| As we practice asanas with awareness, we not only | | | | the brain quiet. Because they demand such focus, |
| feel better but we are also better able to feel--that is, | | | | backbends are extremely powerful tools for |
| we become more sensitive to everything in our lives. | | | | overcoming ignorance. Backbends also help us |
| As our sensitivity deepens and widens, we begin to | | | | overcome the obstacle of asmita, the ego, because |
| practice asanas in such a way that we are practicing | | | | they open the heart center, the seat of our connection |
| the larger yoga: the discovery of our Self and our | | | | with our higher self. Asmita is the mistaken identification |
| dharma (our true purpose) and the overcoming of the | | | | of the small, individual self with the universal, supreme |
| obstacles that impede this journey. | | | | Self. The ego believes it knows everything and thinks |
| In the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali explains the five main | | | | that the universe revolves around it. As the ego grows, |
| kleshas (obstacles) on the yogic path. They are avidya, | | | | consciousness moves away from the heart and into |
| ignorance; asmita, ego; raga, attachment to pleasure; | | | | the brain. Over time the connection between the mind |
| dvesha, aversion to pain; and abhinivesha, the fear of | | | | and the heart--the smaller self and the larger Self--is |
| death. Though there are many yogic methods for | | | | lost. Backbends bring us back to this connection. |
| dealing with the kleshas, asana practice--both the | | | | The chest and heart openings provided by backbends |
| poses we explore and the manner in which we work | | | | also counteract the last three of the five kleshas: raga, |
| in them--can be one of the most powerful of yoga's | | | | dvesha, and abhinivesha. Raga, our attachment to |
| tools for helping us overcome these afflictions. | | | | pleasure, is a futile grasping of the ephemeral--we |
| Among the asanas, backbends are especially useful in | | | | clutch what is only transient. In doing so, we close our |
| this process, since they require strong concentration | | | | chest and shut down the heart center. Dvesha, |
| and open the chest and heart center. Let us then take | | | | aversion to pain, also closes the door to our hearts. |
| a look at the ways in which backbends--and | | | | When we cover up pain, we cover up our shadows, |
| specifically one of the most common backbends, | | | | the parts of ourselves that we repress because they |
| Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana (Upward Facing Dog | | | | do not please the ego. As with raga, our aversion is |
| Pose)--can help us face the kleshas and overcome | | | | not expressed with open, wide arms but with a |
| them. | | | | clutching, defensive posture. And abhinivesha, the fear |
| Arching over Obstacles | | | | of death, is the father of all fear, the primal cause for |
| In the epic poem Savitri, the Indian sage Sri Aurobindo | | | | all shrinking of the chest, hunching of the spine, and |
| writes, "Where ignorance is, there suffering too must | | | | withdrawing back into our small selves. |
| come." Avidya in our physical body also manifests in | | | | For these obstacles, hatha yoga has a powerful |
| the mind, which becomes unable to pay attention or | | | | remedy: backbends. And since Urdhva Mukha |
| retain and recall information. If we are to dispel our | | | | Svanasana appears in Suryanamaskar (Sun |
| ignorance, we must cultivate the ability to focus our | | | | Salutation), it provides an excellent opportunity for |
| attention as well as the ability to calm our minds. | | | | yogis to learn to use asana practice to combat |
| Indeed, an unfocused brain cannot be calm. Thus, the | | | | ignorance, ego, attachment to pleasure, aversion to |
| ability to focus is a precursor to learning how to make | | | | pain, and fear of death. |