CHAPTER VII.
3.—Asana
THE third anga of Yoga is asana (posture). The best posture is that which is steady and pleasant. If we be uncomfortably seated, it is clear that our thoughts will be never collected. A good conscience which follows from the practice of yama and sound health which is the result of niyama, are no doubt very necessary. But given a clear conscience and sound health, the third requisite is good posture while practising yama. The later authors on Yoga mention some eighty-four different postures, e.g., Padmasana, Yogasana, Siddhasana, Sukhasana, and so on. But Patanjali is very wisely silent on this point, and leaves the question of asana to be settled by every body for himself. He only points out the conditions of good asana, and does not enter into details. As a guide for the beginner, we here quote some few of the postures. The Vishnu Puran gives the following directions—Sitting with the feet stretched out and so crossed as to touch the thighs, with the right hand stretched out and resting on the left, with the tongue fixed in the palate, and without bringing one row of teeth in contact with the other, with the eyes directed to the tip of the nose, and without glancing at any of the four quarters of the sky, let him meditate, &c.
The Buddhist method is—If the mode called pwan-kea be adopted, then the left leg is placed above the right and drawn close into the body, so that the toes of the left foot be placed evenly on the right thigh and those of the right foot on the left thigh. But if the ts’inen-kea mode of sitting be preferred, then the right leg is to be put uppermost. The palm of the left hand should be placed in the hollow of the right, corresponding to the position of the legs. The next requirement is to straighten the body. Having first of all stretched the joints seven or eight times, let the spine be perfectly straight, neither curved nor humped, the head and neck upright, the nose exactly plumb with the navel, neither awry, nor slanting, nor up, nor down, but the whole face straight and perfectly fixed.
According to the Persian method the devotee sits on his hands, cross-legged, passing the outside of the right foot over the left thigh, and that of the left foot over the right thigh; he then places his hands behind his back, and holds in his left hand the great toe of the right foot, and in the right hand the great toe of the left foot, fixing his eyes intently on the tip of the nose.
The aim of Yoga being to train the will-power, a steady posture should never be neglected. Determination and firmness of will appear as much from actions as from the outward demeanor of the person. A strong-willed person will always sit upright, and walk with upraised head straight and steadily; while a weak person will always be changing his posture, whether sitting or standing; his gait in motion is shambling, wavering and zigzag, and his very step betrays infirmity and want of resolution of the mind. Such a one can never sit at his ease in any length of time in one posture, but will be constantly shifting it. Therefore it is of great importance to learn “asana.” No doubt it will be found irksome to a degree in the beginning to be sitting like a statue without motion, in one posture, but habit will make it pleasant.
The result or fruit of practising asana is:—“There is no assault from the pairs”, i.e., heat and cold, hunger and thirst &c. By assuming a steady manly posture, our nerves are braced and tightened with the tightening of the body, and enable the body to resist heat and cold better, than a loose and weak one. Now for an example: if on a cold day, you sit shivering and trembling and contorting yourself in diverse postures to feel warm, ten to one you will feel more cold; but if, on the contrary, you tight yourself up, erect your spine, and sit steadily in any one of the asanas mentioned before, or in fact in any posture, you will at once feel a considerable diminution of cold an a pleasant increase of heat. The reason may be, that in sitting with our chest straight we inhale more oxygen and our blood is more completely aerated than otherwise; and so enables us to keep up the normal temperature. In summer, when one is perspiring profusely, and finds little relief from the pankha, let him assume a good asana, and witness with what a magic effect all the sweat vanishes and he feels comfortably cool. A steady asana produces mental equilibrium, and thus explains some of the results which follow from its mastery. We can resist the claims of hunger and thirst for a long time if we turn away our thoughts from them; and asana, by diverting our minds from them and strengthening our will, produces the desired result.
The postures should be continued not only while practising Yoga, but always. While walking, let our steps fall firm and steady, and so in sleep, &c. We should regularly drill ourselves to perfection, and never lose sight of these apparently trifling things.
