Salient features of conditioning §sanas

Dr. Parimal Devnath,

12B174-Valvan,

Lonavla, Pune-410403.

 

            §sanas are not merely postures but postural patterns which work through the skeletal muscles, the spine, the visceral organs mostly.  They are used to correct the personality of the aspirant by restoring the good functioning of the interoceptive mechanism in its various aspects.

 

              Our postural substrate is very closely related to and is influenced by our emotional make-up and one of the aims of §sana is to tackle the postural reflexes of the individual so that we obtain control over our emotions.  We know that our emotional disturbances may give rise to various types of somatic disorders­­. In pata_jali’s words the psychosomatic disturbances accompanying vik>epas are:  du#kha daurmanasya-a°gamejayatva and <v§sapra<v§sa .

 

            §sanas are therefore, used to control these tremors which are the outward expressions of inner disturbances and pata_jali when defining §sanas as sthirasukham§sanam puts the emphasis on the necessity of having prayatna<aithilya and anantasam§patti.  In his view §sanas performed with a proper relaxation of effort and by taking the mind to infinite object will lead to the destruction of dvandvas (disrhythmia of tonic impulses) “tato dvandv§nabhigh§ta#”.  In this s%tra, it seems that, if rightly understood, pata_jali refers to the disparities of the control or lack of reciprocity between opposite group of muscles and neural impulses.   Therefore it is the reestablishment of the tonic interoceptive mechanism which seems to be aimed at in §sanas.

 

            This process of correcting the disrhythmia at the level of our tonic interoceptive reactions will be operative through tackling the muscle tone of the body since it is the basis of all our phasic contractions.  Through the help of the spindles which are sense organs situated in muscles and sensitive only to stretching in a postural pattern certain impulses will be sent through the interoceptive mechanism to the cerebellum which controls the postural substrate and the equilibrium.  In its turn, the cerebellum will send counter-impulses to the muscles just to stretch and thus correcting their tone.

 

            If §sanas are performed in a completely relaxed manner, and when the stretching of muscles is obtained in a passive manner, inhibitory impulses will be sent to the muscles and a sense of well-being, lightness, peace and stability will be experienced.

 

            Relaxation of effort and taking the mind to infinity is of primordial importance to give free scope to the lower integrating centers situated in medulla, pons and mid brain so that the higher cortical centers are inhibited.

 

            Since the hypothalamus which is the source of outward expressions of our emotions is closely related to the various centers of the cerebellum, by restraining the muscle tone we obtain control over our autonomic nervous system and  thus bringing into control our emotional behavior.  It must be noted that such an inhibitory and soothing effect over the entire neuro-muscular system will be possible only if §sanas are performed in a relaxed manner.

 

            However, in the case of hypotonic personalities, the judicious use of §sanas in the opposite manner, will stimulate the ‘tone’ and may help the person to get rid of apathy,  neurasthenia etc.

 

As we have tried to explain above, §sanas are of primary importance to restore the homoeostasis of the body by tackling the tonic interoceptive mechanism.

 

§sanas, by stimulating and giving richer blood supply to nerves help in a better functioning of the nervous system, and through their actions on the endocrinal system, they help to restore the good functioning of hormonal secretions that are so important for our life activity.

 

§sanas act as ‘corrective’ medium and means so that the aspirant becomes calm and equipoised to take him a sep further that is pr§;§y§ma.  In pata_jali’s words—tasmin sati <v§sapra<v§sayorgativiccheda# pr§;§y§ma#. Hare ‘tasmin sati’ means having established and derived the results from §sana.

 

It would be dangerous to try pr§;§y§ma when there is a disturbance in the body and mind because it would act as an irritant and would lead to the opposite effects.

 

In conclusion, we can say that §sanas are meant to restore the homoeostasis in the body so that we can experience a sense of well-being, stability and lightness in the body and tranquility of mind.

 

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