Behind The Pose - Vasisthasana

Vasisthasana, or side plant, is a tribute to the sage Vasistha who helped a young King Ram out of his depression and began steering him toward the spiritual path so that he could become the great king he was meant to be. As the story in the Yoga Vasistha goes, Ram's father recruited Vasistha to help Ram when he become disillusioned with the state of the world. 

The text is a conversation between Rama and Vasistha in which the reader learns about the jivanmukta, the soul that is liberated during their life. The jiva is the individual soul in Sanskrit, and mukta means freedom or liberation - freedom from identification with the mind's insistence that it is a mere mortal, freedom from the veils that cover the divinity within. In this philosophy, the magic occurs when the individual merges with the absolute and they can exist in this world with the recognition that we are also Source/Truth/the Universe itself. 

All that may be a little heady, but suffice to say, Vasisthasana is a posture meant to remind you of your divinity. So that you, like King Ram, may pursue equality and happiness for yourself and everyone around you ❤️