Links to Related Resources & Longer Articles:

• Considerations for Vinyāsa Krama around Bakāsana……

Collated Related Short Posts & Quotes:

“There are simple postures for Prāṇāyāma and Dhyāna,
so that we can relax in the body and not be distracted by it.
There are challenging postures,
to enable us to master our bodies and for young people who
will be engaged by the performance aspect of the posture.
There are also corrective postures.”
– TKV Desikachar England 1992

“Where do Āsana lead us?
1. For seated practices
To stay in a stable posture with the spine erect,
for Dhyāna or preparation for Dhyāna.
2.  For health
They do something for the energy flow of the body.
3. Ability to master the body
Not necessarily to promote health,
but to show that we can master the body.
Often these are good for health,
though many are only useful as challenges.”
– TKV Desikachar

“Dvi Pāda Pīṭham or Two Foot Support combines
the characteristics of a lying Āsana and a backbend,
as well as offering an alternative to more intense
backbends, or as a preparation for inverted Āsana.
This Āsana can be applied initially within a dynamic
context working as a preparation for the body,
plus allowing gradual access to stronger Āsana,
such as prone backbends and inverted Āsana.
The way for progressive work to access the upper half
of the body, neck and shoulders links to a subtle and
precise work with the breath, especially the inhalation.
Here the focus of attention is supported through the
application of techniques such as, firstly, locational
breathing and then, if appropriate, directional breathing.
This can further help the involvement of the student
in the longer-term intention and purpose of the Āsana.
In its more intense Śikṣaṇa form Dvi Pāda Pīṭham is a
challenging option for the more experienced student.”
– 108 Postural Practice Pointers

“I feel it is important that we don’t view Śikṣaṇa
merely as the ability or desire to accomplish
challenging or technically difficult Āsana, Mudrā,
or Prāṇāyāma under the setting of a Yoga practice.
Why? Because at the heart of the word Śikṣaṇa
lies the attitude that I am here and ready to learn,
to understand and to apply that learning as a skill.
In other words, I am ready to be a student of Yoga.
This appreciation implies that the attitude that is
Śikṣaṇa stimulates the intention to learn what is
Yoga rather then a consuming of experiences amidst
the ever-changing ‘plat du jour’ in today’s Yoga Place.
Thus, Śikṣaṇa is a quality that can be present within
the attitude of a person with limited practice abilities,
or absent in another, in spite of there being a capacity
for using a challenging or technically difficult practice.”
– 108 Yoga Practice Pointers