Understanding and awareness are of the utmost importance in learning any asana. Nothing should be learned mechanically. Asana sadhana (practice)implies conscious and intelligent effort.
Incorrect asanas can put undue strain on certain parts of the body. It is therefore important to: perform the asana correctly, to know the asanas that release strain on specific body parts and sequence the asanas to erase all deleterious effects at the end of each practice session.
The Yoga Sutras talk about the beauty, strength and compactness of a diamond that the body acquires through the practice of yoga. A correctly performed Navasana embodies these qualities.
This asana cannot be mastered in the first attempt! It is advisable to repeat the asana 2 or 3 times, alternately on each side. In every subsequent attempt the body responds better. Repetition gives the body the time and space required to bloom and sync with the breath.
Lifting into Sarvangasana is a subtle and refined movement wherein the body climbs an imagined median line in the manner that a vine ascends a tree or a pole.
