Asana Column: Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend)

This forward bend is fertile ground for cultivating the understanding that yoga involves more than just physical effort.

By Barbara Benagh

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As yogis, we have learned that a disciplined practice yields positive results. We've also learned that we can usually produce specific results by doing certain poses or practicing a particular method. Some asanas will help an aching back, others relieve depression; one method builds strength, another is meditative, and so on. Since such benefits are both real and often predictable, you can be lulled into believing that the results are guaranteed, that you can "take" poses like a pill. Such a simplistic approach trivializes yoga and inevitably leads to disappointment and confusion, partly because it disregards the influence of individual variables like constitution and personality, but especially because it disregards the continuous fluctuations of each human mind.

One way yoga philosophy addresses the subject of how to deal with the mind's fluctuations is through the concept of the gunas, the three "strands" of the mind. The gunas consist of rajas, the active force that stimulates change; tamas, the opposite force of inertia that maintains the status quo; and sattva, a conscious state between rajas and tamas where balance and harmony dwell. The proportion in which these traits are present is transient and unstable, so that attaining true balance requires conscious internal attention and adaptation.

Let's look at how the concept of the gunas can be applied in the context of a yoga practice. Assume that after years of being a couch potato you've motivated yourself to do yoga. That's a proper use of rajas (action). Encouraged by your discipline and feeling better, you practice even more and feel full of life. Your activity is leading you toward the clarity of sattva.

Things go smoothly for a while, but suppose you begin to get chronic injuries or feel frustrated by your practice. The same poses that once inspired you are now a chore. And yet you may carry on, continuing a pattern that once worked so well. You are still working hard, but your efforts are now overly rajasic and leading you away from balance. There are mental elements of tamas (inertia) present as well, since your behavior flows from habit rather than conscious awareness. Now balance can only be found through poses that help you recover health and inspiration, even though they may not fit your expectations. As this example points out, the gunas provide a way of understanding how the personal patterns we each insert into our yoga practices influence the outcomes we get.

The influence of mind can be observed throughout your practice, but forward bends, particularly prolonged forward bends, are especially fertile ground for cultivating the understanding that yoga must involve so much more than physical effort. The simplicity and symmetry of Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend) makes it an ideal asana in which to examine the ebb and flow of the mind.

Paschimottanasana is also called Stretch of the West, a name I prefer because it poetically evokes the ancient ritual of yogis facing the sunrise as they practiced. (Paschima means "west" in Sanskrit, and the yogis were literally stretching the west side of the body as they bent toward the sun). Like other forward bends, Paschimottanasana, when done correctly, provides practical physical benefits. Most obviously, forward bends stretch the muscles of the lower spine, pelvis, and legs. In addition, the upper back, kidneys, and adrenal glands are stretched and stimulated, thus making Paschimottanasana a potentially therapeutic pose for those with respiratory or kidney problems, as well as for those who suffer from adrenal exhaustion. When a student has progressed to the point where the torso rests on the legs, the pose also provides a massage to the abdominal organs and a profound calming effect.

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