YOGA AND THE PHYSICAL SELF

It is said that there are as many asanas as there are living species, that is around 8,40,000. That means the muscles and joints can flex, extend and rotate in several thousand ways. All these asanas are classified into basic, intermediate and advanced levels. But how do you put yourself into one of these? If you are absolutely new to yoga, it is easy as you will be starting from scratch and so the basic level. But if you have been practicing for quite a while then it is a task. You can be struggling with the basic level of an easier pose and on the other hand be able to do some really difficult one. So then where do you put yourself?
But there is a way to decipher all the postures is one common way and to know how you fair physically and mentally. This way can help you understand your personality and hence your strengths and weaknesses to be applied wisely in other zones of life. Any posture can be broken into three stages - getting into the posture, holding the posture and coming out of the posture.
Getting into the posture requires you to take up the position, firm up the body yet keep it lose enough to go into the posture smoothly. Going from a neutral pose to the desired pose will demand you to align each and every involved muscle and ease into the pose consciously so as not to bend knees, tense shoulder or hunch back. Hence it demands you of a conscious will power. And there the mind questions, "how do I look when I go into the pose?",  "What would everyone else in the room think if I topple?". Can you rise above these questions and do the pose anyways? Here's a check on your perception of the self.
Holding the posture is uncomfortable to begin with. You realize that your body is shaking all the way. Your mind is focused on the only wish of ending the pose soon and so you breathe unevenly or forget to breathe completely. You realize which part of your body lacks the strength. Thus, it hones your endurance and brings awareness. And if you fall out of the pose in between, would you wish to go back into the pose? Here you check your dedication.
Coming out of the posture seems to be the happiest part until your teachers instructs you to come back slowly, step after step. Here you realize, coming out is the most difficult part actually. The core muscles are put to work here. Initially, either you rush out or you fall out of the pose till your core strengthens to ease you out smoothly.
This whole saga of a single pose puts your will power, strength, endurance, self image, fear for challenges, acceptance of failure and your ability to mold your mind; to a test.
So when Patanjali said sthira sukham asanam, he did not just mean to prepare the body for sitting still for hours of meditation. He also meant that in every pose, try to reach a state where both mind and body become still and it looks as easy as your natural state of being. Hence, asanas though important for health and balance of the body, have a deeper purpose; to diffuse the consciousness uniformly throughout the body so that duality between senses, nerves, cells, mind, intelligence and consciousness are eradicated and the whole being is in harmony. When the nervous, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, endocrine and genito-excretory systems are cleansed through asanas, prana moves unobstructed to the remotest cells and feeds them with copious supply of energy. Thus rejuvenated and revitalized body moves towards the goal of self-realization.
Sri Brahmananda clearly and beautifully sums up the effects of asanas. He says "the body is full of inertia (tamasic), the mind vibrant (rajasic) and the self serene and luminous (satvic). By perfection in asanas, the lazy body is transformed to the level of the vibrant mind and they together are cultured to reach the level of the serenity of the self."

SURYANAMASKARS - HOW MANY ARE ENOUGH?

It has n number of benefits (you can Google those later) but it is not a number. It is not that a certain number of suryanamaskars a day will keep the doctor away, but it might keep you away in a few days if you treat it as numbers.
If practicing suryanamaskars daily is exhausting you, if you roll back into your bed after the practice or want to rest before beginning with your everyday chores, than you might be going all wrong with your inclination and intentions of doing it.
Rightly done, suryanamaskar will of course shake up those joints and muscles rusted by laziness and make them sore in the beginning but eventually it should be more energizing and restorative than tiring and exhausting. It is, after all called suryanamaskar for a reason, that it is a way of bowing down to Sun God and thanking for being the greatest source of energy. It is supposed to stimulate pingala nadi also called as surya nadi, that helps to tap sun's energy and remove energy blockages if any. But if you target to do so many suryanamaskars in so much time than you better call it burpees or something more fancy because it won't be beneficial as it should be if it is not done as a spiritual ritual.
So next time when you get down on your mat for suryanamaskar, switch off your phone, turn off your timer, silent your mind and just be in the flow, breath comfortably in all postures, stay as long as you wish in any posture letting it massage your muscles, align your mind in every pose and do as many as it feels good. Yoga is never about pushing yourself rather it's more about raising yourself. Numbers would increase on a healthier day and decrease on a not so healthy day; doesn't matter. What should matter is showing up each day and finding a new you after each practice.

MY YOGA STORY

You can call yoga as just a form of physical exercise till you revert back to it just for flexibility, strength and weight loss. This definition of yoga that I presumed,  hurdled me to stick to it for anything longer than a month. Asanas are actually a preparatory tool to train the body for stillness required for the further stages. This outer most stage involving the physical body is called Annamaya kosh. 

The physical body is controlled by the sensory organs which are controlled by the mind and the mind by the breath. Controlling breathing is the next stage called Pranamaya kosh. To move further inwards to this stage however, you would need a prescription by your doctor for some ailments ( it does not show benefits so much on the outside unless it's practised for a longer period and so is not so interesting). I was though curious to know the further journey and how would that benefit me. Pranayama and asanas together ensure a healthy mind and body for the yogic progress.

A regular and steady practice of both would start affecting various spheres of your life magically. My food preferences, my mood swings, my temperament started changing. My patience, perseverance, tolerance increased in a course of time. This stage called Manomaya kosh ignites a thoughtless mind that activates the intellect.

The breath that controls the mind is kryptonite to the intellect. This activated intellect will have a hundred doubts and a million questions and will thus need direction for further journey. A good guru is a must here. I wanted to know all about yoga, it's origins to its preachers to its goals and teachings. I began reading lots of ancient scriptures and preachings by Patanjali, Swami Vivekananda and many more; asking my guru for translations and more explanations. This stage is called Vijnyanamaya kosh.

I won't say I crossed all these stages for the next one. It's not correct to cross them. You need a constant practice of stabilising at this yogic path through these stages going through lots of failures, learnings, acceptance and evolution to be able to experience the innermost stage called Anandmaya kosh or the blissful state.

Yoga - as in the Bhagwat Geeta

Yoga is not just skin but muscle and even mind deep.
Yoga is liberation from worldly matters and union with the cosmos.
Yoga is a human code of conduct concerning physical, mental and spiritual being of a soul.
Here is a beautiful extract from Devdutt Pattanaik's book JAYA, as Lord Krishna preaches Arjuna in the battle field of kurukshetra -
" With your head - analyse the situation and discover the roots of your emotions. Why do you feel what you feel? Are you being spurred on by your ego? Why do you wish to fight? Is it from the desire to dominate your enemies and win back your territories? Is it rage which motivates you, the desire for vengeance and justice? Or are you detached from the outcome, at peace with the act you are about to perform? If these questions don't come to your mind, Arjuna, you are not practising gyan yoga.
With your heart - have faith in the existence of the soul. Accept that nothing happens without a reason. Accept that all experiences have a purpose. Accept that the soul does not favour either you or the kauravas, that there is a reality greater than what you can perceive. Accept that infinite occurrences of the universe cannot be fathomed by the finite human mind. Surrender unconditionally, even in the absence of evidence, to the truth of the cosmos. In humility, there is faith. When there is faith, there is no fear. Is it faith guiding your hand, Arjuna, or is it fear? If it is fear, then you are not practising bhakti yoga.
With you actions - engage with the world around as a human, not animal. Animals have no intellect; their flesh is geared towards survival alone. That is why they are fettered by the law of jungle ( matsya nyaya) using their strength and cunning to stay alive. Humans have intellect and yearn for meaning beyond survival. They have the unique ability to empathise with this need in others too for they can sense the soul encased in all flesh. Humans alone of all living creatures can reject the law of the jungle and create the code of conduct based on empathy and directed at discovering the meaning of life. This is dharma. To live in dharma is to live without fear. To live in dharma is to act in love. To live in dharma is to have others as a reference point, not oneself. Function therefore in this war nor like that insecure dog that barks to dominate and whines when dominated, but like that secure cow, that provides milk freely and follows the music of the divine. Do you fight this war to break the stranglehold of jungle law in human society, Arjuna? If not, you you do not practice karma yoga."