09/01/2026
{asana} the 3rd limb of yoga ~ the practice of physical postures. This is what we typically first get introduced to when starting a practice. Most of us start by taking a single yoga classes in which we do a lot of stretching, bending, and strengthening of the body. While our bodies are amazing tools and we should definitely use them as much as we can, moving the body into to different postures is actually not the ultimate goal of the yoga practice. The postures are just a tool to calm the mind and to move into the inner essence of being.
Yoga is more than just a physical practice. By opening up your body, you can eventually open up your mind, and the most fundamental goal of yoga is to quiet the mind. By constantly challenging yourself with different physical postures, you get the opportunity to explore and control all of your emotions. Asana has widespread benefits: improved health, strength, balance, and flexibility. But the deeper benefit that comes from a regular, daily practice is what keeps many doing this, day after day.
When your body starts to transform — opening up and gaining more strength — you are able to let go and soften. Often times, emotions that you have been keeping inside come up to the surface, and you are faced with your fears, sorrows, emotions, and things from our past that perhaps you have been unable to solve or resolve. At this point, you are not just working your body, you are also working your mind.
When practicing asanas on a regular basis, the first two limbs, yama and niyama will come more naturally. By working with your body, you become more aware of your surroundings as well as yourself. You will probably start to pay more attention to details and noticing how you react in different situations. Practicing asanas becomes both a preparation for meditation, and a meditation in and of itself. The postures become a tool to expand the consciousness, and the key to fostering this expansion begins with the control of breath: pranayama, the fourth limb.
