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provides it. It may seem a difficult asana. But things get even more complicated in the following:
(24) Assuming the [above-mentioned] kukkutasana posture, put both arms around your neck and
remain raised like a tortoise [with the back touching the ground]. This is uttana kurmasana.
Here the gymnastic character is evident; in fact it seems so exaggeratedly acrobatic that we wonder
whether this is less than gymnastics--or more? What is behind it? Kurma asana means "tortoise
posture." With a little imagination we can think of the body in this position as a tortoise. But
strangely enough reference here is to something quite different.
So far we have encountered the tortoise three times. First in No. 10: "To those who practice yoga,
hatha yoga is like the tortoise that carries the world." In the second place (No. 22) the asana in which
the anus is pressed is called "tortoise posture" (kurmasana). And now here in No. 24 we have "the
raised tortoise" (uttana kurmasana). Let us look at the ancient texts. In the Bhagavat Purana, one of
the richest of the ancient texts of Indian mythology and symbolism, we find a legend which is more
than merely a legend. In a battle with the demons the gods were losing: they had considered
themselves divinely superior to the forces of the world (the demoniac), but these forces stood more
safely and firmly upon their ground. Brahma, whom the gods implored for help, ascended with the
threatened ones to the Lord of the World, Vishnu, to ask his advice.
THE ASANAS 27
Yoga Swami Svatmarama. Hatha yoga pradipika
"Make peace with the demons," he urged them, "and churn with their help the nectar of immortality.
The divine alone is as powerless as the earthly alone. Together you should churn the ocean of milk
until it turns into the nectar of immortality."
So together the sworn enemies took the mountain Mandara, the backbone of the universe, wound
around it the serpent Vasuki in three and one-half turns, and alternately pulling on the head (the
demons) and the tail (the gods), they began to churn the terrestrial ocean of milk.
But soon the mountain became too heavy for the diligent ones, and slowly it sank lower and lower.
Then Vishnu transformed himself into a tortoise, dove to the bottom of the ocean, and raised the
mountain so that the work could be completed.
Practically every word in this legend is the expression of a deep symbolism, much of which will be
clarified in the course of our study and practice. For now let us consider only the most important
points. Not only in modern medicine, but in ancient yoga as well, the spinal column is the most
important and most subtle part of the body. In fact we shall soon see that it is actually the spinal
column that has the most important task.
Upon this "axis of the [human] universe" we exert pressure in kurmasana, so that the combined
forces of the divine (subconscious) and the earthly (conscious) can accomplish their task. Most
asanas involve the spinal column, as does the following:
(25) Grasp both toes with the hands
[left with left, right with right], keep one leg straight and draw the other to the ear as you would the
string of a bow. This is dhanurasana. (See
Figure 5.)
THE ASANAS 28
Yoga Swami Svatmarama. Hatha yoga pradipika
The spinal cord has two ends: the earth (below) and heaven (above), as is fitting for a "holy
mountain in the center of the world." And--as it should be--the worldly problems are mostly
situated in the lower part and the more ideal ones in the upper one. We cannot be expected to
comprehend this. That the earthly problems are centered in the lower half of the body only he who
knows something about the chakras can realize. The yogi develops understanding only in the third
stage.
We could compare ourselves with a tree that has its roots in the earth and the crown with its fruit in
the sky. Just as we have to satisfy the needs of the roots in order to supply nourishment to the fruit in
the crown, so most asanas are designed to cultivate the root of our tree of life, the spinal column. As
is this asana:
(26) Place your right foot on the outside of the left hip joint and the left foot outside the right knee
[which is flat on the floor]. Grasp the left foot with the right hand [passing the arm to the left side of
the knee] and the right one with the left hand. Turn the head all the way over to the left. This is
matsyendrasana.
[See
Figure 6.]
In the more current variations of this asana the right foot is not grasped by the left hand; instead, the
hand is placed on the back as far over as possible. This is seen in our illustration. Slight variations in
asanas or occasional variations in name have arisen because several teachers developed the same
asanas. The variations occur only in minor points. This becomes quite evident by a comparison of
our Hatha Yoga Pradipika with the more common and much later work, the Gheranda Samhita.
(27) This matsyendrasana increases the appetite by fanning the gastric fire [pitta], and destroys
physical ailments. Kundalini is awakened and the moon made steady.
THE ASANAS 29
Yoga Swami Svatmarama. Hatha yoga pradipika
For the first time the text mentions kundalini, a latent force of highest potential, said to lie in three
and one-half coils, like the snake in the churning of the ocean of milk, sleeping at the lowest center
(muladhara chakra) at the foot of the "tree of life," the spinal column. This serpent power, kundalini,
cannot be described fully, even by one who has succeeded in awakening it. When it awakens, it
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