When you begin to progress in asana practice, the communication process between your body, mind and breath changes. As a beginner, we spark the conversation with ourselves by first addressing the gross body, commanding our hands and legs to assume the right alignment in the asana. For instance, Trikonasana, is simply spreading the feet apart, turning the right foot out, keeping both the arms and legs straight and gripping the shin with the hand. However, through continuous practice, you can then move towards a refined conversation, where you shift focus from the gross body to finer access points in asanas, such as the movement of the skin and minor muscles. In context to Trikonasana, it could be the rotation of the thighs, ankles and calves or the firmness in the inner arch of the foot that is turned out leading to a better rotation in the torso. Practising asanas in such a manner develops a certain involvement, wherein the practitioner’s awareness is not allowed to leave the asana. This lays the foundation for one’s awareness to be pinpointed. As your communication becomes refined in asanas, the base of the conversation will shift from the body towards the breath. Once the body knows Trikonasana, you no longer have to spend time with the aim of performing the asana, but can now go towards the relation between your breath and Trikonasana. Your awareness is directed towards the relation between your breath and the asana. There is a search for what the asana can do for the breath and what the breath can do for the asana, and what both the asana and the breath can do for the mind. Such a conversation demands complete presence in the moment during practice. Developing this faculty is the real journey inwards.
