asana
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.25|Asanas in varied contexts. Left to right, top to bottom: Chakrasana|Eka Pada Chakrasana; [[Ardha Matsyendrasana; Padmasana; Navasana; Pincha Mayurasana; Dhanurasana; Natarajasana; Vrkshasana ]]
Article
25 sectionsContents
- History
- Ancient times
- Medieval texts
- Modern pioneers
- Origins of the asanas
- Purposes
- Spiritual
- Exercise
- For women
- Effects
- Muscle usage
- Claimed benefits
- Contra-indications
- Common practices
- Traditional and modern guidance
- Surya Namaskar
- Styles
- Types
- In culture
- In religious art
- In literature
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- External links
thumb|upright=1.25|Asanas in varied contexts. Left to right, top to bottom: Chakrasana|Eka Pada Chakrasana; [[Ardha Matsyendrasana; Padmasana; Navasana; Pincha Mayurasana; Dhanurasana; Natarajasana; Vrkshasana ]]
An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose, and later extended in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise, to any type of position, adding reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, and balancing poses. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define "asana" as "[a position that] is steady and comfortable". Patanjali mentions the ability to sit for extended periods as one of the eight limbs of his system. Asanas are also called yoga poses or yoga postures in English.