There are millions of people who practise asana without breath awareness and who have no idea of how to connect breath with movement. When we do the practices in that manner, asanas simply become exercise, and they are not asana anymore. The word asana means to become fixed ‘sthiram sukham asanam.’ According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, asana is defined as a fixed and comfortable posture. Is that fixity only physical? No. Asanas affect not only the physical body, but also the pranic and mental bodies. These are the three levels where asana has a direct influence.
The yogic traditions state that asanas change the behaviour of pranas in the body. Pranas become more balanced. If there is dissipation, distortion and distraction of pranas, we are able to regain our balance with the practice of asanas. Pranas are controlled by breath. Inhalation and exhalation regulate the flow of prana shakti in the body. Balanced inhalation and exhalation create harmony in the pranic body.
When people suffer from anxiety attacks, the first thing they are told is, ‘Breathe in and breathe out. Breathe in and breathe out. Breathe in and breathe out.’ After breathing in and breathing out, people say, ‘Oh, I feel better.’ We are breathing in and breathing out all the time, so why are we asked to focus on the breath at the time of a panic attack? Because the breath rebalances the distorted and dissipated pranic energy.
Yoga believes that there are five levels on which the asanas assert their influence on the body. First is the physical; second is the breath; third is the visualization; fourth is the mantra; and fifth is the chakra. These five components relate to different aspects of our own bodies. The movement is by the physical body. When we combine breath with movement, it affects the pranic body. When we combine visualization with breath and movement, it affects the mental body. When we combine chakra with breath and movement, it affects the vijnanamaya kosha, the dimension of consciousness. When we focus on a mantra in the posture, it affects the anandamaya kosha, the psychic body. These are different levels of intensity, which deepen our awareness about ourselves.
There is no harm if you do not use your breath with the movement. Everybody does it all the time. However, it is better as it also denotes your perception of yourself, your dominance over your unconscious and autonomic activities. If you can develop the skill to become aware of the breath with the movement, you are one step further towards becoming a yogi. When you are able to visualize, you are another step forward towards becoming a yogi. If you are able to do the mantra while you are practising the asana, you take another step towards becoming a better yogi. If you are able to visualize the chakras, mantra, breath and movement together, you are another step forward towards becoming a better yogi.
These are different steps. If you do not want to take any step, continue as you are doing, as an exercise, but then do not expect any benefits that you think you will get by practising yoga. You have to have progression in the practice of yoga to stabilize yourself in yogic practice.
28 May 2023, Ganga Darshan, Munger