The Story behind Skandasana

Sharira Sadhana Muses #NavaratriSpecial

🌿 Skandasana — the posture named after Skanda (another name for Lord Murugan/Kartikeya, son of Shiva and Parvati) — carries both a mythic and symbolic story.

Asana means seat or posture. So, Skandasana is the “seat of Skanda”. His posture is always alert, youthful, and martial — symbolising readiness, courage, and balance between stillness and action.

Posture Symbolism

Pic credits : Shyam @ Healing Warrior Tribe

In ancient warrior practices, Skandasana (side lunge, one leg bent, the other stretched to the side) mirrors:

• Warrior readiness grounded on one side, extended and prepared on the other.
• Flexibility + strength requires openness (hip, thigh) and firmness (core, balance).
• Duality harmonised like Skanda balancing six faces and six qualities.

Philosophical Resonance

• Skanda is the commander of the divine armies (Deva Senapati). In this pose, the body trains for alert poise.
• It also opens the groin/hips → where granthis (energetic knots) are held: sexuality, fear, insecurity. By sitting into Skandasana, you descend into these areas and release blockages.
• In devotional traditions, Murugan/Skanda is invoked for clarity (vel, the spear) — so this posture becomes a way of sharpening inner discrimination (viveka).

Why Skandasana

When yogis took inspiration from divine archetypes, they gave names to postures that embodied qualities.

• Skandasana was seen as embodying Skanda’s courage to face asura (inner demons), youthful energy, and readiness to spring into action.
• Just as Skanda was born of fiery tapas and carried by grace, the practitioner “sits into fire and openness” in this asana, and then rises with new energy.

✨ So, Skandasana is not just a hip-opening lunge. It is the posture of divine readiness, reflecting Skanda’s qualities, his role as warrior of dharma, and his youthful energy. By practicing it, you align with courage, clarity, and balance — the very qualities Murugan embodies.

How was it practicing Skandasana in the Sharira Sadhana ?

Let us know in the comments 😄😅

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