Sukhasana, commonly known as easy or comfortable seated pose. A simple act of sitting cross-legged and doing breathing exercises. But I’ve found that there is a lot more to the pose than mere sitting and breathing.

The first challenge was body posture alignment. Sitting up tall to ensure the spine is straight, but it is not only the back, but the head and neck included. The weight of the body has to be evenly distributed, meaning you can’t have more weight on one bum and leaning to the side. The body had to be relaxed and relieved of tension, yet the alignment had to be maintained continuously, it was a sense of finding balance between the two contradictory states.

Next was the act of breathing. Sounds simple enough, the body naturally breathes on its own. And yet when it has to be done consciously, there are all kinds of distractions in the head. It could be body aches or random thoughts, and it makes the breath erratic. It is actually difficult to focus on the now, the present moment of being on the mat. You have to steel your mind, allowing the thoughts to flow through you and let it go, only then you can take the next step of focusing on the breath. More importantly, focusing on yourself.

Is the easy seated pose easy? It could be, with enough practice, you can find steadiness in your body and a calm sense of rhythm in your breathing.

Alvin
200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21