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Meditation Asanas
The main purpose of the meditation asanas is to allow the practitioner to sit for extended periods of time without moving the body and without discomfort. Only when the body has been steady and still for some time will meditation be experienced. Deep meditation requires the spinal column to be straight and very few asanas can satisfy this condition. Furthermore, in high stages of meditation the practitioner loses control over the muscles of the body. The meditation asana, therefore, needs to hold the body in a steady position without conscious effort. Why not lie in shavasana, then, for meditation since it satisfies all the requirements? Because in shavasana there is a tendency to drift into sleep. It is essential to remain awake and alert while going through the various stages which lead to successful meditation.
Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh said the following about asanas and meditation: "You must be able to sit in one of the meditation asanas for a full three hours at a stretch without the body shaking. Then only will you gain true asana siddhi, mastery over the asana, and be able to practise the higher stages of pranayama and dhyana. Without securing a steady asana you cannot progress well in meditation. The more steady you are in your asana, the more you will be able to concentrate with a one-pointed mind. If you can be steady in a posture even for one hour, you will be able to acquire a onepointed mind and feel the atmic anandam, infinite peace and soulful bliss inside you."
Initially, most people will find it difficult to sit in one asana for a long time. However, through the regular practice of the
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| SR No. | 009366 |
| Book Title | Asan Pranayam Mudra Bandh |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Satyanand Saraswati Swami |
| Publisher | Yoga Publication Trust |
| Publication Year | 2002 |
| Total Pages | 560 |
| Language | Hindi |
| Classification | Book_Devnagari |
| File Size | 5 MB |