- Posture (should be) steady and comfortable.
The students of Yoga are generally familiar with the practices which are de-
noted by the word Asana. In fact, many people who do not know anything about Yoga
confuse it with these physical exercises. It is, however, necessary even for the student
of Yogic philosophy to understand clearly the place and purpose of Asanas in Raja-
Yoga, for in Hatha-Yoga and certain systems of physical culture their purpose is very
different. In Hatha-Yoga the subject of Asanas is treated at great length and there are
at least 84 Asanas which are described in detail, very specific and sometimes exagger-
ated results being attributed to many of them. There is no doubt that many of these
Asanas, by affecting the endocrine glands and Pranic currents, tend to bring about
very marked changes in the body and if practised correctly and for a sufficiently long
time, promote health in a remarkable manner. Hatha-Yoga is based on the principle
that changes in consciousness can be brought about by setting in motion currents of
certain kinds of subtler forces (Prana, Kundalini) in the physical body. The first step
in contacting the deeper levels of consciousness is, therefore, to make the physical
body perfectly healthy and fit for the influx and manipulation of these forces. That is
why such a strong emphasis is laid on the preparation of the physical body and the
Sadhaka is required to go through different kinds of physical exercises which are dealt
with in treatises on Hatha-Yoga.
In Raja-Yoga, however, the method adopted for bringing about changes in con-
sciousness is, based essentially on the control of the mind by the Will and the gradual
suppression of the Citta-Vrttis. The technique of Raja-Yoga is, therefore, directed to-
wards the elimination of all sources of disturbance to the mind, whether these sources
are external or internal. Now, one of the important sources of disturbance to the mind
is the physical body. Even modern psychology recognizes the close connection be-
tween the mind and the body and how they act and react on each other all the time. So
the Yogi must eliminate completely the disturbances which arise from the physical
body before he tries to tackle the problem of the mind itself. This is achieved through
the practice of Asana. The physical body is fixed in one particular posture and it is
found that when it can be kept like this for a long time it ceases to be a source of dis-
turbance to the mind.