体式练习方法
A comprehensive guide to Ashtanga Yoga asana practice methods, covering philosophical foundations, practice principles, and progression through series. Based on classical yoga texts and traditional teachings.
Āsana (posture) is the fundamental component of yoga practice. Patañjali's exposition in the Yoga Sūtra is remarkably clear: āsana should be maintained with 'steadiness (sthira) and comfort (sukha)'. Though succinct, this encapsulates the essential meaning of asana practice, providing direction for future practice.
The text further explains that this state is achieved by relaxing the effort (prayatna-śaithilya), thereby minimizing disturbances from dualities such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain. In the classical context, discussions about āsana primarily refer to seated postures. Patañjali emphasizes finding a seated posture that can be maintained comfortably for extended periods, ensuring that physical discomfort does not distract from deeper practice.
The Haṭha Pradīpikā provides more detailed exposition on āsana. Yogī Svātmārāma states that āsana is the first step in Haṭha Yoga, and practicing āsana brings stability, health, and lightness to the body. The text specifically recommends postures beneficial for further practice, such as Padmāsana, Siddhāsana, Vīrāsana, etc., believing these postures help stabilize the body, purify the energy channels (nāḍīs), and establish a foundation for prāṇāyāma and advanced practice.
The Bhagavad Gītā similarly refers primarily to seated postures: 'Keeping the body, head, and neck erect, still and steady.' This advice again aims at maintaining stability for prolonged periods. From these classical texts, we can discern that āsana in traditional yoga primarily serves sādhana (spiritual practice). The main purpose of āsana practice is to enable the body to remain still for extended periods, with comfort and stability being the paramount criteria.
Modern yoga's various complex postures are largely later developments. Therefore, the essence of āsana practice lies not in the external difficulty of movements but in cultivating bodily stability and endurance, finding comfortable postures suitable for oneself, and preparing for deeper practice. This represents the most authentic, fundamental teaching about āsana in classical yoga texts.