Why Practice Hatha Yoga?

May 2008

By Leslie Mouton

Patanjali says, in the yoga sutras, “Sthira sukham asanam.”
 
Patanjali lived about 5,000 years ago.  Yoga existed 7,000 years before Patanjali -- he was the first person to write things down. The yoga sutras are brief aphorisms that thread together an understanding of pragmatic philosophy. Here is one of the aphorisms codifed by Patanjali that explains how to practice yoga postures. 

Sthira sukham asanam is the 46th sutra in the second chapter.  Sanskrit words are rich and full of meaning.  Each word can be described in English with so many words! To study Sanskrit, we can consider each word.

Asana (asanani plural) means posture. It also means state, as in state of being.  What is the state of the body while in the posture?  

Patanjali says here that the state of the body is sthira sukham.  The definition of Sukha means easy, happy, ease-ful.  Sthira may be poetically described as smooth, like the surface of a clear lake on a windless morning.

Therefore, the way to practice yoga is with smooth ease.  This does not mean to say merely finding any comfortable position.  Ease in this sense implies effort.  When attention is given to precision, when awareness is spread equally throughout the entire body, every cell of the body is brought into the asana.  The work that is done in performing the asana results in a refinement that can be described as ease.  

The state of the mind also becomes smooth and ease-ful.  After all, where does the body end and the mind begin?  The work that is done in hatha yoga is not a work-out, but rather a work-in.  It's work done by the body, for the mind.  The purpose of finding stability and contentment in yoga class is to translate these qualities into daily life.

Practice hatha yoga, not only to improve your performance of the postures, but to create happiness in your life.

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