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When we awaken to the emotional side of yoga asana, we become more sensitized, perceptive, and responsive both on and off the mat.

Ironically, the definition of yoga asana is a position that is both steady and comfortable, a place where one can feel completely present. From this silent backdrop, we watch the agitated mind. Practice then becomes a purifying method of listening to the inner workings of the mind and emotions.

Have you ever noticed the effect that your yoga practice has on your emotions? It's like a welcome sense of spaciousness, as though we've cleaned a room in our inner selves so that healing, along with light, come shining through.

Usually the positive emotions come to the surface: our sense of humor, patience, concentration. As we surrender and let go of frustrations, fear and worry, we start to feel like our old selves again.

The flip side of this, of course, occurs when the negative emotions arise and stay with us. Naturally, if we're doing what we're supposed to be doing - cleansing and releasing - feeling our negative emotions is paramount to the process of renewal.

When this happens, give yourself space to feel what you're feeling. Instead of suppressing these emotions, realize that these feelings arose for a purpose. Then do your best to stay mindful of them, giving yourself enough room to eventually free these emotions from your spirit.

Our poses can strongly influence our emotional states. For instance, because of the expansive inhalation and opening of the chest, backbending, which is traditionally a stimulating practice, can elevate a low mood. Exhale-intensive poses such as forward bends tend to calm an agitated mind. In any balance practice, both inhale-oriented and exhale-oriented postures are executed in order to create equilibrium in the body and breath and to gain emotional harmony.

Today's practice will focus on restoring equipoise, empowering ourselves to release emotionally and to make positive changes in our layers of consciousness.

Asanas for Deepening

Sarvangasana (shoulderstand) or halasana (plow) help reverse energy blocks inflexible thinking, stuck emotions and feelings of sadness.

Balasana (child's pose) sends relaxing signals to both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

Marichyasana
(half-seated twist) is one of yoga's greatest harmonizers because it both calms the mind and releases sluggishness in the body.

Janu shirshasana (head to knee) relieves feelings of anxiety, fearfulness and stress. On each exhalation, let the torso sink further toward the legs.

Woodchopper assists in the emotional release of frustration and anger. While standing, lift your imaginary ax on your inhale, and with a forceful "Ha!" on the exhale, chop the imaginary wood between your legs.

Practice Off the Mat

Notice the situations that cause you to become tense. Are you an anxious driver, talker or worker? When you cook or do the dishes, does your back feel strain? Whether the tension is in the shoulders, neck, back or navel center, practice momentto - moment body awareness. This will help you cleanse your negative emotions and trapped issues so that they don't find a permanent home in your body.

Following the path of yoga cuts through the roots of suffering. Hatha yoga teaches us control of breath and control of body. Through awareness we learn concentration, control of our thought patterns and emotional control. The serious yoga practitioner will cling less to life's negative matters, permitting the practice to have a leveling effect on the emotional body.

Nancy Gerstein, author of Guiding Yoga's Light, is a certified hatha yoga teacher with the Himalayan Institute of Yoga Philosophy and Science, and a Reiki master practitioner. Visit www.guidingyogaslight.com.