Sthira Sukham Asanam — The Definition of Asana
Patanjali's definition of Asana — steady (sthira) and comfortable (sukha) — applies to every posture and to life itself: the ideal relationship to any position is complete stability combined with complete ease.
Sutra 2.46 provides the entirety of Patanjali's asana teaching in three words: 'sthira sukham asanam' — a posture (asana) is that which is steady (sthira) and comfortable/pleasant (sukha). This elegant definition immediately distinguishes Patanjali's yoga from physical culture: the question is not how advanced the posture is but whether it embodies the simultaneous qualities of steadiness and ease. A person sitting in an advanced posture with straining and discomfort is not doing asana in Patanjali's sense. A person sitting in the simplest cross-legged position with complete stability and ease is doing asana perfectly. The qualities of sthira and sukha are also the ideal relationship to life's circumstances: steady and at ease in the face of both pleasure and pain.
Posture is that which is steady and pleasant.
T.K.V. Desikachar explains that his father Sri Krishnamacharya's teaching of asana was always guided by this sutra: the student's individual capacity for sthira and sukha was the only criterion for choosing an appropriate posture — making every student's right asana unique to their condition.
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
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- What the Yoga Sutras say about the body
A posture, by Patanjali's definition, is whatever is steady and comfortable at the same time. A difficult shape held with strain does not qualify; a plain seat held with ease does.