'Asana' is the quintessential firmness of body, steadiness of intelligence, and benevolence of spirit. In the world of yoga, it should be, practiced and experienced with a feeling of firmness and endurance in the body, goodwill in mindfulness, and awareness and delight in the intelligence of the heart. Performing the 'asana' should be illuminative and nourishing. The performer must solicit discipline and attention to implement each 'asana' to perforate its intense depths in the remotest parts of the body. Even the meditational 'asana' has to be cultivated by the fibers, cells, joints, and muscles in cooperation with the mind. If 'asanas' are performed incorrectly in yoga, they become stale, and the performer becomes diseased rather than a yogi. In any 'asana,' the body has to be toned, and the mind tuned to stay longer with a firm body and a serene mind.
The essential factor is performing 'asanas' without creating aggressiveness in the muscle spindles or the skin cells. Space must be created between muscle and skin so that the skin receives the actions of the muscles, joints, and ligaments. The skin then sends messages to the brain, mind, and intelligence, which judge the appropriateness of all those actions. In addition, various asanas purify the body's nervous system, cause the energy to flow without obstruction, and ensure an even distribution of that energy during the 'pranayama.' Usually, the mind is closer to the body and the organs of action and perception than the soul. As 'asanas' are refined, they automatically become meditative as intelligence and mindfulness emphasize penetrating toward the core of being.
Each 'asana' has five functions in the yoga sutra - conative, cognitive, mental, intellectual, and spiritual. Conative action is the exertion of the organs of action. Cognitive action is the perception of the results of that action. When the two are fused, the discriminative faculty of the mind acts to guide the organs of action and perception to perform the 'asanas' more correctly; the rhythmic flow of energy and awareness is experienced evenly and without interruption both centripetally and centrifugally throughout the channels of the body. The body cells and the mind get energized, rejuvenated, and rekindled with joy. Then the practitioner truly feels that the body, mind, and soul are one. The feeling ultimately leads to the manifestation of 'dharana' and 'dhyana' in the practice of an 'asana.' 'Dharana' is defined as focusing attention on a chosen point or area within and outside the body. It is also termed 'concentration.' Maintaining the intensity of awareness leads from one-pointed attention to non-specific attentiveness.
'Dhyana' is defined as the state when the attentive awareness between the consciousness of the practitioner and his practice is unbroken. The pairs of opposites do not exist in the correct performance of any 'asana.' Perfection in 'asana' is reached when effort ceases, instilling infinite poise and allowing the finite vehicle - the body to merge with the seer.
The performer of the 'asanas' can be considered firm in his body posture when preserving the effort is no longer required. Under stability, the performer grasps the physiology of each of the 'asanas' and deeply reconnects with the benefits of performing the 'asanas.' Then the practitioner gains the art of relaxation and extends the rejuvenation of the body and consciousness. With the development of the sensitive mind, they train their thinking capability to read, study and penetrate the infinite. The practitioner ('sadhaka') gets immersed in the boundless state of oneness, which is indivisible and universal.
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