The Last 2 of the 4 Most Important Hatha Yoga Poses
Simhasana and Bhadrasana
3.
Simhasana
Simhagarjanasana (roaring lion pose)
1.51 Place the palms on the knees, fingers spread apart, keep the mouth open and gaze at the nose tip with a concentrated mind.
1.52 This is Simhasana, held in great esteem by the highest yogis. This most excellent asana facilitates the three bandhas.
Swami Muktibodhananda describes a second variation:
Simhagarjanasana (roaring lion pose)
Raise the chin two or three inches, practice shambhavi mudra, extend the tongue as far as is comfortable. Inhale deeply through the nose and exhale making a roaring sound like a lion – ‘aaahhhh.’
The sound should not be forceful, nor should it irritate the throat.
To stimulate the throat more, move the tongue from side to side.2
The Story
The story to explore here is about Narasimha. Nara (person/man) and Simha (Lion). Narasimha is a destroyer of obstacles/ evil/ demons/ injustice/ duality. Here are spinets of the story from the Padma Prana and the Vishnu Purana which has the story of Parhlada, the son of Hiranyakasipu .
Hiranyakasipu is the father of Prahlada. He is not happy with Prahlada studying the philosophy of Yoga. Prahlada means "joyful excitement, delight, refreshing." Prahalda is an example of Bhakti Yoga, Devotional Yoga. Hiranyakasipu means "one who is wrapped in gold. He becomes haughty because of the grant of a boon from he gods and represents Ego. He looks for the external world to validate him while all along he has the Lotus in his heart. See previous post on the Lotus Pose.
I Love this quote from the Bhagvata Purana. Perfect for today's world as well:
Text 9:Prahlāda Mahārāja continued: My dear father, please give up your demoniac mentality. Do not discriminate in your heart between enemies and friends; make your mind equipoised toward everyone. Except for the uncontrolled and misguided mind, there is no enemy within this world. When one sees everyone on the platform of equality, one then comes to the position of worshiping the Lord perfectly .5
This last line translates more directly to "the position of of respecting the infinite/unlimited perfectly."
What Narasimha looks like
Half Man/ Half Lion and ...
The Padma Purana (by N.A. Deshpande)
Chapter 140 - Hiraṇyāsaṅgama-tīrtha < [Section 6 - Uttara-Khaṇḍa (Concluding Section)]
Chapter 45 - The Manifesṭation of Narasiṃha
92-93. With us you are surrounded by the hosts of demons. O king, this your assembly crowded with hundreds of splendid rooms, also all the three worlds, the eternal dharma of the worlds, and this entire world are seen in Narasiṃha.
94-95. Here (i.e. in Narasiṃha’s body are seen) the creator, the great-souled Manu, planets and (their) conjunctions, the earth and the sky, the time of portents, and Dhṛti (courage), Mati (intellect), Rati (pleasure), Satya (truth), Tapas (penance) and Dama (restraint), Sanatkumāra of great prowess, Viśvedeva[6], and all sages, Krodha (anger), Kāma (desire), Harṣa (joy), Darpa (pride), Moha (delusion) and all the dead ancestors.3
The Story of Prahlada 3 and 4
The Story of Prahlada < [First Section]
25.1 Hiranyakasipu--- who tried to kill his son many ways. He got angry when he said the divine was in everything and started wielding his sword at everything and hit a tower. Narasimha came out of the tower and roared. The simha garjanai (roar of the lion) of Narasimha was very fearsome and terrible indeed!
He saw this frightening and mysterious form with a lion’s head and human body and wondered what this form was and his mind was totally agitated.
Hiranyakasipu tries to attack Narashimba and, Narashimba kills him/destorys him and drinks his blood out of his chest where the Lotus was.. 4
Narashimba also killed many of his followers, other personifications of obstacles.
9.6 By the touch of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva’s hand on Prahlāda Mahārāja’s head, Prahlāda was completely freed of all material contaminations and desires, as if he had been thoroughly cleansed. Therefore he at once became transcendentally situated, and all the symptoms of ecstasy became manifest in his body. His heart filled with love, and his eyes with tears, and thus he was able to completely capture the lotus feet of the Lord within the core of his heart.
Swami Muktibodhananda says:
Simhasana is useful for
- alleviating numerous throat, mouth, nose and even ear diseases.
- Technique 2 is particularly good for toning the throat and eradicating stammering.
- It also helps to externalize introverted people.
- This asana is more effective when performed outside in front of the rising sun.
2.Hatha Yoga Pradipika Introduction by B K S Iyengar Commentary by Hans Ulrich Rieker Translated by Elsy Becherer This edition published by The Aquarian Press 1992 13579108642 English translation © Herder and Herder, Inc., an imprint of Crossroad/Continuum, Inc. Illustrations by Stephen Sturgess
3. https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-padma-purana/d/doc364168.html
4. https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/7/8/ Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) » Canto 7: chapter 8 Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva Slays the King of the Demons
5.https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/7/8/9/
4
Bhadrasana
1.53 Place the ankles below the genitals on the sides by the perineum, left ankle onthe left (side) right ankle on the right (side).
1.54 Then hold the feet, which are on their sides, firmly with the hands and remain motionless. This is Bhadrasana which destroys all diseases.The yogis who are perfected (siddhas) call it Gorakshasana.
The first version looks a lot like Baddha Konasana expect the addition of crossing the hands.
The second version is challenging on the knees and feet. I sit on a block.
The Story
Since Bhadra means "Auspicious, Good," or "Gracious as, Swami Muktibodhananda translates it, it is difficult to assign one story to it.
Bhadra is connected to many things : a river, one of the wives of Krishna, daughter of Surya (The Sun), Sister of Yama (Death), Thrones, Temples, etc.
It is interesting to note that the Warrior Poses many are familiar with are called Vira Bhadrasana. Vira means "Brave" or "Hero".
The other name mentioned, Goraksha, which means Cow Protector. He was a student of Matsyendra. We covered Matsyendra in Matsyendrasana Pose
Benefits
Swami Muktibodhananda list is short on this one. He says:
- Bhadrasana spontaneously induces moola bandha and tones the reproductive organs, alleviating ailments pertaining to those organs.
- The benefits of Bhadrasana are similar to those of Padmasana, Siddhasana and Vajrasana.
Posts
https://healthtipsup.com/yoga-poses-for-two-people/
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletei really enjoy this artical . which me and my family to doing Three Person Yoga Poses
ReplyDelete.