Course 1

PRARTHANASANA
THE PRAYER POSE

ETYMOLOGY
In the Sanskrit language, prarthana means „prayer‟, „reverence‟ or
„seeking‟; therefore, the literal name of this asana would be „the
prayer pose‟. It is worthy to mention that while the word prarthana
has a deep religious connotation in Hinduism, in the course of time
it has taken on the meaning of „to request, to ask or seek for
something with a feeling of reverence.‟

HOW TO PERFOM THE ASANA

 Stand with the feet parallel, shoulder width apart. The back
is straight and relaxed.
 Entering into the asana is done gently, consciously.
Accordingly, breathe in deeply. Join the hands together
(anjali mudra) and bring them in front of the chest so that
the thumbs touch the sternum and the tops of the thumbs rest
at the top of the sternum. This is the final position.
 Breathe normally and hold the pose as long as you can keep
the balance between effort and relaxation.
 Coming out of the asana is done gently, consciously. Allow
the arms to come back gently onto your sides.

TIPS AND HINTS

 The gentle pressure on the sternum is like a reminder of bringing the awareness on the
Heart-Center.
 Keep the shoulders relaxed and the back straight.

POSSIBLE ERRORS DURING THE PERFORMANCE

 Placing the hands in front of the middle of the chest changes the asana being
performed into one called pranamasana (see surya namaskara presentation)
 Curbing the spine and bringing the shoulders forward.

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GENERAL HRIDAYA HATHA YOGA GUIDELINES
 Relax in the asana, enjoying the harmony that the asana brings.
 Keep the immobility of the body. The immobility of the body induces the stillness of
the mind.
 Keep the witness attitude while entering into the asana, while maintaining the asana
and while coming out of the asana.

AWARENESS DURING THE ASANA

 Maintain the open attention. Thus, the awareness upon the body, energies and mind
will increase.
 Acknowledge the specific effects of prarthanasana: the intense arousing of anahata
chakra. You may also notice: spiritual aspiration, devotion, calmness, increased
power of mental focus, centeredness and reverence towards the divine consciousness.
 Open towards the universality of this energy. Through the performance of
prarthanasana a universal energy is awakened in our being.
 Ask the question, „Who am I?‟ and dive into the mystery of this quest.

POST ASANA AWARENESS

 Rejoice in witnessing the echoes of prarthanasana. Acknowledge the specific effects
that prarthanasana brings: the intense arousing of anahata chakra, spiritual
aspiration, devotion, quietness, centeredness and reverence towards the divine
consciousness.
 Ask the question, „Who am I?‟ From that „space‟ of stillness we witness the universal
quality of that specific energy.

EFFECTS AND BENEFITS

Being the prayer pose, the intention of this asana is not directed towards the physiological
effects, but rather the profound spiritual effects that it cultivates in our being.

The yoga treatises mention certain effects related to prarthanasana:

 It induces calmness, quietness and stability of the mind.

 It awakens the spiritual aspiration, intuition, devotion, unconditional love,
compassion, humbleness, reverence towards the divine consciousness.
 It induces pratyahara.
 It brings more awareness of the Heart-Center.
 It increases the awareness of the “I-feeling” and the capacity to maintain this
attentiveness.

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CONTEMPLATION ON PRARTHANASANA
In Hinduism, prayer or prarthana takes many forms. However different, all of these forms
essentially express the same thing, which is the communion with God/Gods; Prayer becomes
an expression of love and devotion, as well as a practice of humility in requesting for the gift
of grace.

Prarthanasana is not only a pose that inspires one to pray but it can be seen as a prayer in
itself. It is not a prayer with words but instead an expressed prayer of the body.

“Raise up into prayer with your body” is the message of prarthanasana. And it continues -
“Transform your body, mind and heart into a prayer. This is the path of surrender and
devotion.”

About this path Ramana said:

“Either the thoughts are eliminated by holding on to the root thought, „I‟, or one surrenders
unconditionally to the Higher Power. These are the only two ways to Realization.”

“Surrender is complete only when you reach the stage „Thou are all‟ and „Thy will be done‟”

We end this invitation to contemplate on prarthanasana with an excerpt from Shiva

prarthana:

“Shiva is the experiencer and the highest object of experience. Shiva is the goal of sadhana.
There is nothing apart from Shiva. There is nothing other than Shiva. Whatever there is, is
Shiva. There is nothing, which is not Shiva. There is no place, which is not Shiva. There is no
time, which is not Shiva. To be aware of this is to be aware of Shiva.”

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