The energetic quality of our yoga practice can be of 3 types - rajasic, tamasic, and sattvic. When there is a predominance of rajas (as in the energy is goal-orientated, dynamic, stimulating, even aggressive or forceful) or tamas (as in the energy is dull and heavy, or scattered and unfocused) in our practice, we will not reach a true state of health and well-being. Sometimes we are guilty of practising asanas like doing a physical workout, striving a lot to achieve a certain perfection, or we can simply be so switched off and inattentive that even though our body is moving through the asanas, the mind is somewhere else, planning, worrying or fantasizing. In these 2 scenarios, breath awareness is hardly present.
Any asana program can become another mechanical exercise. To avoid this, we must remind ourselves to focus the mind on the breathing rather than the movement. If the goal of our yoga practice is mental steadiness and a state of wholeness and balance, we can use the asanas as a means to promote a sattvic energy:
"Sattva is the quality of intelligence, virtue and goodness and creates harmony, balance and stability. It is light (not heavy) and luminous in nature. It possesses an inward and upward motion and brings about the awakening of the soul. Sattva provides happiness and contentment of a lasting nature. It is the principle of clarity, wideness and peace, the force of love that unites all things together." (David Frawley)
A key idea is to keep the movement within the breath. When you move into or out of any asana, start with breathing first and then move. When your movement ends, your breath should still continue for a few seconds. One benefit of this technique is that it prevents conflict between the movement and breath by ensuring that we do not move while holding the breath. The breath needs to support the movement properly.
At the mental level, distractions will reduce tremendously as we constantly remain aware of the flow of the breath and ensuring that each movement follows the breath. If your mind wanders and awareness of the breath fades, the breath will slip back to its usual involuntary pattern. This will alert you to the lack of focus in the mind, and just like in meditation, reminding you to refocus on the object of concentration.
May our asana practice be a meditative, intelligent, balanced, and sattvic one!
Reference:
http://www.vedanet.com/2012/06/the-three-gunas-how-to-balance-your-consciousness/
