The Anusara Sadhana: Movement and Behavior within the Practice of Yoga Asana

Categories: Becoming an Anusara Teacher, bhakti, community, Methodology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Professional Development

Movement and Behavior within the Practice of Yoga Asana

How our movement reflects our body-mind relationship

Written by Adam Ballenger

If you are like most modern-day yogi’s you learned to do yoga postures and routines of sequences of yoga postures.

Yoga postures can be symbolic gestures filled with ritual and philosophical meaning or emotional devotion and celebration, they are also the expression and development of movement behaviors.

Walking, dancing, sitting and hugging are all physical behavior. As a behavior they express what’s been learned, what the components (your anatomy) can perform, and what the internal and external environments influence.

We move differently when we are stressed, or happy, when the ground is wet or dry, when we are well-nourished or low in blood sugar. The way we move expresses an amazing amount of information and we can influence the quality of this form of behavior.

Quality movement can be interpreted as being effective in the task desired.

Was I able to sit and stand safely. Was I efficient in that I expended the least amount of resources and energy necessary or did I exhaust myself because of poor movement quality or conditioning.

Was the movement fulfilling in that every time I move there are likely reasons for moving that are beyond the actual task such as was I able to help someone move their furniture – am I a helpful person in that way.

There can be many ways to assess the quality of movement leaving open the possibility that the quality may have coexisting costs and benefits.

Sometimes the cost is physical while the benefit is emotional or vice versa.

What are the most recent scientific discoveries around movement, mind-body relationship and well being?

Recent scientific discoveries illuminate the muscular system as an endocrine organ, releasing biomolecules only recently discovered that greatly affect health/longevity.

Research is identifying neuro-biochemical changes in the brain during exercise/movement that are crucial to cognition, memory, and psychological health.

The connection with muscle and fascia and how this affects how we move, and our internal health has been a great leap forward from anatomy and biomechanics of recent generations.

Movement involves both holistic systems and functional compartments that affects far more than we have ever understood. The practice of yoga asana can have a focus on the quality of movement over the accomplishment of positions and include methods and techniques to approach common challenges to higher quality and longer-lasting movement capabilities.

Because most adults’ quality of movement declines with age, this is one of the most shared “needs” we have as we age.

As an educator or practitioners of movement, which is something we do when we teach yoga asana, we need to have an understanding of what we are focusing on.

When we focus on the Asana itself, we teach the shape of the pose and use the principles we’ve learned. When we focus on the movement, we look at the person and try to support their what, why, and how (and more 😉).

Good movement capability typically leads to better Asana practice and helps prolong our ability to be healthy – or Healthspan.

Improving movement quality allows a person to engage in more movement behaviors that affect brain, heart and body health as well as express their emotional body with greater vigor and resilience.

Get ready to move in new ways and learn some awesome techniques to keep your neck healthy!

Check out the next video where Adam shares some Great Neck Work that supports the Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) and Controlled Articular Rotation (CARs) around the neck area.