Arogya Yoga: Chapter 16 – The Importance of Sitting Still
The standing poses from the previous chapters help stretch our hamstrings, open our hips and flex our knees in preparation for being able to sit. These poses eliminate the aches and pains that arise in the body, disturbing the mind. They are also required to correct the mental instability resulting in physical imbalance. Sitting is an important posture.
The ability to sit still for a long period is essential not only in day-to-day life, but also in spiritual practices such as pranayama, meditation and chanting. According to the Brahmasutras, these practices bear fruit only in an upright sitting posture. In other words, they cannot be done standing, lying down, or while the body is in motion. For these practices it is necessary to learn to sit still a length of time.
However, as soon as we sit, we often feel uncomfortable and we start to fidget. Usually, the pain that we feel when we sit is always present in the background, but we distract ourselves from it by being busy.
BKS Iyengar says: “When the body is uncomfortable, the mind is distressed.”
But I would add that it also works the other way: When the mind is distressed, the body is uncomfortable. To achieve a meditative state, the body, senses, mind and intellect must work together. It isn’t enough to have the physical body in a restful state; it is also essential to quieten the inner self.
This week, we will look at two basic seated poses: Dandasana (Staff Pose) and Swastikasana (Seated Crossed Legs Pose)
Dandasana - Staff Pose. The trunk is at a sharp right angle to the legs.
Swastikasana - Crossed Legs Pose
It is in Dandasana where we first learn to truly bend at the hips. In his description of Dandasana, Mr. Iyengar says that we are to sit with the trunk at a “sharp right angle” to the legs. This is the first stage of a forward bend; sitting upright. Note that when seated in Dandasana, you are sitting on your thighs and not your buttocks. This is important! If you are seated on your buttocks, your pelvis is tucked under and you need to sit up on a height.
The other basic seated pose introduced in this chapter is Swastikasana. A swastika has negative connotations in the West, but in India a swastika represents the intersection of auspiciousness and divinity. The intersecting of the legs in this pose is said to inspire auspicious thoughts. The word also means to firmly entrenched in one’s Self.
It is important in Swastikasana to be sitting on the sit bones with the knees not higher than the hips. You may need to sit on a height to achieve this. Being on the sit bones helps you to lift the chest and to keep the sternum, ribcage and diaphragm spreading wide. Often the spine collapses when we sit. Or, we sit in a lopsided manner with more weight on one buttock bone than the other. With mindful practice and self-awareness, in both of these seated poses, we learn to initiate a state of equilibrium.
If you’d like to read the whole chapter, click here.