4.2 Yogasana: Concept, Types, Significance & the Prescribed Repertoire
Key Takeaways
- Patanjali defines Asana at PYS 2.46 as Sthira-sukham asanam - steady and comfortable - and prescribes only that the seat be fit for meditation, not that it develop the body.
- Hatha texts define Asana functionally by its results: HYP 1.17 gives Sthairyam (stability), Arogyam (freedom from disease) and Anga-laghavam (lightness of limb).
- Asana is classified by posture family (standing, sitting, prone, supine, inverted) and by purpose (Dhyanatmaka meditative, Sharirika cultural, Vishrantikara relaxative).
- The Level 3 practical prescribes a fixed list of about 33 asanas from Tadasana through Sirshasana to Shavasana; the demonstration is marked against that list, not against a house sequence.
- Sirshasana is the only full inversion on the prescribed list, and it carries the tightest contraindications - hypertension, cardiac disease, glaucoma, cervical pathology, ear infection and menstruation.
4.2 Yogasana: Concept, Types, Significance & the Prescribed Repertoire
Syllabus item 1.16 asks for the meaning, definition, types and significance of Yogasana in Yoga Sadhana. Practical item 5.5 names roughly thirty-three specific postures you must be able to demonstrate. The theory and the list are examined separately, so take both.
Two different definitions, and why the difference matters
Patanjali: the seat
Sthira-sukham asanam — PYS 2.46
Asana is that which is steady (sthira) and comfortable (sukha). That is the whole definition. Patanjali is describing a seat for meditation, not a repertoire of postures — he never names a single asana. Perfection comes through Prayatna-shaithilya (relaxation of effort) and Ananta-samapatti (absorption in the infinite), PYS 2.47, and the result is Dvandva-anabhighatah, freedom from assault by the pairs of opposites, PYS 2.48.
Hatha Yoga: the instrument
"Kuryat tad asanam sthairyam arogyam changa-laghavam" — HYP 1.17
Asana yields Sthairyam (stability), Arogyam (freedom from disease) and Anga-laghavam (lightness of the limbs). Svatmarama also calls Asana "the first limb of Hatha Yoga" (Hathasya prathamangatvat, HYP 1.17).
The distinction is exam-worthy in itself. Patanjali's asana is a state; Hatha's asana is a practice. When a viva examiner asks "what is asana?", the complete answer names both.
The word itself comes from the root as, to sit or to be established — which is why the classical asanas of the earliest texts are all seated.
Types of Asana
By purpose (the classification the syllabus expects)
| Type | Sanskrit | Purpose | Examples from the prescribed list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditative | Dhyanatmaka / Dhyanopayogi | To hold the trunk, neck and head erect and motionless for long periods | Padmasana, Bhadrasana, Vajrasana, Dandasana |
| Cultural / corrective | Sharirika / Samskaratmaka | To act on muscles, joints, glands and viscera | Trikonasana, Ushtrasana, Dhanurasana, Ardha Matsyendrasana |
| Relaxative | Vishrantikara | To release effort and restore | Shavasana, Makarasana |
By body position
Standing (Sthiti), sitting (Upavishta), prone (Adhomukha), supine (Urdhvamukha), and inverted (Viparita). This is the classification that drives lesson sequencing, and it is exactly the grouping used in the nine-stage micro-lesson plan.
By the spinal action performed
Forward bend, backward bend, lateral bend, twist, balance, inversion. This is the classification that drives counter-posing: every deep forward bend is followed by a backward bend and vice versa, every twist by a symmetrical rest.
The prescribed Level 3 repertoire (practical item 5.5)
The syllabus gives the asanas in a fixed order. Grouped for teaching, they are:
| Group | Asanas |
|---|---|
| Standing | Tadasana · Hastottanasana · Vrikshasana · Ardha Chakrasana · Padahastasana · Trikonasana · Parshva Konasana · Katichakrasana |
| Sitting | Dandasana · Bhadrasana · Padmasana · Vajrasana · Yogamudrasana · Parvatasana |
| Sitting (kneeling/folding) | Mandukasana · Ushtrasana · Shashankasana · Utthana Mandukasana |
| Sitting (forward/back extension) | Paschimottanasana · Purvottanasana |
| Sitting (twists) | Vakrasana · Ardha Matsyendrasana · Gomukhasana |
| Prone | Makarasana · Bhujangasana · Salabhasana · Dhanurasana |
| Supine | Pavanamuktasana and its variations · Uttanapadasana · Ardha Halasana · Setubandhasana · Saral Matsyasana · Halasana · Chakrasana |
| Inverted | Sirshasana |
| Relaxative | Shavasana |
Three observations that examiners reward:
- Only one full inversion is prescribed — Sirshasana. Sarvangasana is not on the Level 3 asana list (it appears in the mudra section as Viparitakarani Mudra). Candidates who assume Sarvangasana is required, or who substitute it for Sirshasana, are working from a different syllabus.
- The list moves standing → sitting → prone → supine → inverted → Shavasana. That order is itself the lesson plan. Presenting the asanas in a scrambled order in a practical suggests the candidate has not read the syllabus.
- Yogamudrasana and Parvatasana are listed as asanas here, though Yoga Mudra also appears in the mudra section (5.8). Know both contexts.
Counter-pose logic
| Primary action | Example | Counter-pose |
|---|---|---|
| Deep forward bend | Paschimottanasana | Purvottanasana, Ushtrasana, Setubandhasana |
| Deep backward bend | Dhanurasana, Chakrasana | Shashankasana, Pavanamuktasana |
| Twist | Ardha Matsyendrasana | The same twist to the other side, then a symmetrical rest |
| Inversion | Sirshasana | Shashankasana or Shavasana, never straight to standing |
| Any strong practice | — | Makarasana (prone rest) or Shavasana (supine rest) |
Safety and contraindications an evaluator must know
| Asana | Principal contraindications |
|---|---|
| Sirshasana | Hypertension, cardiac disease, glaucoma and raised intra-ocular pressure, cervical spondylosis and any cervical pathology, middle-ear infection, menstruation, pregnancy, obesity, retinal detachment |
| Chakrasana | Hypertension, cardiac disease, recent abdominal or spinal surgery, wrist and shoulder injury, vertigo |
| Halasana / Ardha Halasana | Cervical spondylosis, hypertension, slipped disc, sciatica, pregnancy, glaucoma |
| Dhanurasana, Ushtrasana, Bhujangasana | Peptic ulcer, hernia, hyperthyroidism, pregnancy, recent abdominal surgery, severe lumbar pathology |
| Paschimottanasana, Padahastasana | Lumbar disc prolapse and acute sciatica (anterior flexion raises intradiscal pressure), high blood pressure, pregnancy |
| Padmasana, Vajrasana | Knee injury, meniscal or ligament damage, acute sciatica, severe varicose veins (Vajrasana) |
| Mayurasana (not on the Level 3 list but frequently asked) | Hernia, peptic ulcer, hypertension, pregnancy, wrist injury |
The single most examined pairing is the pair of opposites: forward bends are contraindicated in lumbar disc prolapse; back extensions are therapeutic. Get that the wrong way round in a viva and it will be marked as a safety failure, not a slip.
Significance in Yoga Sadhana
Why does a system aimed at stilling the mind spend so much time on the body? Three classical answers, all defensible in a viva:
- The body is the first obstacle. Patanjali lists Vyadhi (disease) as the first of the nine Antarayas (PYS 1.30). A body in pain will not permit a still mind.
- Asana prepares Pranayama. HYP places asana first precisely because the seat must be steady before breath regulation is safe; Patanjali's own ordering is identical — Tasmin sati, "that being accomplished," opens the pranayama sutra (PYS 2.49).
- Asana trains the relationship between effort and ease. Prayatna-shaithilya is a skill, not a metaphor: learning to hold a posture with the minimum necessary effort is the somatic rehearsal of the mental economy meditation requires.
Summary of Exam-Key Points
- PYS 2.46: Sthira-sukham asanam. Perfection by Prayatna-shaithilya + Ananta-samapatti (2.47); result Dvandva-anabhighatah (2.48).
- HYP 1.17: asana gives Sthairyam, Arogyam, Anga-laghavam; asana is the first limb of Hatha Yoga.
- Types by purpose: Dhyanatmaka, Sharirika, Vishrantikara.
- The prescribed list runs Tadasana → … → Sirshasana → Shavasana; Sirshasana is the only full inversion, and Sarvangasana is not on it.
- Forward bends are contraindicated in disc prolapse; back extensions are indicated.
How does Patanjali define Asana, and what does his definition NOT include?
Which is the only full inversion prescribed in the YCB Level 3 practical asana list?
A student presents with a diagnosed lumbar disc prolapse. Which category of asana is contraindicated, and which is indicated?
According to PYS 2.47, by which two means is Asana perfected?
In the classification of asanas by purpose, which type does Shavasana belong to, and what is its Sanskrit label?