Let us take the case of the spiritual bohemian, the CEO of the hedge fund, or the secretary of the social security office who each morning – day after day, year after year – gets up one hour earlier than normal to perform her strenuous, sweating and acrobatic first series of Ashtanga yoga. This is the question each of them face: why are you really practising – why yoga? The initial answer could be that it is in order to find the inner truth, to de-stress, to empower body and mind, to shape those thighs, to increase flexibility of hip flexors, to increase inner awareness, or just to keep fit. These are all valid use-values of yoga.
But the answer should be followed with a second question. Why is this important; what do you want to achieve by being flexible, to be mentally strong, to be de-stressed, to look like your celebrity idol? So the second question is, what instigates our motives and desires? What conditions and informs our cravings? Are they generated and ruled by blinding symbols and desperate yearnings for power in order to prosper?
Loop the belt around your left foot and hold both ends Yoga zuda with your right hand. Placing your left hand on the floor at your side will help Yoga zuda you to align your torso straight forward. Inhaling, lift up through your spine, pulling the middle of your back in and up and your arms back in the shoulder joints. Exhaling, bend forward from your hips, with your abdomen lifting up and your torso moving out over the left leg. Hold your foot if you can reach it, and release your head down. Maintain the pose for several breaths, keeping your legs active but softening and releasing in the upper body. Forward bends remind one to bring awareness inside and become quiet. Purpose: To stretch the back and the legs, to conclude a practice with a quiet mind.
