The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (15th century) specifies that of these 84, the first four are important, namely the seated poses Siddhasana, Padmasana, Bhadrasana and Simhasana. Relief statue in Achyutaraya temple, Hampi, Karnataka showing an unidentified hand-balancing asana, 16th century The number 84 is symbolic rather than literal, indicating completeness and sacredness. Observing that there are as many postures as there are beings and asserting that there are 84 lakh or 8,400,000 species in all, the text states that Lord Shiva fashioned an asana for each lakh, thus giving 84 in all, although it mentions and describes only two in detail: Siddhasana and Padmasana. The Goraksha Sataka (10–11th century), or Goraksha Paddhathi, an early hatha yogic text, describes the origin of the 84 classic asanas said to have been revealed by the Hindu deity Lord Shiva. Such poses appear, according to the scholar James Mallinson, to have been created outside Shaivism, the home of the Nath yoga tradition, and to have been associated with asceticism they were later adopted by the Nath yogins. The 10th–11th century Vimanarcanakalpa is the first manuscript to describe a non-seated asana, in the form of Mayurasana (peacock) – a balancing pose. The Sutras are embedded in the Bhasya commentary, which scholars suggest may also be by Patanjali it names 12 seated meditation asanas including Padmasana, Virasana, Bhadrasana, and Svastikasana. The Yoga Sutras do not mention a single asana by name, merely specifying the characteristics of a good asana: Īsana means a steady and comfortable posture. Patanjali describes asanas as a "steady and comfortable posture", referring to the seated postures used for pranayama and for meditation, where meditation is the path to samadhi, transpersonal self-realization. Īsanas, along with the breathing exercises of pranayama, are the physical movements of hatha yoga and of modern yoga. The eight limbs are, in order, the yamas (codes of social conduct), niyamas (self-observances), asanas (postures), pranayama (breath work), pratyahara (sense withdrawal or non-attachment), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (realization of the true Self or Atman, and unity with Brahman, ultimate reality). 2nd to 4th century CE), which placed asana as one of the eight limbs of classical yoga With the popularity of yoga as exercise, asanas feature commonly in novels and films, and sometimes also in advertising.Ī page from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and Bhasya commentary (c. Religious Indian art depicts figures of the Buddha, Jain tirthankaras, and Shiva in lotus position and other meditation seats, and in the "royal ease" position, lalitasana. Īsanas have appeared in culture for many centuries. More recently, studies have provided evidence that they improve flexibility, strength, and balance to reduce stress and conditions related to it and specifically to alleviate some diseases such as asthma and diabetes. Hundreds more were illustrated by Dharma Mittra.Īsanas were claimed to provide both spiritual and physical benefits in medieval hatha yoga texts. Many more asanas have been devised since Iyengar's 1966 Light on Yoga which described some 200 asanas. Together they described hundreds more asanas, revived the popularity of yoga, and brought it to the Western world. Among Krishnamacharya's pupils were influential Indian yoga teachers including Pattabhi Jois, founder of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga, and B.K.S. In that environment, pioneers such as Yogendra, Kuvalayananda, and Krishnamacharya taught a new system of asanas (incorporating systems of exercise as well as traditional hatha yoga). In the 20th century, Indian nationalism favoured physical culture in response to colonialism. The 10th or 11th century Goraksha Sataka and the 15th century Hatha Yoga Pradipika identify 84 asanas the 17th century Hatha Ratnavali provides a different list of 84 asanas, describing some of them. Asanas are also called yoga poses or yoga postures in English. Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of the eight limbs of his system. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define "asana" as " is steady and comfortable". Left to right, top to bottom: Eka Pada Chakrasana Ardha Matsyendrasana Padmasana Navasana Pincha Mayurasana Dhanurasana Natarajasana VrkshasanaĪn asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose, and later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, to any type of position, adding reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, and balancing poses.
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