The difference between Yoga and Asana

There is a difference between Yoga and asana. Asanas are the physical postures most of us practice in class. Yoga is a specific set of philosophical ideas. The asanas were originally just one of eight tools that practitioners were meant to use on the path towards a particular brand of enlightenment. Since I don’t use the asanas solely for their originally intended purpose*, I don’t call what I do Yoga. I think it perpetuates a widely held misconception that if you practice the postures you are practicing Yoga. I very much value and occasionally reference ideas from Yoga proper in class but I prefer to make space for people to create their own systems of meaning organically. For me, this is the value of the asanas: to provide a method for self-exploration.

Heavy focus on Strength

My practice as a teacher is about how I can be useful to the world around me. Not because the world needs my help, but because I am happiest when I can be helpful. In the end, the world is not a better place because a body can stand on its hands, or touch its toes to the back of its head. But it may be a better place if a person feels strong enough to withstand the world around them; to give freely of themselves and help others to do the same. For this reason, my classes are designed to be challenging and to cultivate strength. For me, strength is about feeling right in your body and having something to give to world around you.

*A nerdy aside: the asanas most practiced in yoga’classes today are not descended from the original yoga texts. So I say ‘original purpose’ with a grain of salt. The asanas most of us engage in class come from Swedish gymnastics routines. For more on the history of asana, check out Yoga Body by Mark Singleton.