Holding Poses for a Long Time

In an earlier post, I had talked about the ‘mindfulness yoga’ workshop at Yogaville that I attended some time ago. In one of the sessions at this workshop, we practiced what is commonly called “Yin Yoga”. In this style of yoga, the emphasis is on mindfulness while practicing the asanas which are generally held for a long duration (several minutes). So, I decided to follow this practice of long hold times in a few of my recent classes. We practiced some of the simpler poses like the forward bends, gentle back bends, some side stretches and twists and held each for about 2 to 3 minutes. The feedback has been very encouraging and most of the students seem to have enjoyed these sessions. There are a few who had some difficulty holding the poses. At the end of this post, I will provide excerpts from some of these feedback emails that I received.

One of the key components of these long-hold poses is ‘mindfulness’. The term ‘mindfulness’ or ‘awareness’ is a very important concept in yoga where we stay totally focused on the present moment and don’t allow the mind to drift away. When we develop this practice of mindfulness during the asana or the pranayama session, over time we learn to carry the same attitude off the mat into our daily lives.

In order to understand the concept of mindfulness better, it will be instructive to understand how we can look at ourselves in terms of the ‘five koshas’ (five sheaths). I have explained the koshas in detail in a previous post. Here, I will just provide a brief summary:

1. Annamaya Kosha (Food Sheath): the physical body composed of the five elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether. This is the ‘touch and feel’ part of the body – the skin, the musculature, bones etc.
2. Pranamaya Kosha (Vital Energy Sheath): The sheath sustained by ‘prana’ or the air we breathe. It is further sub-divided into five pranas – prana, apana, udana, samana, vyana.
3. Manomaya Kosha  (Mind Sheath): This is the ‘antahakarana’ (the inner instrument) consisting of the cognitive mind, the intellect, ego and the storehouse of memories and past impressions (called ‘sanskaras’).
4. Vijnanamaya Kosha (Intellect/Intuition Sheath): This sheath provides us with capacity to discriminate between good and bad etc and is the source of intuitive wisdom.
5. Anandamaya Kosha (Bliss Sheath): We experience bliss or inner joy when we can transcend our ego.

In the practice of mindfulness, our primary focus is on the first three koshas. While holding a pose, we become aware of the impact of the stretch on the physical body, on the quality and depth of our breathing and on the mind in terms of any emotions or feelings that we might be going through. Here are some simple guidelines to follow while holding poses for a long time:

At the Physical Level (Annamaya Kosha)

When beginning to get into a pose, apply the proper breathing for the intended movement. For example, when getting into a forward bending pose, synchronize the bending with deep exhalation. At the end of exhalation, continue with your natural breathing cycle. At this point you begin to use the body’s innate intelligence to guide you as to how deep you want to go into the pose. First, scan the body from toes to head and become aware of all parts of the body which are feeling the stretch. At the first sign of resistance, pause any movement and wait for the muscles to relax. When we hold the pose for a long time, some of the connecting tissues and muscles can loosen up. If that happens and you feel that the body is inviting you to go deeper, you may accept the invitation. Once again, at the sign of next resistance, stop any movement. We need to be truly respectful of any messages and signals that we receive from the body without letting our ego to interfere.

It is very important to understand that we are making the effort to recognize our edges (that is we challenge ourselves to find the next edge) while stopping the movement when we find that edge. Once we find the edge, we need to stay perfectly still until we receive the next invitation from the body for further movement. Here we have to keep in mind the definition of asana according to Patanjali (sutra 2.46) – Sthira Sukham  asanam (an asana must be firm/steady and comfortable). If we can train ourselves to stop at the edge, we can stay without pain for a long time. We are merged with the pose – we become the pose.

At the Breath Level (Pranamaya Kosha)

While holding the pose, our effort is to keep the breath very calm, soft and steady. Any physical pain or movement can result in making the breath unsteady. So, physical comfort and stillness go hand-in-hand with stillness of the breath. If our breath becomes uneven, hurried or labored, we need to go back and make adjustments to the pose so the breath becomes calm again. You may either breathe your regular breath or use the “ujjayi” breath. You may also practice slightly deeper than normal breath. However, try to keep the breath soft (almost soundless).

At the Mind Level (Manomaya Kosha)

As mentioned above, we need to become an observer of our mind as well, constantly watching the thoughts, feelings and sensations arising in the mind. Patanjali, in his yoga sutras (sutras 2.52 and 2.53), tells us that steadiness of the breath leads to steadiness of the mind preparing us for ‘dharana’ (concentration)  . By steadying the mind, we can dive a little deeper into our consciousness and get a glimpse of our true nature. In yoga literature, our true nature (called the ‘purusha, ‘soul’ or ‘atma’) is compared to the bottom of a lake and the mind is like the waves in the lake. If the water of the lake is disturbed, the waves prevent us from seeing the bottom of the lake. When the water is still, we can look deep into the water. In the same manner, to get a glimpse of the soul, we need to try and still the mind.

When we practice holding the poses for long periods of time by following the guidelines mentioned above, our yoga experience becomes a source of joy and fulfillment.

I am giving below a couple of excerpts from the feedback received from the students on the long holding sessions (names withheld at the request of the students).

“I felt deeply relaxed, and had to focus to drive home after class.  The slow deep movements helped me focus deeply on my muscles and body parts that were working and stretching and to fully engage them.  I was in trance while doing the movements, not pushing myself, just moving and breathing. At one point when you said to be aware of my mind, I had an awareness of my soul and deep focus within. There was a brief encounter of limitlessness.  I was very tired after class and went to bed early, although I kept waking up every couple of hours, I slept longer than usual.”

“We both (me and my husband) enjoyed yesterday’s variation of Yoga class. Those longer stretches definitely helped to build awareness of the body and actually helped to relieve anxiety I had that day. This morning I felt pleasant light sourness in some of muscles that made my morning yoga practice even more enjoyable. I feel like muscles that did not have opportunity to participate before finally got chance in these exercises.”

I welcome your comments.