Asana is an integral and important part of the practice but definitely not the only component. Sometimes it helps to live life in the slow lane, to stop and smell the flowers by the wayside.
Are we losing ourselves in classes and getting caught up in the rat race – to be “more flexible” “more strong” or as the famous teacher Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche said, “becoming spiritually materialistic” ?
According to Patanjali, there are no movement based postures or asanas.This limb of yoga means to hold a seated, comfortable position ( sometimes combined with specific ‘seals’ or mudras) which create changes to the endocrine system. The yogi(ni) cultivates awareness and is able to stay unaffected from dualities such as heat/cold, light/darkness. When the body and mind are prepared after practice of yama and niyama( see previous posts on this page) the effect of asana is great and that is one more step toward transcendence from the so called ordinary states of being.