In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali there is a concise definition of yogasana: “Sthiram sukham aasanam”, meaning that position which is comfortable and steady. In this context, asanas are practised to develop the ability to sit comfortably in one position for an extended period of time, an ability necessary for meditation. Raja yoga equates yogasana to the stable sitting position. In the yogic scriptures it is said that there are originally 8,400,000 asanas, which represent 8,400,000 incarnations every individual must pass through before attaining liberation from the cycle of birth and death. These asanas represented a progressive evolution from the simplest form of life to the most complex: that of a fully realized human being. The great rishis and yogis modified and reduced the number of asanas to the few hundred known today. Of these few hundred, only the eighty-four most useful. Through their practice, it is possible to side-step the karmic process and bypass many evolutionary stages in one lifetime.

Yogasana and Kundalini:

The ultimate purpose of Hatha Yoga is the awakening of kundalini shakti, the evolutionary energy in man. Practising asanas stimulates the chakras, distributing the generated energy of kundalinin all over the body. About thirty-five asanas are specifically geared to this purpose: chakrasana for manipura chakra, sarangasana for vishuddhi (purification), sirshasana for sahasrara and so on. The other asanas regulate and purify the Nadis, facilitating the conduction of prana throughout the body. The main object of hatha yoga is to create balance between the interacting activities and processes of the panic and mental forces. Once this has been achieved, the impulses generated give a call of awakening to sushumna nadi, the central pathway in the spine, through which the kundalini energy ascends to sahasrara chakra, thereby illumining the higher centres of human consciousness. Hatha yoga, therefore, not only strengthens the body and improves the health, but also activates and awakens the higher centres responsible for the evolution of human consciousness.