Meditation Asanas
The goal of the meditation asanas is to allow the person to sit comfortably for a long period of time without moving. As Swami Sivananda said: “The steadier you are in your asana, the more you will be able to concentrate with a one-pointed mind”. In order to reach states of deep meditation, the practitioner should keep the spine straight, and remain steady without any muscular effort. Why don't we meditate in Shavasana then? Because if we don't have the training needed, we would have the tendency to fall sleep! (actually, just advanced sadhus or meditators practice in that way). Meditation asanas bring the possibility of keeping the spine straight with a wide and stable base on the ground.
Examples of this group of asanas are Padmasana (lotus pose), Siddhasana and Sukhasana.
The goal of the meditation asanas is to allow the person to sit comfortably for a long period of time without moving. As Swami Sivananda said: “The steadier you are in your asana, the more you will be able to concentrate with a one-pointed mind”. In order to reach states of deep meditation, the practitioner should keep the spine straight, and remain steady without any muscular effort. Why don't we meditate in Shavasana then? Because if we don't have the training needed, we would have the tendency to fall sleep! (actually, just advanced sadhus or meditators practice in that way). Meditation asanas bring the possibility of keeping the spine straight with a wide and stable base on the ground.
Examples of this group of asanas are Padmasana (lotus pose), Siddhasana and Sukhasana.
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Is Padmasana, or the lotus posture, the best asana for meditation ?
Well, it is true that Padmasana gives us a wide and stable base, it keeps our spine upheld, and since it somehow locks our legs it helps us to remain still. But it is not the best asana for meditation... If we struggle and even hurt ourselves to keep up the posture. The best asana will be the one that allows us to sit comfortable, remain steady without muscular effort, and helps us to stay aware and mindful.
It is natural to feel some discomfort or pain in the legs after a while of sitting in one position. In order to get some relief, we may slowly unlock the legs and massage them. When the blood circulation has returned to a normal state and there is no pain, resume the asana. An useful suggestion to make the following asanas more comfortable is to place a small cushion under the buttocks.
Now comes a very important point: Our knees are very delicate joints and we should not put any kind of strain on them. At the minimum sign of pain, we have to change the posture to a more comfortable one. As it is said in the Shankaracharya's Aparokshanubhuti: “True posture is that which leads to meditation on Brahman spontaneously and ceaselessly and not what leads to suffering”. Meditation asanas may require time of practice and some personal adjustments on the position.
Relaxation asanas may seem very easy to perform. But they require the practitioner to release all the tension in all the muscles... And sometimes, not even when sleeping the tension is properly released! Keep learning about the importance of these asanas here.
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Do you want to learn more about Meditation, its benefits and its final goal? Visit our section just by clicking here.
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