Watch on YouTube: Sukhasaha (Easy Pose)
Take a deep breath. No seriously, take a big nice juicy breath in, right now. Okay, now let it out. Ahhh. It feels good doesn’t it? When most people think of Yoga they think of pretzel bodies and expensive tight pants. But yoga is so much more than its postures and products. Yoga is an art and a science. It is the Dharma and the Greg. Yoga is for EVERYONE.
There are many branches of Yoga stemming from breath work to ethical guidelines that lead us to a fit, healthy and balanced lifestyle. Though we will start with a focus on the body and alignment, please note dear friends, that Yoga is a practice of living not just of postures. According to the yoga sutras there are 8 limbs to Yoga and we will cover all 8, but lets start with posture. ASANA.
If you have ever stopped to take a deep breath or if you have ever stretched your arms up over your head in the morning -you have practiced yoga asana. Yoga asana is just the fancy Sanskrit term for body position, or a position in which the body can sit. It makes sense to me that as we dive into the world of yoga we begin with a posture or asana that allows us to sit on our seat rather than our heads- we will get to that later. Sukasana or “Easy Pose” is the perfect place to start Yoga practice whether you are a beginner or an experienced yogi. We often start a yoga class by tuning in with this posture. Most of us learn this pose in Kindergarten. Yogasana, the physical practice, was originally created to allow the ancient yogis to sit still in meditation for extended periods of time, so coming into a place where we can allow the body to just sit and be present is an ideal (and safe) place to jump in.
“Eazy-er Said Than Dunn”
Stillness has been one of my dearest discoveries in all that I do! But, it is hard to sit still! In this wild time of fast paced living I find that it can be extremely difficult to just allow yourself the time to sit and be still. On top of that, if we can make (and take) the time to “just sit” we often cannot even dream of a moment where the body- let alone the mind- can be quiet and at peace. So, being a gal of the real word, I say embrace the conversation! Yes embrace the conversation like you do over a big bottle of cheap red wine and infuse it with consciousness and awareness. Ask yourself, what is the conversation about? Ask yourself what it has to do with the present moment.
Lately, instead of thinking of this first posture as “The Easy Pose” I like to think of it as a place where I practice finding more ease. Trust me, finding more ease ain’t always easy. But it is so rewarding and you will be amazed at how this yoga stuff starts to bleed into your everyday life. It can take a lot of trial and error to come into a place where you can just sit and be still, but through this practice you will find yoga. This is what yoga is all about. It takes a lot of trial and error to balance on one foot, to balance your checkbook and to balance… well, you fill in the blank.
Beyond sitting comfortably we have discovered that we way we hold our bodies has a profound affect on the people that we are. Our personalities, our emotions, even our mental state is affected and informed by the way we carry our bodies. As we come into our first seated posture, I invite you to ask yourself what the conversation is about. I will offer you some physical conversation starters and invite you to really stop what you are doing and take a deep breath. Let the body have the conversation in order to let the mind rest. Seriously the mind, or manas as we call it in the Yoga lands, needs to freaking take 10. At least.
Use the “how to” of the pose as a conversation starter with your body. Take a seat. Breathe. Feel supported by the earth, your mat, your pillow, your throne. Sit up tall to start talking with your body. When you come across something that doesn’t feel good- notice it- and then come back to the sound of your breath. Breathe Ya’ll! Open yourself up to a new experience. Safely. Here in the present. I got your back. Let me know how it goes…
"Yoga is the Dharma and the Greg."
Tearing up a little over here. 🙂
I'm glad you liked that Will! 🙂 XXOO
Oh goodness. This feels good. Trying not to take it too personally when my neck begins to make crunchin' sounds when I try to go to dinner plate. Will keep is saucer sized for a bit. Thanks for these, Adriene.
Sometimes I like to hear those neck noises. I don't think its very yogi like- but its true. Like when you used to clean the crusty stuff off your freshly pierced ears. (gross)
I'm glad you gave it a try! I hope you feel good! As you move through your pregnancy it will be harder to sit without letting the whole spine round so this is good to do now (and forever) as it will create more ease in the bod. XO
Thank you for this post, I am sure I will come way feeling better as I hope you are today.
My pleasure and I thank you!!!
Great post, I admire the writing style 🙂 A little off topic here but what theme are you using? Looks pretty cool.
Hi Adriene,
I'm making a proper start with this series now and I have tried sukhasana two or three times now, but afterwards I felt tension in my lower back, like L5 - L3 sort of region. I do have bad posture normally so whether this is simply a beginners thing to overcome or if I'm doing something wrong I don't know.
I also found it difficult to get a good connection to the ground with my feet because they're so boney. One was either painful or slipping in between my thigh and calf.
Lastly (lol I know), I felt that my breathing was somewhat restricted after straightening the spine.
I'm not sure what to make of all this.
Thanks,
Mathematicalis.
Hi Adriene,
I am new to yoga and have been really enjoying your videos over the last couple of weeks. I thought it was about time to start working through your foundations videos and came across a problem with the easy pose, where I get discomfort in my middle back. I know I generally have an issue here as I have been mediatIng for about a year now and have had issues with upper back and neck pain whilst sitting (I now mediate lying down!). Your lower and upper back sequences have really been helping me, but I just wondered if there was something I am doing wrong in the easy pose to get middle back pain?
Thanks again for the great videos
Stella
I'm trying this out for the first time. I have anxiety issues and I thought that Yoga might help with that. But I have such difficulty with closing my eyes, breathing deeply and sitting still (especially for long periods of time) have any advice for those very fretty beginners?
OK, so I am new to yoga and old... over 50 and my joints are basically petrified. Even with the "easy pose" my knees stick up. Are there any extra stretches to help loosen the joints or do I need to just continue practicing the poses... have started with the complete beginner video for about a week now and starting to be able go through it with few problems... any suggestions for particular poses to help loosen up (particularly the hip area) would be appreciated... Thanks!!! Love watching your videos 🙂
Yes! The comments above about mid back pain and foot/ankle discomfort!!!
I am COMPLETELY new to yoga and I have generally bad, slouchy posture. Is this just my weak back talking to me when I force it to sit up straight? Or am doing something wrong? Or do I need a visit to the chiropractor? Lol!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your style and am REALLY enjoying your videos!
I have been trying out your foundations videos going through a pose a day and adding them on each time and I want to say no matter what new pose I learn this is still my favorite and I love coming to it in the middle of my practice. I have been practicing every day now for 2 weeks and I haven't felt this good in a long time! I go to a chiropractor more than any 22 year old should and this has helped relieve my back pain, it has also helped with this weird fatigue that I have been plagued with for years and I feel so much more rejuvenated each day, and all of these adding up with just the stretching and movement and more of an awareness of what I eat has also helped me lose weight that I've been slowly putting on since high school and has began to show and bother me more here lately. So THANK YOU! Thank you for your free videos and patience and encouragement!
Hey! I've had a couple of in-studio yoga practices in the past, and I've been doing your videos off and on for a few months and am just starting to tap into your Foundations videos. I just watched this one and am wondering, as someone with cranky ankles that don't care for this pose or for Cobbler's pose, either, have you ever seen any modifications (other than sitting in a straddle) that specifically address the ankles? I tend to supinate, and have had multiple sprains and surgery on both ankles, so I know I'm a bit of a special duck, but I also know I'm not alone with this one. Any thoughts? I can sit in Sukhasana for a few minutes, but anything longer feels like torture and cuts off circulation.
Okay...I'm 42. Never been athletic or fit. Have a desk job. Incredibly stiff. I can intentionally relax a group of muscles and in less than 5 seconds (literally) I notice that I'm all tense again! Overweight - 5'4" and 190 lbs. Wanting to start yoga by taking one pose at a time and really getting comfortable and confident before moving on. Make each pose mine. Not really interested in how long it takes to learn all of these foundation poses. So...I'm starting with the Easy pose. Then what? The Mountain pose? Then what? Lol!! Any chance you could number them or give a list of these Foundation poses in order of difficulty (especially for a middle-aged fat chick!!). I mean, crossing my legs at ALL is an accomplishment, forget trying to REACH my knee to pull it up to my chest for some of the other poses! 😉
Hi Adriene, firstly thank you for this wonderful channel! with mind body n soul I follow your videos and practices! I have successfully completed your 31 day revolution yoga, TRUE series, and right now following the loveyoslef feb series.. long story short, I would like to now start working on foundations of yoga.. work on each pose n learn more about them. my question is I am planing to practice each pose for 5 days.. and complete the series. I wil make note of the Asanas that I need to concentrate more on and redo them.. please advise if this makes any sense?
Hello Adriene
Thanks for your awesome videos.
I would love to know more about the 8 limbs of yoga... have you already made a video on this topic or can you recommend a source for learning more?
Thank you!
Hi Adriene, I'm loving your videos, having dallied with yoga over the years but never really developed a practice - I'm generally more a Pilates girl - but now with the lockdown, doing whatever I can to stay sane. And you're really helping. Thank you!! I have always had really tight hip flexors though and the easy pose is less than easy for me - after about 3 minutes, my hips seize up and I desperately want to straighten my legs (and I can't even straighten them very well). I'm sitting on a book so I've tried that but anything else you can suggest to loosen those pesky hip flexors.
Adriene! Even you get older??? In my mind you are timeless. 😉
I've been tuning in for about 3 years now, sporadically. Finally decided to start at the beginning.
Lovely to see you from way back when.
Thanks for doing what you are doing, exactly the way you are doing it.
Hi Adriene I am really enjoying your videos! I reviewed this one because I have a problem with it as I had knee replacements and although I can do it my knees don't feel good, I feel better with legs spread apart and straight, it that okay?
Starting with my first foundation in 2021... what looks like so easy is not quite that easy...but i sensed a calming experience learning this pose. Made me realized what a fast paced life I have been living and that slowing down changes everything...
Thank you for the stillness!
Thank you for everything miss
Thank you miss
You are so beautiful