Finding the Balance: The Essence of the Sutra "Sthira Sukham Asanam" in Yoga Practice

The sutra that refers to these terms is sutra 2.46 - The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

This sentence can be roughly translated as “postures should be stable and comfortable”, and it is also often reworded as the balance between “effort” and “ease.”

Sthira refers to stability, intent, and strength. Etymologically it arises from the root -stha-, which means “to stand, to be firm”.

Sukha refers to comfort, ease, and openness, and the literal meaning is “good space,” from the root words -su- (good) and -kha- (space).

Sthira is the fire; the part of the practice that requires you to be fully present when you enter experiences of discomfort, whether it emerges from the physical body, the mind, or the energetic body. Finding stability in the body and the mind while practising asana, meditation, or any other yogic practice is what can ultimately bring us to balance. “Asana Sthiti”, the steadfastness in the posture. You’ll know you’re experiencing Asana Sthiti when the shape is steady, your muscles are engaged and your breath is rhythmic and supportive of the moment unfolding before you. Your mind will be present and observant. 

Sukha occurs when we learn to let go. It’s the part of the practice where, as we become more and more familiar with ourselves, we begin to relax and become more present in the experience without the need to do more or try harder; the law of minimum effort manifests. It is that part of ourselves that truly knows when we’ve “arrived” in the posture. Everything feels aligned and there is no strain in the muscles. The mind feels calm, content and spacious, and prana, the life force energy, can flow freely through us. 

On our mat and in our lives we’re constantly in search of harmony between both strength and stability, as well as flexibility and freedom. Having too much of one and too little of the other creates imbalance.

"How Does the Relationship Between Breathing and Inner Space Impact Our Well-being?"

According to yoga, normal breathing is breathing that can create space in the body.

Breathing is defined as the passage of gases in the respiratory system;

The introduction of Oxygen and the removal of Carbon dioxide.

But the breath has additional layers in which it creates space.

The breathing exercises in Hatha Yoga are called Prana-yama.

Prana - life energy

Yama- control.

That is, according to yogic and Hatha yoga philosophy, breathing is meant to fill our various layers with life energy. To revive.

Breath and space in relation with each one of the different layers that exist in us -

Breathing and space in the physiological layer:

When we physically take deep and full breaths; lengthening of the respiratory and the intercostal muscles occurs, and expansion in the rib cage is taking place.

As a result of the upper body being filled with air or prana as we choose to call it, our chest rises.

When the lungs are filled with air, the body expands from the inside.

Breathing and space in consciousness:

There is a two-way connection between breathing and consciousness.

In writings of different philosophers it is said;

The one who gains control over the breath will gain control over the mind.

That means, there is a direct connection between emotion and thoughts and breathing.

If you think about it there are many phrases and proverbs that describe an emotional state by breathing:

'His breath hitched' or 'Needing something like air to breathe'.

One of the goals of practicing yoga is to create silence in our mind.

By observing and concentrating on the breath, we limit the gaze.

You don't let the mind get busy with thoughts, and in fact by doing so, silence is created in the mind.

That is why there is also silence in the breath.

On the same idea - as soon as we succeed in producing the silence in the breath it will in turn affect what is happening in the mind.

Breathing and energy space:

The last layer that the breathing practice touches is the energetic layer.

It is hard to put into words but we must use words to describe an experience that is beyond words.

Each of us gives a different meaning to words and each different meaning creates creates vibrations in us.

Each of us gives a different meaning to words.

For example when I say cat; Some will say it's a disgusting animal because it rummages through garbage and some will say it's the cutest animal in the world.

The same word, the same object evokes a different interpretation in different people.

Therefore, when we come to discuss experiences that are beyond words, we must remember that there are different interpretations of what is said.

In the philosophy of yoga, a sleeping serpent is described at the base of the spine and we try to wake it up - The Kundalini energy. I like to treat this story as a metaphor for our abilities, and awakening of the kundalini as the journey of revealing the abilities that we do not express.

By practicing yoga and pranayama - the different yogic breaths, we try to create new experiences.

Other experiences from our everyday experience. Those that lead to a different vision, new understandings and the awakening of new feelings.

We try to develop new abilities or develop an ability to observe the abilities hidden in us.

New experience, new insight, new ability

All these produce a general feeling of ability in life (vs dis-ability) and a feeling of aliveness.

A general sense of space. A place of well being.

The Anima Mundi - The Soul of the World

God redeems humanity, but nature needs to be redeemed by human alchemists, who are able to induce the process of transformation, which alone is capable of liberating the light imprisoned in physical creation.

— STEPHAN HOELLER

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The world is a living spiritual being. This was understood by the ancient philosophers and the alchemists who referred to the spiritual essence of the world as the anima mundi, the “Soul of the World.” They regarded the World Soul as a pure ethereal spirit diffused throughout all nature, the divine essence that embraces and energizes all life in the universe.

Throughout history our understanding of the world as a living being with a spiritual essence has dramatically changed. Plato understood that “the cosmos is a single Living Creature which contains all living creatures within it. While this tradition was carried on by the Gnostics and later the alchemists, the Church fathers imaged a world that was neither divine nor sacred. A transcendent divinity was the source of all creation, and humanity lived in exile from heaven in a state of sin. This doctrine created a split between matter and spirit, causing the world to be seen as separate from its creator.

The understanding of the world as sacred resurfaced from time to time over the next centuries. In the Gothic revival of the twelfth century, and later in the Renaissance, the created world was briefly seen through the image of the World Soul. In their cathedrals the Gothic architects reflected their vision of a sacred order within creation that belongs to this feminine divine principle. The World Soul animated and formed nature according to divine proportions, which the architects, masons, sculptors, and stained glass artists imaged in their creations. We need the magical powers within nature in order to heal and transform our world. But awakening these powers would mean that our patriarchal institutions will lose their control, as once again the mysterious inner world will come into play, releasing forces once understood and used by the priestess and shaman, whose existence the patriarchal world has forgotten. The science of the future will work with these forces, exploring how the different worlds interrelate, including how the energies of the inner can be used in the outer. The shaman and the scientist will work together, the wisdom of the priestess and wisdom of the physician renew their ancient connection.

But the first step is to awaken these powers, not just individually but for the whole world. We are moving into a global era, and any real changes need to be made globally. If we try to grasp powers for our own individual use, we risk descending into black magic, which is the use of inner powers for the purposes of the ego. Our next step in evolution is to realize the primal truth of oneness and to reunite our individual light with the whole.

The work pioneered by Jung has given us access to the science of alchemy, revealing this hidden part of our Western esoteric tradition. Psychological techniques have been developed to help reveal an inner world of energy, power, and creative potential. We no longer need to stay locked in the surface world. But our tendency has been to take this access for our individual selves, our own inner journey, and not realize its larger implications. Real alchemical work was always for the sake of the whole. In our inner journey, our own alchemical process, to work for the sake of the whole means to acknowledge the dimension of the anima mundi. ״The light we discover in our own depths is a spark of the World Soul, and the world needs this light in order to evolve.״ When we make this connection in our consciousness and our imagination, we begin to change the fabric of life. The alchemists knew the potency of this spark, this philosophical mercury. The same substance that transforms our individual self is the primordial world-creating spirit, the “universal and scintillating fire in the light of nature, which carries the heavenly spirit with it.” When we liberate it within ourselves but do not claim it just for ourselves, solely for our own inner process, we create certain connections through which this energy can flow into the core of life. We participate in the alchemical work of liberating the anima mundi. This is the first step in the work. What does it really mean, to liberate the anima mundi? In our individual alchemical opus we experience the effects of freeing the light, energy, and creative potential that lie within us. We know how this liberation can radically change our vision and experience of life. We are taken into a different dimension of our self, and life begins to magically open doors that before were closed or hidden. Of course these changes are not always what we may want—they do not fulfill our surface desires, but they have a deeper meaning and purpose. Something within us awakens and the life of the spirit begins. The info in this article was partly taken from Anima Mundi: Awakening the Soul of the World by Llwewllyn Vaughan-Lee / Sufi Journal