Yoga Therapy 101: Āsana
In this series we will explore the main tools of yoga, as they relate to yoga therapy.
When many people think about yoga, physical poses, or āsana (AH-sana), is what first comes to mind. While yoga also consists of breathing techniques, meditation, chanting, and textual study; āsana is the most outwardly visible, and for some people the most accessible.
Our visual culture often presents yoga as a series of challenging and advanced postures-- arm balances, head stands, poses where limbs are playing their very own game of twister, or multiple poses linked together in a feat of athletic and cardio endurance. This can lead to the idea that in order to practice āsana you need to be bendy, thin, fit and strong. Fortunately for those of us who do not fit that description in all or in part, this is not the whole truth.
Āsana is:
Moving your body with your breath
Meant to feel stable and comfortable
Creating an intentional shape or experience with your body
Infinitely variable based on your needs, goals and capacity
At its core, āsana is really just a special arrangement of the limbs and body that gives a particular experience, and aims to form new patterns within you. In yoga therapy we use āsana to alleviate patterns of discomfort and solidify patterns of ease and well-being. Āsana as applied in therapy can look very different than it does on a magazine cover or studio yoga class, because in yoga therapy we take care to arrange your limbs and your body in a way that serves your particular needs. In other words, we shape the pose to fit you, rather than asking you to fit yourself into the shape of a pose.
Āsana can be used to
Decrease pain
Restore or increase mobility
Strengthen
Support digestive and other physiological function
Process experiences or emotions
Reconnect with your body
The shape that a pose takes to fit you might be very surprising. For example, your āsana may consist of letting your arms rest at varying heights overhead as you are lying on the floor. It might look like sliding your heel away from and back towards your body while sitting in a chair. On the other hand, your āsana could be made up of postures linked together (vinyāsa), or long holds in challenging poses. No matter what your āsana looks like, it is there to serve a specific purpose, one that is set to aim you on a path towards feeling better within yourself.
In a yoga therapy session, expect to:
Try multiple ways of moving and positioning your body in order to find what works best
Only do what is comfortable and pain free
Feel confident in what you and your body can do
Leave your session knowing how to do your prescribed āsana