When we speak of asana, we are speaking of the physical practice of yoga. That might seem like a bit of redundancy because of the confusion about what yoga is.
Most modern practitioners initially come to yoga by doing yoga postures or yoga asanas. But yoga asana is not yoga. An asana is simply a physical shape that you do with your body to disctract your from your thoughs and get your more mindful of your body.
We use yoga poses to do yoga. But the yoga poses themselves are not yoga.
An analogy might help. Think of yoga as fire. There are many ways to build a fire. You can rub two sticks together, strike flint stone against steel, or magnify the sun with glass. The method, though, is not the fire but a way to start the fire.
Likewise, asana is a way to practice yoga, but it is not the yoga itself.
When I first started my journey, yoga was something to help my body heal after a car crash to limit the pain I was in. Iyengar Yoga was the only yoga practice that could accommodate my needs with the help of props. Since then I have delved deeper and deeper into how we can cause our own pain and my knowledge of the body stems from being a dancer, and fitness and biomechanics coach. Where this has led me now is deeper into the journey of oneness, wholeness, and seeing the body as a healer.
However, to get this healing one must first be tuned inward. This is why I work with the yoga Asanas first to get you informed about your physical layer. This also needs to become a regular practice to build strength and stamina for life itself. and continue this awareness through the body as it speaks to your daily.
I have evolved since I started teaching Yoga asana I now teach all aspects of yoga and how to implement it as a practice of self-life coaching where you become responsible for yourself again.
Through my many years of studying the body, mind and soul connection I also see beneath the layers of you and to the root cause of what’s coming up for you. Your body really does keep score of your life and experiences the question is how deep are you prepared to delve to release yourself from the pain your body is showing you? It can be difficult as we unpick your responses and reactions and it’s a constant self-study I continue today.