Postures and Chakras
“Do we have to call it the ‘Corpse pose’? That name gives me the willies.”
The year was 1973 and I was teaching my first series of weekly classes on yoga postures, free to the public at the city library. To accommodate the squeamishness of this student, we thereafter called the final posture the “deep relaxation pose.”
A few weeks later she had another question. “Where exactly are your ‘back legs?’” she asked.
“I’m sorry?” I responded, rather perplexed, as the other class members giggled.
“Well, you said on the last posture that we should ‘extend our back legs and raise them off the ground.’”
Realizing I had indeed made just that statement, we all began to laugh uproariously. From my instructions, it sounded like I should be teaching a veterinary yoga class to animals.
In reality, yoga postures are often named after animals whose shapes or mentalities are reflected in the pose. The cobra pose resembles a snake rising up off the floor and the tortoise posture gives the practitioner the ability to withdraw the mind from the world much like a tortoise can withdraw its limbs.
Yoga postures are much more than a system of stretching exercises; in fact, to refer to them as stretching exercises is a bit like referring to piano playing as finger exercises. Such a description misses the main point.
The purpose of yoga postures is to strengthen specific glands and nervous plexi in the body. These glandular and nervous centers, when conceived on the psychic level, are known as “chakras.” These psychic substations throughout the body represent the interface between your physical structure and your mental/emotional experience.
By regulating the glandular secretions and improving nervous tone, a practitioner of yoga postures experiences improved health and mental calm, both helpful for better meditation.
The Sanskrit word for yoga postures is “asana” which means “posture comfortably held.” As such, postures should be performed in a comfortable, calm atmosphere. Yoga postures are a unique aspect of the overall approach of yoga for physical, mental, and spiritual health.