Experience Your Yoga Pose from the Inside Out

As the first step on our journey towards deepening our practice, last week we took a quick peek at the Eight Limbs of Yoga as outlined in the ancient Yoga Sutras. This week, we focus on the third limb: asana.

Asana is the only physical component among the eight limbs. In the earliest yoga texts, asana referred primarily to a steady, comfortable seated position for meditation. As Hatha yoga and later modern styles evolved, the range of asanas expanded to include standing, balancing, and reclining postures. The underlying intention remains the same: to prepare the body so it can support long periods of stillness without pain or distraction. When the body feels supported and resilient, the mind has more space to turn inward toward breath (pranayama) and meditation (dhyana).

Most of us arrive at yoga through the poses—to work on alignment, flexibility, and strength. The asanas are a beautiful doorway into the practice. Going deeper doesn’t mean doing more advanced poses. It can mean doing the same pose you’ve done a thousand times, but seeing it with new eyes: bringing a deeper awareness to each shape.

 

 

Here are two ways you can experience each yoga pose in a new way, as if for the first time, with greater awareness.

 

1. Finding the Balance Between Effort and Ease
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali describes asana as a balance of sthira (steadiness) and sukha (ease). In everyday language: effort and ease.

In most poses (except restorative ones such as child's pose or savasana) you need a certain amount of muscular engagement and strength to create the shape of the pose. This is the effortneeded to create stability and proper alignment.  

But you don’t need muscular tension in every part of your body to hold a pose.  And so it becomes a delicate dance to balance intelligent effort with ease.  As you are holding your pose, look for ease in the parts of your body where you don't need tension to hold the pose safely and comfortably.  Ease can be found in the easy flow of your breath, receiving and releasing.  It can be found in a soft jaw, soft eyes, a smile while you practice.  You may not need muscular effort in your arms to create a particular pose, so keep them soft while creating just enough tension in the fingers to feel alive and connected.  

Really pay attention as you practice each pose and notice where you need muscular tension to hold the pose in good alignment, and where you can release any unnecessary effort and create some softness. 

 

2. Feeling a Pose Instead of Doing It
Subtle awareness is the practice of noticing what’s happening beneath the surface…noticing the differences from side to side, the micro shifts in your posture and the muscles, the texture of your breath, the tensions you hold in your body.  It’s noticing the internal signals that your body is giving you.

As you move through your practice, take with you a sense of exploration. Build an awareness of your body through each pose. While you are in any pose, stay present by scanning your awareness through your body, noticing sensations as they arise.  Notice the different parts of the body required to move in and out of each pose and how they are connected. Notice the differences from side to side by pausing after each pose. Those sensations may be pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Don’t judge them. Just notice them. By noticing these sensations, you will be experiencing each pose from a new perspective—almost as though you are experiencing it from the inside out.

TRY ONE POSE WITH GREATER AWARENESS - WARRIOR II
This week, let’s bring all this together by inviting a little extra curiosity into Warrior II. You don’t need to change the shape of the pose—just the quality of your attention.

Set up your pose.
 Starting in Mountain Pose at the front of your mat, step your left foot back into a stable, wide stance, your front foot points forward, your back foot turned at about a 45 degree angle.  The front heel should be lined up with the arch of your back foot.  Bend your front knee to about 90 degrees, ensuring that the knee is directly over your ankle.  Ground evenly into all four corners of both feet.  Expand from your heart through your arms into Warrior II - right arm forward, left arm back, wingspan wide, palms down. Gaze beyond your front fingertips

Find intelligent effort — notice where you need engagement to keep the pose stable and aligned:
The outer edge of the back foot rooting down
The front knee tracking over the ankle, thigh actively lifting
Arms extending with energy through the fingertips

Invite ease around the effort — scan for places you can soften:
Jaw, tongue, and forehead
Shoulders resting away from the ears
Back leg strong but not locked
Allow your breath to move easily, even as your legs, arms and core stay engaged.

Scan for subtle sensations — while you hold the pose, gently notice:
Differences between the front and back leg: warmth, heaviness, aliveness
Any micro-shifts in your pelvis or ribcage as you breathe
The texture of your breath: smooth, held, effortful, easy
Internal signals: “more here,” “less there,” “this feels clear,” or “this feels busy”
There’s no right or wrong. You’re simply collecting information.

Pause between sides
.   As you come back to stand at the front of your mat, stand quietly for a breath or two and notice the differences from side to side. Then repeat on the second side, carrying that same quality of curiosity.

After the pose
:   When you come out of Warrior II, take one more breath to ask:
How did this pose feel when I met it with attention instead of habit?