Matsyasana
Matsyasana ( Sanskrit : मत्स्यासन, IAST : matsyāsana), in German: fish , is a classic yoga exercise , one of the 84 main exercises of Hatha Yoga and part of the Rishikesh series . The Sanskrit name is formed from the words matsya "fish" and āsana "seat" or "posture".
Mythological background
In his instructions for matsyasana, BKS Iyengar prefers the following mythological background: “This position is dedicated to Matsya , the fish incarnation of Vishnu , the creator and sustainer of the universe and all things. It is reported that once the whole earth was corrupted and threatened by an all-encompassing flood. Vishnu took the form of a fish and warned Manu (the Adam of the Hindus) of the impending calamity. Then the fish carried Manu, his family and the seven great wise men into a ship tied to a horn on his head. The Vedas were also saved from the flood in this way. "
Preliminary remark
André van Lysebeth notes that the classic Sanskrit texts about this asana rightly state that it allows you to swim like a fish in water. This would mainly result from the shift of the center of gravity towards the center of the body. Verse 21 of the Gherandasamhita - one of these classic Sanskrit scriptures - reveals that the legs are crossed in the lotus position for this.
In the most famous classical yoga scripture Hathapradipika , matsyasana is not mentioned, nor is it in the sequence of exercises in Bikram yoga .
Physical execution
Swami Sivananda leads matsyasana in the classical sense of Gherandasamhita and lets the legs cross one after the other in the lotus position while sitting . Then the practitioner takes the supine position, bends "the cross and braces the head on the ground" by arching the back well. The toes are grasped with the hands.
These instructions for the fish in the lotus can also be found in Erling Petersen, in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (in the final sequence) and in BKS Iyengar . Iyengar finally grabs the back of the feet with his hands and adds that this strengthens the arch of the back and allows the head to be pulled back even further.
Since, according to André van Lysebeth, the lotus position is not possible for many Europeans, he teaches the fish with stretched legs. From the sitting position, the upper body is supported one after the other on the left and right elbows. The chest is moved forward and up, the head stretched back as far as possible and slowly brought to the floor by moving the elbows forward. The upper body forms an arch. After some practice, the hands can be placed on the thighs and the elbows are no longer supported.
Swami Vishnudevananda , a student of Sivananda, also offers the variant with stretched legs for matsyasana. He advises starting the exercise in the supine position and “putting your hands, palms down, under your thighs”. "Then lift your chest with your elbows, bend your neck back as far as possible until the top of your head touches the floor."
The Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center teaches fish in almost the same way as Vishnudevananda, but specifies that the hands under the buttocks should "stay next to each other" with the palms facing down and the elbows under the back "as close as possible".
Heinz Grill emphasizes the dynamism and wide straightening of the thoracic spine so that the head only touches the floor with its own weight.
Guiding attention in the exercise
André van Lysebeth suggests that attention should e.g. B. to direct the resulting deep upper breathing in the area of the collarbones.
According to Heinz Grill, it can be directed towards the differentiated distribution of tension in the body: "During the execution [...] there is constant tension between the shoulder blades, while all other limbs, the legs and also the neck and the jaw remain relaxed."
Swami Kriyananda , direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda , offers an affirmation for matsyasana that can be thought during the performance: “La mia anima fluttua su onde di luce cosmica”, which translates as: “My soul surges on waves of cosmic light. "
Mental meaning of the exercise
“Consciousness can be compared to an archway that is built by the person himself. When consciousness itself is capable of organizing itself in the interior and arranging the past into the past, the future into the future, and consciousness itself can be experienced as active consciousness, then that sensitive, imaginative archway of life and hope in life can be opened with each day feel. [...] The fish describes an ordered and sensitive awareness, a kind of exact, well-coordinated, forward-looking conscious activity of the sensible and at the same time hopeful thought activity. "
Reports on healing effects
André van Lysebeth mentions that the lung capacity increases due to the intensive expansion of the thorax and thus the vital capacity of the person increases to the same extent. The widening of the chest allows the spine to become more flexible and counteracts a round, stiff back .
Swami Sivananda reports that the exercise massages all abdominal viscera and organs and removes constipation .
Swami Vishnudevananda describes the fish as "an invaluable aid for making the neck and loin area flexible, for exercising the shoulder muscles and for increasing the blood circulation in the affected parts."
BKS Iyengar writes: “The thyroid gland benefits from the exercise because the neck is also stretched. The pelvic area becomes more supple. "The fish" heals inflamed or bleeding hemorrhoids . "
Web links
- Matsyasana , Yoga Vidya, articles with pictures and videos
- Matsyasana - The Fish , article with pictures by Heinz Grill
- The final sequence: This is how every Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga practice , Matsyasana, ends
Individual evidence
- ↑ Search results "matsya". In: spokensanskrit.org . Retrieved April 29, 2020 .
- ↑ "Asana" search results. In: spokensanskrit.org . Retrieved April 29, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c B. KS Iyengar: Light on Yoga . 7th edition. Nikol Verlag, 2017, ISBN 978-3-86820-175-8 , pp. 124 ff .
- ↑ a b c d André van Lysebeth: Yoga for people of today . Mosaik Verlag, TB issue no.1690, ISBN 3-442-16164-9 , p. 159 ff .
- ↑ Gheranda Samhita, Sanskrit-English . Sri Satguru Publications, SSP Edition, Delhi 1979.
- ↑ Hathapradipika . Hamsah-Verlag, ISBN 3-923713-35-5 .
- ↑ Bikram Choudhury & Bonnie Jones Reynolds: Bikram Yoga, Das Praxisbuch . 1st edition. Lotos Verlag, TB, 2005.
- ↑ a b Swami Sivananda: Hatha Yoga . 2nd Edition. Heinrich Schwab Verlag, Gelnhausen, p. 37 f .
- ↑ Erling Petersen: The yoga exercise book . 4th edition. Heyne Ratgeber 08/9299, ISBN 3-453-04104-6 .
- ↑ a b Swami Vishnu-Devananda: The Great Illustrated Yoga Book . 6th edition. Aurum Verlag, 1997, ISBN 3-591-08183-3 , p. 114 ff .
- ↑ Sivananda Yoga Center (ed.): Yoga for all stages of life . 11th edition. Gräfe and Unzer Verlag, 1997, ISBN 3-7742-6200-4 , p. 46 f .
- ↑ a b Heinz Grill: The Soul Dimension of Yoga . 5th expanded edition. Lammers-Koll-Verlag, 2018, ISBN 978-3-941995-48-2 , pp. 198 ff .
- ↑ Heinz Grill: The free breath and the light soul process . Heinrich Schwab Verlag, 2017, ISBN 978-3-7964-0268-5 , p. 121 ff .
- ↑ Swami Kriyananda: Raja-Yoga, Il manuale completo di yoga e meditazione . Ananda Edizioni, 2011.