Tattva

Padmasana is a yoga classic and is one of the most recognized poses. Famous depictions of the lotus-posture include Shiva, the meditating ascetic god and Buddha. Padma means lotus in Sanskrit, in this asana the legs look like blooming lotus.

This asana has been given a great importance in the Yogashastra as it is best suited for Pranayam & Dhyana. BKS Iyengar has a 22-page chapter titled “The Art of Sitting in Pranayama” in his book Light on Pranayama. Of the 22 pages nearly 12 are devoted for explaining Padmasana. His instruction for doing Padmasana is excruciatingly detailed. Some of the details he highlights are as follows.

-Press the thighs down on the floor, bringing the thigh bones deeper into the hip socket. Bring the hamstring muscles closer in order to lessen distance between the thighs. Then the anus and the genitals will not rest on the floor. In Padmasana both knees will not rest evenly on the floor.

-Keep the soles of the feet facing the sidewalls not the ceiling. Do not spread out the knees or deliberately press them to touch the floor. You can rest the knee which is above the floor on a rolled towel.

-Keep the torso vigorously active, legs and arms dormant as if asleep, and the area from the neck to the crown in a pure state of alert calmness. Keep the back firm. Stretch the spine from base to the top and from right and left sides also.

-Keep the navel area passive and narrow the waist area by lifting it up. It helps the mind and intellect stay serene.

-Keep the shoulder-blades down and open them away from spine. The skin there moves down and back. The skin of the front is stretched sideways on each side as the breasts are lifted away from the armpits.

-Beginners may sit near a wall tucking the buttocks close to it.

-Jerky movements are a sign of fatigue, loss of attention and lack of confidence. If they occur do not waste time on pranayama but practise asanas.

Iyengar gives a lot more details for the sadhaka to keep in mind. Mastering Padmasana requires lot of patience though. Erich Schiffmann, the author of Yoga - The Spirit and Art of Moving into Stillness, says that with a proper and consistent approach a sadhaka may be able to learn Padmasana within a year. He gives a set of other exercises which he calls ‘Lotus Preperations’ before getting to Padmasana. According to him Padmasana the most important asana of all.

Being able to do Padmasana is nothing short of a milestone for a yogi. Many yogis, especially those who aim for spiritual liberation cease their practise of more advanced asanas after getting to Padmasana. Instead they use their time and effort on pranayama and dhyana. Swami Vivekananda in his book Raj Yoga writes about Hatha-Yoga which deals entirely with the physical body, its aim being to make the physical body very strong. He says the yoga for spiritual advancement is not
concerned much with Hatha Yoga because its practices are very difficult, and cannot be learned in a day, and, after all, do not lead to much spiritual growth. The one thing necessary to learn from asanas is to hold the spinal column free, sitting erect, holding the three parts — the chest, neck, and head — in a straight line. Padmasana fulfills these requirements in the best possible way.

In conclusion Padmasana is one of the most important asanas because it is the best suited for pranayam and meditation. All aspiring yogis should make a consistent effort to master it.

Neeraj Korde is a software engineer based in Seattle, Washington. His interests include practicing yoga. He can be reached at nkorde@gmail.com. 

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This entry was posted on Saturday, December 1st, 2007 at 12:05 am and is filed under Yoga/Ayurveda. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.