Health Benefits of Yoga Asanas (Hatha Yoga)

Asana means "seat" or "posture." Traditionally speaking, the aim
of asana practice is to strengthen and purify the gross and subtle bodies to make them fit for meditation, as well as to prevent disease and to increase longevity.

Below are a few of the yogic benefits of asana practice (hatha yoga):

• Asanas help to remove distractions in meditation caused by
  discomfort of the physical body.

• Asanas help to balance the doshas, strengthen and massage
  the internal organs, tone muscles and nerves, and remove
  impurities from the body and mind.

• Asanas help to improve the flow of prana and awaken the
  Kundalini energy.

• Asana practice helps to support Brahmacharya (the control
  of the senses and sexual energy) by helping to redirect and
  transform sexual energy into ojas (vital essence and immunity).

• Asana practice aids in overcoming physical and mental
  limitations and establishes self-discipline.

It is important not to become so fixated on asana practice so as to lose sight of the higher limbs of yoga. Don't let asana practice strengthen the ego. Remember that the ultimate aim of yoga is to purify the mind and body so as to remove the illusion of the individual ego, or "I-sense."

Below are a few of the general health benefits of asana or yoga postures. Schedule a private Asheville yoga session to learn an individualized regime according to your specific needs.

All balancing poses improve balance, concentration, memory, and circulation. They also have a therapeutic effect upon the nervous system and are used to alleviate disorders of the nervous system.

All forward bending poses tone the adrenal glands and kidneys and improve digestion and elimination. They are soothing to both vata and pitta and help to push prana upward.

All inverted poses help to stimulate the thyroid and parathyroid glands and tonify the lungs. They help to regulate vyana vayu, thus promoting normal heart function. Regular practice of such poses is thought to cure a wide variety of conditions such as hypertension, palpitation, asthma, sinus problems, allergies, urinary disorders, prolapsed organs, headaches, hemorrhoids, mental disturbances, and much more. They are balancing to vata and kapha. Pitta types should avoid prolonged headstands and favor shoulderstand and Viparita Karani mudra, which bend the neck and regulate the flow of blood and heat to the head.

Hatha yogis use inverted postures to awaken Kundalini.

All poses that lift the body up to rest on the hands help to strengthen the reproductive organs and glands, increase fertility, and support celibacy by redirecting and transforming sexual energy. Many of these poses help to tone the abdominal muscles and improve digestion.

All standing poses help to develop balance, strengthen leg and foot muscles, improve circulation, and tone the lungs, spine, nerves, and reproductive tissue.

All backward bending poses help to pacify vata and kindle the digestive fire without aggravating pitta. They also help to tone the spine, nerves, reproductive tissue, lungs and kidneys.

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