through toxins (tapas), can lead to an asana that is steady and comfortable. So when life shits the bucket ($5 to the swear jar), we have the training to move through challenges with grace and an understanding that we’re burning through excess [mind-stuff, energy, toxins etc.], eventually leading to a steady and comfortable position.
For me, this sutra isn’t just about the physical asana. It’s a way of reflection and application.
Where can we practice our asana when engaging with the world around us?
Zita
